LA CROSSE — The Aquinas High School girls soccer team has had its share of defensive challenges this season.
But nothing the Blugolds have seen will compare to the potential pressure they will face when they play The Prairie School in a WIAA Division 4 state semifinal at the Uihlein Soccer Complex on Friday.
“They have some strong, strong players,” Aquinas coach Doug Harpenau said of the Hawks, who are playing in their 10th state tournament and won championships in 2016 and 2019. “We were talking about defense today, and the defense will have to stay tighter to cut off those lanes, and we’ll work on that some more.
“They will have to communicate about who is covering up spots when they come up. They’ve been really good at that, but this is the final four (teams), so now it will have to be even better.”
The Prairie School (18-1-1) is seeded second and kicks off against the third-seeded Blugolds (15-3-1) — making their eighth state appearance and first since 2017 — at 1:30 p.m.
Defending champion and top-seeded Appleton Xavier (21-1-0) plays fourth-seeded Ozaukee/Random Lake (18-3-1) in the first semifinal at 11 a.m.
The Hawks are ranked first in the final poll released by state coaches, and Aquinas is eighth. Xavier is second and Ozaukee/Random Lake fourth.
Aquinas will be tasked with containing junior forwards Keira Kimbrough and Meghan Gavigan, who have combined for 63 goals this season. The Blugolds have scored 76 goals this season.
Kimbrough has 35 goals and 12 assists, and Gavigan has 28 goals seven assists. That doesn’t include senior Elle Jaramillo’s 15 goals and nine assists or freshman Constanza Reyes Belaunzaran’s 10 goals and 10 assists.
That number of weapons will be a concern to senior goalkeeper Madelynn Grossbach, who has spearheaded a defensive effort that has produced 10 shutouts.
“With this team, we know they have a couple really good attackers,” said Grossbach, who shut out Washburn on Saturday and helped Aquinas win in a shootout against Lodi on Thursday. “I’ll try to find film and watch how they shoot. What corners to they shoot for? Should I go out a little more and try to take away the back corner of the goal, or are they going to try and go over my head?
“I’ll have to look for patterns and see what they do on certain plays.”
Senior Eleanor Paulsen said that the communication that Harpenau mentioned — especially in front of Grossbach — has been a strength at the end of the regular season and during the current postseason run.
“I think that’s something I continue to say is such a strong suit for our team,” she said. “It is outstanding and adds to our team. I think it makes or breaks our team.”
Seven of those 10 shutouts for the Blugolds have come over the past 12 games, and two of them came against 2025 state qualifiers West Salem and Washburn.
