Three Lakes sees season end in a shutout loss to Somerset

The No. 4-seeded Three Lakes-Phelps girls’ soccer team saw its season come to a close June 4 in a scoreless 7-0 loss to No. 5-seeded Somerset in a D4 regional semifinal game at Three Lakes High School.

The Bluejays finished the regular season with a 5-6 overall record, based on online records.

“The game against Somerset was definitely a tough one, and we knew that going into it that it would be. They have a great team with great ball control and vision of the field,” said Three Lakes-Phelps Head Coach Cole Griesbach.
Somerset rolled in and set the tone from the start, and ended up scoring five goals in the opening half to take a 5-0 lead at halftime.

The coaching staff said getting the ball out of their defensive third of the field was the biggest issue in the loss. Once they did, the Bluejays got some looks at the net, but otherwise stayed defensive for much of the afternoon.

“Our transition with the ball from defense to offense was our biggest struggle. Once we got past their forwards and midfielders, we were able to move the ball around and get through their defense,” Griesbach stated. “Otherwise, Somerset had great midfielders who were able to keep the ball on our side of the field.”

With a team that found its groove midway through the season, the coaching staff saw so much growth from the upperclassmen all the way down the roster. The biggest thing that Griesbach saw on the field was the way the girls attacked each game and saw the field better.

“I am most proud about how they developed a better awareness of the field and moving the ball around with short passes to create opportunities,” he explained. “I would say halfway through the year, all of a sudden things just kind of clicked, and they were seeing the field much better.”

The team had some senior leaders who helped instill these skills into the program, which impacted the team positively as the season progressed.
The Three Lakes program has seen a steady increase in both numbers and on-field improvement over the past few seasons, so the team is ready to go for next season.

“This year, we had an amazing group of seniors/captains who helped their underclassmen see what they needed to do and what to improve on,” noted Griesbach. “I think their leadership will help our next year’s captains and seniors step into their roles and continue the success and improvement we’ve been seeing.”