The Kiel girls soccer team is preparing for their 4th consecutive trip to state.
Following their 4-2 sectional final victory over the then-unbeaten Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets, the Raiders are set to take on Edgewood in the WIAA Division Three state semifinals tomorrow (June 20th) at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.
Since the playoffs started, Kiel has outscored their opponents 21-4, showcasing their talent up front and at the back.
Head Coach Mike Pritchard told SeehaferNews.com that it’s a testament to the way the team prepares.
“To be honest with you, it’s routine, routine, routine, and nothing breaks the routine,” he explained. “We watch film on the team we are going to play against, we touch up a little bit of film, we look at a couple of special players that, of course, are talented, and we try to find maybe one or two weaknesses to exploit.”
Pritchard echoed that sentiment of routine as a big reason they’ve built such a successful program.
That success has been, most importantly, a credit to the talented players within the program, most notably the Raiders’ captains.
That includes junior midfielder and winger Jasmine Bink, who reflected on the big win over Cedar Grove-Belgium.
“It was just gratifying,” she reminisced. “We worked hard, so it was just nice knowing that we achieved what we wanted to.”
Fellow captain and defender Addi Uselding spoke on the luxury of having such a potent offense that can score with the best of them
“I definitely feel more relaxed when we’re up more than when we’re down because a lot more stress on the defenders,” she revealed. “If they make a pass to you, it’s more likely your fault than the offense’s fault.”
Kiel’s top goal scorer this season, junior Taavi Saeger, echoed the same luxury her and her fellow attackers have with such a strong back line.
“I have a lot of trust in them. They’ve worked really hard this season, having to move people around,” the Raiders’ leading scorer said. “That connection back there is really strong, and we’ve faced some good teams, but we’ve had good outcomes because of our defense.”
Ahead of this state semifinal matchup, senior defensive winger Ava Neils tells us she takes pride in seeing the progress she and her teammates have made over the course of the season.
“I feel very grateful to see everyone grow, and as a team grow together and individually as well,” she noted. “Honestly, we’ve worked very hard for this moment, and we’ve worked together, and it’s very satisfying.”
The 2-seeded Kiel Raiders will take on 3-seeded Edgewood tomorrow at 1:30 p.m., looking for their second state championship in three years.
