Panthers upset Monona Grove to advance to regional championship
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Wilmot Union High School’s boys soccer squad just can’t solve Milton.
For the third straight year, the Panthers’ season ended at Milton, where visiting Wilmot got shut down 6-0 in the WIAA Division 2 regional title game Oct. 22.
According to senior midfielder Jonathan Mendez, the Panthers could not keep up with the Red Hawks’ aggressive attack employed early in the game.
“Every play, they had three guys attacking at all times,” said Mendez. “Milton is a good team, they have great players.”
Panthers’ coach Nick Maginn agreed, adding the Panthers were overmatched.
“No doubt about it, they were the better team tonight,” Maginn said.
Despite the loss to No. 5 seed Milton, the Panthers can carry with them the stunning upset at No. 4 Monona Grove Oct. 20, when they defeated the host 3-2.
The No. 13 seed Wilmot, which entered the contest 5-11-3, faced a tough Monona Grove team that finished second in the Badger South Conference and held an overall 8-5-2 record.
Maginn said the Panthers entered the regional opener with nothing to lose as the lower-seeded team, which came into their favor.
“They just wanted to play with no regret,” Maginn said.
After a 2-2 deadlock in the first half, where the Panthers received goals from Anthony Poco and Ryan Buchta, they clamped down on defense in the second half to give Poco an opportunity to score the decisive goal.
Picking up assists were Mendez and senior Tim Freeman.
Maginn credited the seniors, along with Poco, for continuously reiterating the soccer philosophy for the victory at Monona Grove.
“The seniors this year just didn’t want to give up, kept pushing the underclassmen and we finally got it,” Maginn said.
While the Panthers upset the Talons, Mendez believes the team’s pivotal game came against Kenosha Tremper to cap off the season.
“The game against Kenosha Tremper definitely pushed us up, and raised that intensity around the field and we all had each other’s back,” said Mendez.
While Mendez and the rest of the seniors capped off their careers, Poco has one more year left, and knows the team has more to prove next season.
“We have come a long way and we are starting to shock everybody, being the underdogs, but it just doesn’t go our way all the time,” Poco said.
Milton, a No. 5 seed after a 9-6-1 season, defeated Westosha Central 3-1 in the first round.