LA CROSSE — It was with a mixture of fright and confidence that Madelynn Grossbach made her way to the goal in front of the scoreboard at Swanson Field.
The fear she admitted to after a postseason shootout had concluded, and the confidence was what Aquinas High School girls soccer coach Doug Harpenau saw when he talked to her before it started.
The Blugolds and Lodi had played to a draw for 100 minutes in their WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal on Thursday, and Grossbach and Lodi sophomore Ella Skrum were about to face five shots each to determine which team advanced to another game on Saturday.
The Blugolds connected on three of their attempts and the Blue Devils on two, leaving top-seeded Aquinas the championship qualifier after a 2-2 draw.
Grossbach, a senior keeper, stopped one shot, and Lodi shot high on two others. The final Lodi attempt hit the crossbar and bounced over the goal to cement the Aquinas victory.
“Honestly, I can say it’s scary,” Grossbach said of the pressure that accompanies a goalkeeper during a shootout. “I haven’t had much experience with shootouts.
“Of course, we do them in practice, but this was with the season on the line.”
Harpenau, whose team moved its record to 14-3-1 and advanced to a sectional final against Washburn (14-2-2) at Eau Claire North with a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, said his discussion with Grossbach before the shootout began was a good one.
“She said, ‘I can do this, this is mine.'” Harpenau said. “That’s a great attitude.
“And when she was out there, she was focused. She was in good position. She wasn’t diving and was looking at the hips like you’re supposed to do.”
Senior Hayden Zehren gave Aquinas a 1-0 shootout lead on her team’s second attempt. Junior Morghan Gerling made it 2-0 in the next round. Grace Clary and Madeline Deleon tied things up for the Blugolds in the third and fourth rounds.
Aquinas sophomore Hannah Miller then beat Skrum to the left side of the net for a lead that held up when Lodi’s final attempt hit the crossbar.
“I wanted to win so bad,” Miller said. “We lost in the sectional semifinal last year.
“I just thought back to my PK against West Salem and trying to hype up my teammates.”
The Blugolds beat the Blue Devils for the second time this season. Aquinas won 4-3 at Lodi on April 18 in its second game of the day. There were similarities in the matchups because the Blue Devils held leads in both games.
“The first time we played Lodi, we were losing 2-0 at the half,” Harpenau said. “The girls came off the field and said there was no reason they couldn’t win and beat them 4-3.
“It was the same thing here.”
Lodi rode the momentum of a converted penalty kick in the final minute of the first half that tied the game at 1. Senior Adysen Young made that penalty kick at 39:39 to change the momentum in a game the Blugolds led while controlling possession throughout the first half.
Zehren put Aquinas in front in the 11th minute, and that stood until the penalty kick.
“I thought everything would be OK because we are a second-half team anyway,” Zehren said. “It was an even match, and they had momentum, but I felt like we talked about what we wanted to do and could do it.”
Lodi took its only lead when Gracie Clary converted a beautiful pass in front of the net at 72:02 before an own goal 50 seconds later.
After earning a corner kick, Miller sent a short pass toward Zehren rather than directing something toward the goal. Zehren took possession, turned back toward the goal and launched a shot toward the box.
Instead of it finding a teammate, it hit off the back of a Lodi player and bounced into the net for the tying goal.
“We hadn’t been having success with out corner kicks, so I ran for the ball,” Zehren said. “I was just trying to set up a play from a better angle. It ended up being a shot in the dark from a tricky angle, but it worked out.”
Harpenau said that other players were supposed to crash toward the goal but instead remained outside, but Zehren’s ability to put the ball in a good spot paid off.
“We were looking for the ball right on top of the mark, and she hit it and good things happened for us,” he said. “You have to make the opportunity. If you don’t make opportunities, you don’t win.”
