The Kiel girls’ soccer team atoned for the only blemish on the 2026 resume by punching their fifth straight trip to state Saturday afternoon, defeating Notre Dame Academy of Green Bay 2-0 in a WIAA Division Three sectional final played at Stock family Field at Notre Dame High School. These two teams played to a 2-2 tie on May 11th in Green Bay, and Head Coach Mike Pritchard admits to seehafernews.com that he had a bit of nerves prior to the match.
” I was a little nervous, but I thought we were the most physical team. They (Notre Dame) have a lot of skill, but I think we have a lot of hard-working girls that are just stronger and more physical, and we just powered through them.”
The game was scoreless at halftime, with the Raiders’ Deanna Schawller tallying two second-half goals on assists from Cara Madsen and Taavi Saeger. The defense was once again nearly flawless, and the Tritons did not record a single shot on goal against sophomore goaltender Mya Langenfeld, who recorded her ninth consecutive shutout of the season and 19th overall. Pritchard says their “suffocating D” is quite unique.
” To be honest with you, the defense is the core of our team. They are just not a kick-and-run defense, and they don’t foul you. They do a great job of building the ball to create our offense, which most teams don’t do.”
Obviously, this team is” uber talented,” having qualified for state a fifth consecutive time, but Pritchard says that senior Taavi Saeger is the “heart and soul” of this team.
” She involves everyone on the pitch, especially in practice. She’s calm and laid back, and at halftime, she’s always pointing out a lot of things to help adjust to the opposition. She’s a great leader and is doing a fantastic job.”
This run began for the Raiders in 2022, qualifying for three straight years in Division Four and winning their lone state title in 2023, defeating Cedar Grove-Belgium 6-5. They’ve been one-and-done the last two years (2024 in Division Four and 2025 in Division Three). Pritchard is hopeful for a second title this time around.
” We’re fortunate to get these opportunities to go to the state tournament, but there’s nothing worse than losing when you get there. They are few and far between, and nothing is ever guaranteed. We are hopeful to get the number one seed and have better results.”
Teams like Kiel understand that they don’t accomplish things like this without the help of many people, and the Raiders head coach gives kudos to the Kiel Youth Soccer Club for teaching the kids to play the game the right way.
” It’s a great foundation to be able to build a great program. The coaches teach the girls the right way to play the game, so when they get to high school, Coach (Dustin) Goebel and I can polish their skills and put them in the best position to succeed. I can’t be more grateful to the Kiel community for all they’ve done to help make our program successful.”
Kiel improves to 23-0-1 while the Tritons finish their season with a record of 15-7-2.
The seeding meeting for the state tournament is currently underway, and the Raiders will play a Division Three state semifinal at either 4:30 or 7 p.m. on Friday (June 19th) at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.
