DE PERE – On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the De Pere Redbirds (4-4 overall, 1-0 conf.) hosted the Ashwaubenon Jaguars (2-6 overall, 0-1 conf.) in an 8-1 victory for De Pere.
Though the Jaguars’ backline held strong for the first 10 minutes of the game, the Redbirds’ opportunities at the net began to increase.
Ashwaubenon’s Carter Nitke saw an opportunity in the 11th minute and took a shot from right outside the box that curled just wide of the net.
However, moments later, De Pere defender John Lowery got the ball to Maxim Skurka for a left-footed rip into the far post for the 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
Moments later, Skurka was brought down just outside of the box for a De Pere free kick again.
Joe Picard stepped up for the shot but Ashwaubenon goalkeeper Colby Biemeret got his hands on it to put it over the crossbar.
Evan Thiem headed the ensuing corner kick into the far post in the 14th minute to go up 2-0 on the Jaguars.
Ashwaubenon defender Carter Thompson held strong for the Jaguar backline putting a stop to Brady Shanda’s attempt at a cross as he worked his way down the sideline.
The Redbirds continued to bring the heat with several attempts on goal until
As the second half began, a cross from Owen Bishop towards goal found the feet of Owen Fawcett for a near post slot in the 22nd minute to lengthen their lead to 3-0.
Just four minutes later, a cross in the air from Bishop was headed into the far post by Thiem for his second goal of the night to bring the Redbirds to a 4-0 lead.
Just before the half, Shanda looked to get a cross off across the face of the goal, but the ball deflected off the chest of Biemeret and into the back of the net for a 5-0 lead going into the half.
The Redbirds came out equally determined in the second half.
“We got all players into the game and all 25 players played. We had good effort and good intensity the entire game, we just had to find the back of the net,” said De Pere Head Coach Justin Oshefsky. “All phases played well today.”
A cross to an unmarked Lowery in the box landed at his feet but the Ashwaubenon back line held strong.
When the Redbirds earned a corner kick a few moments later, Bishop emerged through the mess in the box and found the back of the net for his team for a 6-0 lead and to keep their momentum up in the 49th minute
Ashwaubenon midfielder Jordan Kerker challenged De Pere keeper Logan Nycz in a 1v1 in the 64th minute to keep the Redbirds on their toes.
However, a De Pere goal by Joel Rosner, assisted by Brady Lemke furthered the Redbirds’ lead to 7-0.
Owen Fergus retained possession for his team and rang the crossbar in the 67th minute.
Ashwaubenon’s Chase Beyer found himself on a breakaway in the 70th minute and was able to touch past Nycz for their only goal of the match, bringing the score to 7-1.
“We are just looking to correct our finishing in the final third, and hopefully if we can correct that, we’ll be on top of the conference,” said Oshefsky.
Another goal by Rosner as he fired the ball into the back of the net from inside the box off a corner kick brought the final score of the game to 8-1.
The De Pere Redbirds will host Homestead on Friday, Sept. 20 while the Ashwaubenon Jaguars host Green Bay West on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.