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Milton knocks off Green Bay Preble

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Milton vs. Green Bay Prebel State Quarterfinal

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MILWAUKEE — Like every sports Cinderella, the Milton High boys soccer team has a little secret it would prefer to keep hidden from its opponents.

The Red Hawks are better than their record indicates.

Milton second-year coach Ryan Wagner knows it. The team’s 14 seniors know it. And everyone else on the roster knows it, too.

But if the Red Hawks’ opponents don’t know it, well, Milton is fine by that.

Relishing their underdog role yet again, the Red Hawks won their third straight game over a team with a vastly superior record, knocking off Green Bay Preble, 2-1, Thursday in a WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinal match at Uihlein Soccer Park.

“I told them, it’s just like a Sweet 16 basketball team in March Madness,” Wagner said. “You take that Cinderella role and roll with it. We’re the underdog, and we love it.”

Of course, Milton’s lukewarm 15-10 record is deceptive, considering the Red Hawks forfeited three wins early in the season due to an ineligible player. Whatever the method of losing, though, Milton hopes its opponents do a double-take when they see the Red Hawks’ record.

“Yeah, definitely,” said senior midfielder Cole Aschenbrenner, who scored the picturesque game-winner Thursday, when asked if the Red Hawks like being underdogs. “We love the role, because some teams are going to say, ‘Look at the record. These guys are going to be pushovers. How did they get here?’

“So we’ll take that. That’s an advantage.”

With the victory, Milton got the pink gorilla—referring to the Red Hawks’ mascot that for no apparent reason wears a pink gorilla suit on the sidelines—off its back with its first-ever state tournament win in the program’s second appearance at state.

“It feels great,” Aschenbrenner said. “We’re the farthest a Milton team’s ever went, and it’s the best feeling ever.”

The Red Hawks will face Muskego (25-3), which notched an impressive 3-0 quarterfinal win over Madison West here Thursday, in a semifinal match 7 tonight at Uihlein Soccer Park. The other Division 1 semifinal matches Marquette (20-2-1) against Homestead (18-4-3) at 5 p.m. The championship is slated for 2 p.m. Saturday.

Considering the Red Hawks have won six straight games and 12 of their last 13 and have now reached the state semifinals, it might be a little difficult for them to maintain their underdog status.

That’s a status that, based on experience, Preble coach Christopher Becker claimed his team never bought into in the first place.

“We never underestimate an opponent, not ever,” he said. “I remember my first year, in 2003, we barely had a .500 record going into our regionals and sectionals, and we made it to state.”

Thursday’s first half was entertaining, containing all the match’s scoring.

With the game knotted 1-1 in the 38th minute, Milton was awarded a corner kick. Senior forward Adam Lysak took the kick and placed a beauty into the box for Aschenbrenner, who was waiting for it on the near post.

Aschenbrenner timed his header perfectly and knocked it inside the far post past helpless Preble goalkeeper Erik Tauschek.

“He’s awesome in the air,” Wagner said of Aschenbrenner. “You watch him all game winning 50-50 balls. He’s our ‘go-to’ guy on corner kicks, and he got it in.”

Milton clamped down defensively in the second half, but after a nifty passing sequence in the box, Preble’s Matt Cormier found himself with a point-blank shot on Milton goalie Nick Hallett in the 74th minute.

Cormier’s shot was hard but not well-placed, and Hallett (4 saves) jumped slightly to corral it and keep the match tied. Preble (18-6-3) had an even closer call early in the match when Andrew Stone drilled the crossbar after a corner kick in the fifth minute.

Then, in the 17th minute, Lysak scored his 19th goal of the year when his low shot skipped along the wet grass and went right through the legs of Tauschek to put the Red Hawks up 1-0.

“We’ll take it,” Wagner said. “It might not have been the prettiest one, but, hey, it’s a goal. A goal’s a goal, and that got us going.”

Cormier scored unassisted in the 29th minute to tie it, but Aschenbrenner’s goal just nine minutes later stood up as the winner.

“We’ve been on a roll, and we’re going to keep going with it,” Wagner said.

MILTON 2, PREBLE 1

Green Bay Preble 1 0--1

Milton 2 0—2

First Half

M—Adam Lysak (unassisted), 16:39. GBP—Matt Cormier (unassisted), 28:11. M—Cole Aschenbrenner (Lysak), 37:12.

Saves--Eric Tauschek (GBP) 3, Nick Hallett (M) 4.