Injuries, tough second half lead to Raider loss at state

As the siren blew to signal halftime in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association first round Division Four state tournament soccer game at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee last Thursday, the Arcadia boys soccer team was feeling alright about where they sat.

The fourth-ranked Raiders had kept top-seeded offensive power Oostburg off the scoreboard, and Arcadia had a chance at a major upset to start the tournament with the game tied at zeros.

But three injuries to the team’s defensive line and penalties changed the tide in the second half, as Arcadia fell 4-0 to end their season.

“The first half, it was tough because that is more seeing what they have, and I think they kind of looked at what we had, they saw what we got, where they could do damage,” Arcadia coach Luis Cruz said. “And the second half, it was more crazy, but our first half was our best game.”

Arcadia held Oostburg — which lost to Sheboygan Christian/Lutheran in penalty kicks in the state championship game on Saturday — to four shots in the first half.

With injuries to Raider defenders Jose Verde and Miguel Posada, the game opened up a bit in the second half. Oostburg junior Aiden Haag opened the scoring minutes into the second half, heading the ball into the net after a cross from the left wing.

A hand ball ruled against the Raiders inside the 18-yard box resulted in a penalty kick for the Flying Dutchmen just five minutes after their first goal, and Preston Ten Dolle made no mistake, pushing the ball past Arcadia goalie Kevin Cruz. 

Ten Dolle added his second goal of the game 10 minutes later, finding a through ball before dribbling past a few Arcadia defenders and sliding his shot into the bottom left corner of the net. The senior led all players with seven shots.

Another penalty kick goal for Oostburg closed the scoring late in the 67th minute.

“When those penalty kicks get scored on, everything changes,” Cruz said. “The defense hit the ball on their head and not their shoulders on the first one, but that’s not an excuse. When those kicks score, everything changes.”

Cruz said the injuries on defense drastically changed the game, too. 

The stats back his observation, as the late goals were accompanied by a ballooned 10 shots for Oostburg and three saves from Kevin Cruz in the second half. 

“That (injuries) hurt. That’s what happened. Otherwise you see the first half and we played beautifully, but that second half we had three starters get hurt,” Cruz said. 

And while the game didn’t end the way his players wanted, Cruz said he hopes his players appreciated the journey and realize how rare it is to make it to state for the second time in as many years. 

“This is special just to be here, and I told my kids we gotta enjoy every single moment, and I told my team we represent Arcadia guys, and we’re gonna represent the right way.”

He thinks his team did that, pointing to the two teams praying together at midfield when the game concluded. It was a tough loss to end a strong season, Cruz said, saying his team lost to a deserving team. 

Arcadia struggled to get through a strong defense, one that relied on quickly attacking the ball carrier and keeping the ball out of their end behind a strong attack and quick midfield transition. 

“I knew they played more physical and with speed, and I told my kids, ‘If they win and are physical and use speed, they’re gonna win every single ball.’ I recommended my kids to control the midfield because if we get to control the midfield, we get the ball,” Cruz said. 

It didn’t work the way the Raiders wanted it to, and the outcome wasn’t what they were hoping for. 

But still, a teary-eyed Cruz said, this was a season that made him proud, made the community proud and should leave his players proud. 

“This is for Arcadia, this is for our community, this is for our county, Trempealeau County. This is for all you guys because you guys brought our school on the street. So this is for those people down there. You know, for everybody.”

Oostburg 4, Arcadia 0

Arcadia0;0–0

Oostburg0;4–4

Second half

O—Haag (Matthew Meke), 41:52. O—Ten Dolle, pk, 46:21. O—Ten Dolle, 58:03. O—Griffin Hengst, pk, 67:57.

Saves— Cruz (A) 3, Carson Dekker (O) 1.