RICHLAND CENTER — It all came down to Saturday’s makeup game at Richland Center.
     Needing a victory in the final regular season match of the year to earn a share of the SWC title, the revamped Platteville/Lancaster offense came through in a big way.
     Spanish foreign exchange students Aurelio Fernandez (hat trick) and Jesus Fontan (two goals) combined to score five goals as the Hillmen broke out for a season-high eight goals.
     Lancaster senior Owen Hauth also scored a pair of goals in the victory, and Ryan Roling scored in the rout.
     “The guys have been on a roll recently, and despite the pressure they were very relaxed and played with a lot of confidence,” said Hillmen head coach Brandon Pink.
     Fernandez scored twice in the first 20 minutes as Platteville/Lancaster built a 4–1 halftime lead. He assisted on a Hauth goal early in the second half to make it 5–1 and later completed the hat trick with his third goal of the match.
     Fernandez joined the team three weeks ago after transferring from the Chicago area, where his student exchange experience was not up to his expectations.
     “His presence has been a big reason for our current good form,” said Pink. “Aurelio he provides a balance to Jesus, who has been dynamite for us up front all season long. Our offense is going to very tough to stop for teams in the post season.”
     Last Tuesday the Hillmen (10–10–1) scored five second half goals in a 5–0 shutout of visiting Prairie du Chien.
     Platteville/Lancaster opened the WIAA Division 3 playoffs (this year there are four divisions for boys’ soccer) Tuesday with a road game fourth-seeded Dodgeville/Mineral Point in a battle of SWC co-champs.
     The winner will advance to Thursday’s regional final and will mostly likely face top-seeded Mount Horeb. The Vikings hammered Platteville/Lancaster 9–0 on Sept. 21

Platteville/Lancaster 8, Richland Center 3
(from Saturday, Oct. 12 @ Rich. Center)
Platteville/Lancaster        4    4        —    8
Richland Center               1    2        —    3
First half
P/L: Aurelio Fernandez (Ying Xiong), Jesus Fontan (Ryan Pink), Fernandez (Peshoua Xiong), Owen Hauth (Everett Ellingson).
RC: Kyle Breininger (Zander Rothering).
Second half
P/L: Hauth (Fernandez), Fernandez (Ellingson), Ryan Roling (Devon Briggs), Fontan (Pink).
RC: Rothering, Rothering.
Saves: P/L: Devon Briggs 7; RC: Jake Wagner 14. Shots: P/L 22, RC 10.

Platteville/Lancaster 5,
Prairie du Chien 0
(from Tuesday, Oct. 8 @ Platteville)
Prairie du Chien               0    0        —    0
Platteville/Lancaster        0    5        —    5
Goals and stats not available