CEDAR GROVE — For the third time since 2018, the Cedar Grove and Belgian Rockets girls soccer team has qualified for the state tournament as a No. 1 seed.
Cedar Grove-Belgium made it to the state championship all three times, but lost in the last minute of regulation, in a penalty shootout and last season in overtime.
The Rockets' 6-5 loss to the Kiel Raiders in the WIAA Division 4 state championship, considered by spectators to be one of the greatest state football games of all time, remains significant.
“It's tough,” Cedar Grove Belgium coach Zach Garza said of last season's close. “It was a very exciting game, but it will just stick in the back of my mind. I would be lying if I said it wasn't a boost for myself and a lot of the players this season. We I’ve been through it, I’m heartbroken and I don’t want to go through it again.”
Junior sensation Cora Erickson, who was second in the state with 31 goals through Monday, agrees.
“We obviously lost the championship last year, so we know we have a lot of work to do to get back to state,” Erickson said. “We know it's not easy for us.”
Garza acknowledged that being ranked No. 1 for part of last season was a negative side effect for a then-young team.
“Last year, I’m not going to lie, when we were ranked No. 1 at the beginning of the season, I think we saw that a little bit,” Garza said. “We were still a little bit young and you could see the pressure getting the better of them in the games. The games were about to get harder because there was an expectation that we would win. I can't feel it.”
Junior midfielder and forward Grace Konczak said the players now have another year of experience and are better able to handle the pressure of a higher ranking.
“It makes us try harder because we know everyone is coming at us,” Konczak said.
Junior defender Olivia Barr echoed that desire to work hard.
“This pushes us to try harder for each other,” Bahr said. “We know what we can do individually and as a team.”
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Garza cited the 2-1 win over Nicollet, which beat the Rockets 9-4 last season, as an example.
“We were very smart in that game in the last five to 10 minutes when Nicolette was looking for one,” Garza said. “That's something only experience can give you. Our team has been there and knows how to act in the dying moments.”
Eriksson has also learned not to put too much pressure on himself, despite scoring 152 goals in just 61 games. He is also within reach of his state record of 224, set by Ozaukee's Ashley Bears in 2007.
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“I try not to worry too much about my goals because I know we'll all work together to achieve them,” Erickson said. “Sometimes I feel like I may have played poorly if I didn't score enough points, but in the end it doesn't matter who scores as long as we win.”
It's not just Eriksson, the whole team is trying to think a little differently towards balance.
“One of the biggest takeaways from last season was that you can score a lot of goals and still lose the game, especially for an attack-minded team like us,” Garza said, adding that his players He noted that he continued to play aggressively throughout the match. “Statistically, the average player only plays the ball for three minutes in a game. What does he do for the remaining 77 minutes of the game?”
Bahar said the team effectively fielded 11 defenders, with an approach where everyone plays their role.
“We have our own standards and we know what we can do,” Barr said. “It’s not just the defense, everyone supports the defense.”
Outscoring opponents 65-6 in the first 14 games was a great step, but Garza won't let his team forget the past to avoid a repeat.
“Do I want to go back to the states? Absolutely,” Garza said. “I definitely believe it can be done, but it won't be easy.”
Tom Dombeck (920-686-2965) ortdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter.@Tom_Dombeck.
