Girls soccer: East loses, wins shootout at Gusho Tournament

Brookfield East lost, 3-0, to Neenah on Friday and then bounced back and beat Middleton on penalty kicks on Saturday in the Gusho Memorial Tournament at East.

In the Neenah game, the Rockets (12-1-5) scored two goals in the first half and one with three minutes left to play. East dominated play for the entire second half, as coach Matt Schroeder went with a different alignment, going with a 3-4-3 and putting senior defender Sarah Zander, who did a terrific job, in the midfield in the second half.

Sophomore Kirsty Lein and junior Kristy Caliendo provided a much needed spark after the two quick goals by Neenah, putting pressure on the Neenah defense for latter portions of the first half.

"Neenah scored early and we let down," Schroeder said. "Definitely not a quality that we are proud of and we realize that a trait like that will get us nowhere come June. Shannon Cashin did well out wide, and Christy Caliendo and Kirsty Lein gave us a great spark."

The Middleton game was played in a light rain, as the Spartans scored in the first seven minutes when junior midfielder Aly Loepfe took a great pass from sophomore midfielder Jackie Wandt and put it into the back of the net. Middleton countered four minutes later to tie the score at 1-1.

Since it was a tournament game, each team went to penalty kicks. East goalkeeper Erin Wachowiak made two great saves and a third shot went wide right for the Cardinals (8-6-3). East's Lauren Knudsen, Taylor Swittel and Zander made their penalty shots to take the shootout 3-0.

"Middleton was a good game for us," Schroeder said. "It was nice to get an early lead. I was pleased with Jackie Wandt's balls off set pieces. She put us in a position to finish. The girls did well on their PKs, and Erin made a nice save on one."

In Friday's other games, Middleton had lost to Muskego, 3-2, in the first round, Madison Memorial beat De Pere, 3-1, and Homestead beat Kettle Moraine, 1-0.

On Saturday, Homestead beat Madison Memorial in a shootout, 2-1, Neenah beat Muskego, 4-2, and De Pere beat Kettle Moraine, 2-0.