PLATTEVILLE — The Platteville/Lancaster boys soccer team outscored its opponents 21–4 in three matches last week, picking up a pair of victories and one draw.
Coach Brandon Pink’s Hillmen opened the week with a dominating 11–1 Southwest Wisconsin Conference victory over visiting River Valley in the first match played on Platteville’s newly renovated soccer field.
Junior Kaydan Addie, who set the program record with six goals in a win over River Valley a year ago, again had his way with the Blackhawks.
Addie scored twice in the first four minutes and finished the match with five goals and two assist.
Seniors Kengkue Xiong and William Houghton each added a pair of goals, and freshman Tate Zuehlke scored his first two varsity goals. Lancsater senior midfielder Aaron Murphy also scored and had an assists in the rout.
Senior goal keeper Michael Fields made four saves and had an assist in the win.
The Platteville/Lancaster offense was again in peak form Thursday evening in an 8–1 non-conference victory over visiting Monroe.
Senior forward Nick Kroll finally broke the ice with a goal in the 24th minute that was set up by Xiong. Kroll scored again on a pass from sophomore Evan Mewhirter seven minutes later and the rout was on Kroll completed his second hat trick of the season with a goal in the 54th minute than made it 5–0.
Addie scored goals in the 32nd and 78th minutes and assisted on goals my Sam Schaffer and Houghton late in the second half. Zuehlke also scored in the victory, and Murphy passed out two assists.
Platteville/Lancaster outshot the Cheesemakers 33–8 on Thursday.
“There are a lot of reasons I’m excited about us offensively this year,” said coach Pink. “The most obvious is our individual talent. Kaydan Addie is the best example of that, obviously, but we have an array of guys around him who are really dangerous attackers as well. Nick Kroll is super tricky and a nightmare for defenders to track. Our midfield trio of Kengkue Xiong, Aaron Murphy, and Evan Mewhirter are threats in their own right, but give us the midfield control that is a platform for our forwards. Our back line, lead by Nate Bush and Ryder Arians (defenders) and Michael Fields (goalie), are all comfortable with the ball at their feet, which allows us to build plays from the back. Our offense is a true team effort.”
Saturday morning Fields was called upon to make 10 saves in a 2–2 draw with Evansville, Platteville/Lancaster’s biggest test of the season to date.
Xiong scored a pair of first half goals, on assists by Addie and Murphy, to give the Hillmen a 2–1 halftime edge, but the Blue Devils tied the match on a Garret Townsend goal at the in the 77th minute.
“I’ve been so pleased with our results to start the year,” added Pink. “One of our goals this season was to display a hunger and a ‘killer instinct’ at all times, and our score lines have been pretty incredible across our four games. In the past, we might have been the better team by some distance, but the final scoreline wouldn’t have reflected that. We want to make the score line reflect that this season. They guys have done a really nice job of putting in focused, professional performances.
“We’ve also been hungry to improve. The guys are eager to dig into their stats and reflect on their performances to find areas for improvement. There have been some areas we need to improve, definitely. But this is a hungry, hungry team that is willing to put in the work necessary to go far.”
Platteville/Lancaster (3–0–1, 1–0 SWC) traveled to Richland Center for an SWC match Tuesday and will now travel to Prairie du Chien Thursday. The Hillmen will also play in the Port Washington Invitational Friday and Saturday before traveling to Dodgeville/Mineral Point Tuesday for a fifth straight road match.
Platteville/Lancaster 11, River Valley 1
(from Tuesday, Sept. 3 @ Platteville)
River Valley 0 1 — 1
Platteville/Lancaster 6 5 — 11
First half — P/L: Kaydan Addie (Aaron Murphy) 0:25, Addie 4:05, William Houghton (Addie) 14:15, Tate Zuehlke 33:01, Houghton 36:44.
Second half — P/L: Addie (Andrew Berry) 51:18, Kengkue Xiong 52:09, Murphy (Addie) 75:16, Addie (Jackson Uppena) 75:16, Xiong 85:39, Zeuhlke (Michael Fields) 89:58; RV: Luke Snow (Josh Kerr) 57:58.
Saves — P/L: Michael Fields 4, RV: Bradly Richardson 9. Shots (shots on Goal) — P/L: 34 (20). RV: 5 (5). Corner kicks — P/L: 2, RV: 0.
Platteville/Lancaster 8, Monroe 1
(from Thursday, Sept. 5 @ Platteville)
Monroe 0 1 — 1
Platteville/Lancaster 4 4 — 8
First half — P/L: Nick Kroll (Kengkue Xiong) 23:32, Kroll (Evan Mewhirter) 30:14, Addie 31:14, Tate Zuehlke (Aaron Murphy) 36:41.
Second half — P/L: Kroll (Murphy) 53:46, Addie 77:15, Sam Schaffer (Addie) 82:56, Houghton (Addie) 84:29; M: Luis Torres (John Reinders) 53:16.
Saves — P/L: Michael Fields 5, M: Julio Vasquez 12. Shots (shots on Goal) — P/L: 33 (20), M: 8 (6). Corner kicks — P/L: 4, M: 1.
Platteville/Lancaster 2, Evansville 2
(from Saturday, Sept. 7 @ Platteville)
Evansville 1 1 — 2
Platteville/Lancaster 2 0 — 2
First half — P/L: Kengkue Xiong (Kaydan Addie) 15:54, Kengkue Xiong (Aaron Murphy) 41:00; E: Jackson Stencel 21:54.
Second half — E: Garret Townsend (Stencel), 76:41.
Saves — P/L: Michael Fields 10; E: Mason Huff 3, Charlie Bisch 6. Shots (shots on Goal) — P/L: 21 (11), E: 14 (12). Corner kicks — P/L: 4, E: 2.
