WHAT IF ... we had spring sports?

Editor’s Note: The WIAA recently canceled spring sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the Star-News, we’d like to give recognition to the athletes and coaches who had their seasons stopped prematurely. So over the next few weeks, we’ll run a series of stories on the teams that didn’t get a chance to perform in 2020.   The spring of 2020 had been circled on their calendars for quite some time. Sauk Prairie’s girls soccer program — one that’s been ascending with the speed of a cheetah — had been anxiously awaiting this season. A deep and gifted senior class — one that helped lead the Eagles to the WIAA Division 2 sectional finals last season — believed they could help vault Sauk Prairie to state for the first time since 1999. Of course, we’ll never know. The WIAA canceled all spring sports on April 21 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The cancellation of spring sports was tough for teams everywhere. But for those like Sauk Prairie’s girls soccer team — which had state championship aspirations — losing the season was an even tougher pill to swallow. “We expected to compete for a conference title with Waunakee and Mount Horeb,” Sauk Prairie coach Drew Kornish said. “We felt that this group was capable of being highly competitive with those perennial conference teams.  “Beyond that, it was no secret that we expected to make a deep run in the postseason that would culminate (at state) in a trip to Uhlein Fields in Milwaukee. We were placed in a new sectional this year, so there was a bit of unknown in regard to what our path would look like to get there, but we felt as though we had all the pieces to make that happen.” It certainly appeared that way. Sauk Prairie went 20-2-2 overall last season, won a WIAA Division 2 regional championship and reached the sectional finals where it lost to Oregon. The Eagles returned a lot of firepower from that team, led by seniors Kelsey Selden and Ella Schad, and sophomore Katelyn Fishnick. All three players were named first-team all-Badger North Conference last season. Fishnick led the state with 45 goals and 103 points, and was third on the team with 13 assists. Fishnick scored two goals or more in a game 13 times, including six goals in a 10-0 win at Milton, and accounted for 15 of the Eagles’ 20 game-winning goals. Selden, a three-year starter, recorded a team-high 18 assists, was second with 44 points and third with 13 goals last year. Selden was a repeat first-team all-conference selection in 2019 after earning second-team honors as a freshman. And Schad anchored a defense that produced 16 shutouts and allowed just 13 goals last season. Sophomore Faith Holler was a second-team all-conference player last season, while senior Macy Breunig was named honorable-mention all-league. Holler had three goals in 2019 and was fourth on the team with nine assists for 15 points. And Breunig totaled four goals, including a game-winner, along with an assist for nine points. In addition, seniors Ainsley Apel, Macy Breunig and Jordan O’Connor would have played huge roles. “As far as a season outlook goes, it’s a bit of a game of ‘what if?’ ” Kornish said. “I know we have loads of talent and a senior class that has a ton of experience and was a great group of leaders.” In 2017, Sauk Prairie went 10-7, then lost in the regional finals. The Eagles went 15-5-2 in 2018 and also lost in the regional finals. Last season, Sauk Prairie improved by leaps and bounds and fell just one win shy of state. That’s why not having a 2020 season will sting for quite some time. “This season was a culminating season for this group of senior players,” Kornish said. “We have the deepest talent pool Sauk Prairie High School soccer may have ever had. So much work has been put into the program by these girls to get to this point.  “The path was laid out very clear for us to get to state. It is always an uphill battle to do so, but we all felt as though we had the group to reach that goal.  “Next season we will be strong again, and will continue to get stronger in both skill and numbers. But this senior group deserves to be recognized for kick-starting this program.”