WIAA state soccer: Kenosha St. Joseph scores a shutout to earn spot in Division 4 title game

Forget its youth, Kenosha St. Joseph’s time might just be now.

The Lancers scored a 3-0 victory over Eau Claire Regis/Chippewa Falls McDonell in a WIAA Division 4 semifinal at Uihlein Soccer Park on Friday to advance to the state final at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Lancers (16-5-1) didn’t allow a shot in the first half and allowed just three shots overall. St. Joseph edged Regis/McDonell in shots, 12-11, but had eight shots on goal and had seven corner kicks compared to two for the Ramblers.

Next up for St. Joseph is a championship-game showdown against Cedar Grove-Belgium, the top seed in the tournament and the fourth-ranked team in the final regular-season Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association state poll.

Not bad for a team that started the year 2-3-1.

BOX SCORE:Kenosha St. Joseph 3, Eau Claire Regis/Chippewa Falls McDonell 0

WIAA STATE SOCCER: Scoreboard, box scores, schedule

“You don’t realize, we’ve grown so much throughout the season,” sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Alia said. “We’ve gotten so much better with each other, it’s crazy.”

The core of the Lancers squad is a sophomore class that has played together since age 4 or 5. A handful of them were front and center in the team’s success Friday.

Alia finished with one goal and one assist for the Lancers. She forms a 1-2 scoring punch with sophomore Katherine Hamm, and the two worked their magic for the match’s first goal. Alia scored the second goal unassisted in the second half. The team’s other score came from sophomore Arianna Bosco on an assist from junior Margaret Del Fava.

“I said it (before the game). One good shot, one good goal, that’s going to win the game and all three shots were just amazing shots…,” St. Joseph coach Edgar Espinosa said. “It’s great. We have a strong team and we’re proving it with these results.”

The Lancers scored the only goal they’d need in the 12th minute on a play created by their two best playmakers. Alia and Hamm played give-and-go with the ball. Alia fed her teammate just as she entered the box, and Hamm, the team’s leading scorer, took it from there for her 26th goal of the season.

The defender got caught in no-man’s land.

“The (defender) was just going back and forth and we knew we have each other’s back,” Alia said of her chemistry with Hamm. “The last one I played to her I didn’t know if she was going to shoot. I screamed at her, in a loving way, and she shot it. I knew it was going to happen.”

That was the highlight of a half that produced few chances for either side. St. Joseph had two shots on goal, both from Hamm, and three overall. Regis/McDonell had three shots, none of which were on goal.

The Lancers added an insurance goal in the 48th minute when Alia fired a shot from just outside the box that hit the top of the crossbar and went into the goal.

Bosco and Del Fava got into the act in the 68th minute, a play that all but sealed the Lancers' first WIAA state finals appearance.

All that was left was the shutout. St. Joseph entered the state tournament with two in the postseason.

Regis/McDonnel became No. 3, but not before senior Esme Reinders missed a penalty kick in the 78th minute and a shot from junior Teryn Karlstad's shot off the top of the crossbar and away from the goal a couple of minutes later

“St. Joes was just a tough, physical team. You could tell by the fouls, but that’s soccer. I had no problem with that,” Ramblers coach Scott Hoffmann said. “They had speed. They had defensive speed we really haven’t seen as a team. (Ramblers senior forward) Payton Swoboda was regularly able to beat players throughout the season and they did a number on us.

“You’ve got to credit Kenosha. They had some great speed on defense and they had some great speed up front, too. It challenged us.”

Cedar Grove-Belgium 1, Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld 0: Sophomore Amy TenHaken scored the game's only goal off a pass from junior Haven Minick.

BOX SCORE:Cedar Grove-Belgium 1, Wisconsin Heights/Barneveld 0