LA CROSSE — The Onalaska High School girls soccer team doesn’t lose to the same team twice in a season or twice in a row very often, and Central wasn’t able to buck that trend when the teams met for a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal on Thursday.
The top-seeded RiverHawks, who recently beat the Hilltoppers for the first time in 13 years, answered Onalaska’s first goal but couldn’t respond to a second in a 2-1 loss to the second-seeded Hilltoppers at Logan’s Swanson Field.
Onalaska (13-5-1) picked up its first win over Central — ranked ninth in Division 2 by state coaches — after tying once and losing once in the regular season.
The Hilltoppers will play top-seeded River Falls (12-6-2) in a 1 p.m. sectional final at Arcadia on Saturday. Onalaska will be trying to qualify for the state tournament for the first time, while the Wildcats eye their fourth and second in a row.
The Hilltoppers opened the scoring when sophomore Francesca Vriens converted a pass from senior Mallory Meighan in the sixth minute. Onalaska rode that lead through the rest of the first half and maintained it until Central junior Grace Wilkerson scored her 25th goal of the season in the 60th minute.
Wilkerson scored unassisted and put the pressure on Onalaska, which had 12 shots on goal and had one of those — a free kick by Meighan from more than 20 yards out in the first half — bounce off the crossbar.
The Hilltoppers claimed the victory when sophomore Finley Walters was set up by freshman Ellie Thesing for the tiebreaker — and winner — in the 67th minute.
Freshman Avery Cowley had nine saves for Onalaska, and senior Laura Lapp stopped 10 shots for Central, which finished its season with a 12-5-2 record.
DIVISION 4
Assumption 2, Aquinas 1
WISCONSIN RAPIDS — The Blugolds (15-4-2) allowed two second-half goals in a loss to the top-seeded and ninth-ranked Royals.
Aquinas, which was ranked third in the final coaches poll, took a 1-0 lead when junior Alexa Myre unloaded a shot that was just stopped by the Assumption goalkeeper. Freshman Anna Binsfeld, however, was there as the ball bounced away to finish the goal in the ninth minute.
The Blugolds maintained that lead until Assumption tied the game in the 48th minute and won it in the 74th.
