Bluejays soccer team wins three in a row

After a close season-opening loss to Northland Pines, the Three Lakes-Phelps varsity soccer team has found its stride, winning three games in a row, including two last week against Rhinelander on Tuesday and against Northland Lutheran on Thursday. This is the strongest team start since 201,8 when they began the season with three wins and a tie. The Jays will have ample opportunity to find some additional wins this week as they have three games on their busy schedule.

Their first challenger last week was a Rhinelander Hodag team coming to Three Lakes on a cold, rainy night, where the Bluejays held them scoreless and walked away with an easy 2-0 victory in front of a sparse but loud home field crowd. Lukas Riker put the Jays on the board first as he made a running chip shot to the left edge of the net following a nice cross-field feed from Ethan Potrykus.

Ten minutes into the second half, Cohen Welsh kicked a rope to the back of the net from approximately 20 feet to give the Bluejays a 2-0 lead, which they would maintain through the balance of the game. Welsh had his way with Hodag defenders throughout the game as he weaved in and out of their coverage with ease to set up plays or to look for personal scoring opportunities.

The same was true for Grayson Polcaster, Cruz Melton and Potrykus as each had plenty of real estate to control the ball and keep the game tempo going for the Bluejays. Defensively, Ashton Boehm and Matthew Klein helped disrupt any of the Hodags’ efforts to get near the net, but when they did attempt to score, goalkeeper Mason Schoeneck stopped them in their tracks.

Two days later, the Bluejays were at Northland Lutheran High School, where they beat the Wildcats 5-1 in a game where Potrykus scored two goals and Schoeneck continued with his solid goalkeeper role, allowing only a single score following more than 15 opponent shot attempts. The Bluejays were trailing 1-0 in the first half when Riker was able to score on a running chip shot following a long feed from Polcaster. This goal was a near match to the first goal Riker scored in the game against Rhinelander.

One minute later, the Bluejays took the lead when Polcaster hit a header off of a near center line free kick by Melton for a dramatic score. Potrykus then closed out the half with the first of his two goals after he drilled a liner off a bounced ball, leaving a 3-1 halftime score. He also started the second half with another goal after he was able to dribble past two defenders to roll a shot to the right of the net.

Head coach Brad Volkmann was pleased with the way Ethan and the entire team performed last week. “Ethan gives us a lot of athleticism up front and is dangerous near the net,” he said, “while our seasoned players are all performing well. I am also getting high-quality play from first-year players Matthew Potrykus, Charlie Welsh and Corbyn Gutbrod. They have each risen to the high school challenge nicely.”

Another first-year player, freshman Trenton Peterson, had an impact on the game at Northland Lutheran when he was fighting for a loose ball in front of the Wildcats’ net during the second half and kicked his first varsity goal to close out the scoring in the 5-1 victory.

The Bluejays had two early games this week against Iron Mountain and Peshtigo, with results not available as this edition went to print. The team will then face Kingsford at Three Lakes High School for a matchup this Thursday, September 11, with a 5:00 p.m. scheduled start.