GALESVILLE — Ava Rivera’s time alone with the ball have been dwindling since she joined the Holmen High School girls soccer team last season.
Rivera made an impact as a freshman and is making a bigger one as a sophomore. She is dynamite in space, but opponents learned that quickly and focused on presenting plenty of traffic when a teammate or loose ball finds its way to her foot.
Take Saturday’s WIAA Division 2 sectional championship game against Sauk Prairie as an example. The Eagles allowed only isolated single coverage when the ball went to her side.
But it was also the latest example of her ‘magic’ on the field.
“Any team that has watched us knows the kind of magic Ava Rivera can bring to a game,” Holmen coach Nick Schellenger said. “If they are wise, they will put her in that position.
“There are teams that might be able to stop her from dribbling down the side and scoring goals, but I don’t think there is a team that can stop her impact on the game.”
Junior Lydia Sader and Rivera lead the fourth-seeded Vikings (18-3-1) in goals with 15 and 12, respectively, as they head into Thursday’s WIAA Division 2 state semifinal against top-seeded and defending champion Brookfield Central (12-4) at the Uihlein Soccer Complex.
Sader also leads the team with 12 assists, and Rivera follows with 10 after she set up sophomore Paige Olson for a long strike in the 1-0 victory over Sauk Prairie.
Schellenger said the ability of both to understand what they can do overall — and not just by scoring goals — has been a key piece to the team’s success this spring.
“Interestingly, Lydia and Ava both scored a lot of goals in their first season,” he said. “The following season, their assist numbers skyrocketed because teams see that they are dangerous and they are going to pay attention to them.
“They both kind of went through this learning curve of ‘there was pressure on me to score goals, and now I can find ways to hurt teams in other ways.'”
Rivera said the way teams defender her can be frustrating but having so many scoring threats around her keeps her focused on where she is trying to get the ball.
Because if any opponents decides to send two defenders at River or Sader, someone is open.
“I am still used to being able to get my space on the sideline, but I was getting shut down before I even had the ball (against Sauk),” Rivera said. “I was talking to teammates and coaches about what to do, but I took the role of taking people away from teammates.
“That’s more of a mental game. “I, obviously, want to be physical and do my part instead of watching my team play great and feeling like I’m not doing anything.”
Rivera is excited to continue her family’s tradition as state participants in athletics by playing in the tournament this weekend.
Her father was a state qualifier as a soccer player and her grandfather a state-qualifying wrestler.
Sader has been riding the crest of Holmen’s recent success as one of its important cogs. She is a scorer and likes to push the pace against defenders. Sader is also a vocal player who isn’t afraid to input to teammates in any situation.
That, after all, is Schellenger’s coaching approach. The goal of his staff, he says, is to prepare players to make critical decisions on the field and in the moment rather than communicating with the sideline for guidance.
“I think the teamwork that we have showed has been great,” Sader said. “We all come from two different club teams and to come together this spring ane excute what we’ve worked on is great.”
Sader has embraced Schellenger’s philosophy during a long career as a player for him.
“Nick was my coach growing up, and he was for most of us, too,” Sader said. “It’s been an experience and journey from when we were little girls to where we are now.
“It’s really something to look back on and be proud of.”
