Whitefish Bay Girls Fall to Grafton in WIAA Soccer

It just wasn’t meant to be.

That was the feeling for the Whitefish Bay girls soccer team after a hard-luck, 2-0 loss to conference rival Grafton in the WIAA state quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Uihlein Soccer Park.

“It’s disappointing,” Whitefish Bay coach Robert Williams said. “You put so much effort into getting here and then it’s over so quickly. We just couldn’t find the back of the net. I thought if we were able to get one we’d be OK, but credit to (Grafton coach) Donnie (Arnold). They were a good team, they kept us out of the back of the net and they did their job.”

Despite the result, the Blue Dukes held a majority of the possession and chances throughout the game.

Just before half, it looked like the game was finally going to get its first goal.

Bay pounded on the door three times in two minutes, once on a dipping shot by sophomore Ava Stock from just inside the area, and then again 30 seconds later as Stock sent a cross in from the left; senior Michaela Cohen just had the ball scooped away by Grafton keeper Alissa Viste at the last second.

“We’ve just been scrambling, trying to find a combination (up front) and (Stock) really provided a spark today,” Williams said. “She did a good job of getting around her defenders, we just couldn’t put the final dot on the ‘i’ and put the ball in the back of the net.”

In the second half, the Dukes again continued to apply the pressure, as Stock created the most dangerous chance on a left-footed, hooking shot toward the far post that was again just nabbed by Viste at the last second.

Grafton finally broke the game open midway through the second half.

Junior forward Hannah Eichler drew a foul for the Black Hawks just outside the box at the 62-minute mark. Classmate Emma Fatla took the following free kick and just got it past Bay keeper Sarah Platzer as it bounced off her fingers and trickled into the back of the net.

The Black Hawks struck again just over six minutes later as junior Tess Safstrom finished on a header from point-blank range off a cross from sophomore Alyssa Arnold to make it 2-0.

“We were outplayed; there was no question,” Arnold said. “We were outhustled, 50-50 balls in the air … they put a beating on us. But to our credit, when the opportunities come in front of us we find a way that we can get on the end of them and find a way to create chances for ourselves.

“(Bay) had some opportunities. Viste made some nice saves and our defense played pretty well, but if they had knocked an early one in, this game could’ve been 6-0.”

The loss closes out a special season for the Dukes, who finished 14-9-2 despite dealing with numerous key injuries and a very challenging schedule.