By Daniel Schoettler
Sports Correspondent
It has been a noteworthy season for the Burlington Demons boys soccer team in 2017 as the team has notched another important win.
On Sept. 14 at home against Waterford, the Demons won their first conference game in five years.
“It’s a very deserved reward for this year’s senior class, they have worked very hard for four years and have dealt with a lot of heartbreak,” head coach Joel Molitor said. “I think they internalized last year’s problems and decided that this year was going to be different, and their mindset has been much more focused, less prone to high or low emotional swings.”
On Tuesday, the Demons were shut out in a conference game against Elkhorn 5-0. Derek Koenen was the standout in the loss with four saves.
“We finished our chances in the box,” Molitor said. “We struggled to generate much offense against Elkhorn, so we took a more proactive approach to Thursday and tried to push them higher up the field for most of the game.”
In Thursday’s 4-1 win against Waterford, Leo Escorza got the scoring going in the 31st minute with a goal to make it 1-0. Senior Andrew Zeman made it 2-0 in the second half on a Jarred Kohout assist in the 66th minute.
After a goal by Waterford’s Jacob Woulfe in the 72nd minute, senior Jack Brunner responded with a goal in the 87th minute, a strong lob ball that flew over the goalie’s head.
About 30 seconds later, Kohout added on the finishing touch in the win with a goal to make it 4-1.
“It certainly makes it tough for the other teams to defend against us,” Molitor said when being asked about his balanced attack in Thursday’s win. “In the past, we’ve had one or two players with the majority of our goals, but with so many players stepping up, man-marking or focusing the defense is much harder to do.”
Against Waterford, Marco Hernandez led the way in assists with two, while Zeman and Kohout both had one apiece. Koenen added four more saves, ending the week with nine for the Demons.
“Derek’s been a very important player for us, he came in and won the starting keeper position very early in the season, and has continued to improve,” Molitor said. “He and Joey are both excellent keepers, they push each other every day in practice.”
The Demons play Westosha Central on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. kick.
“Westosha will also be a good matchup for us,” they have a lot of speed at the top of their formation, and they are always very committed on defense,” Molitor said. “We will need to be at our best to beat either of them.”
Union Grove 7, Burlington 1
On Tuesday in Burlington, the Demons fell behind 5-1 en route to a Southern Lakes Conference loss.
Union Grove is ranked No. 10 in the state in Division 2.
Burlington’s lone goal came in the 42nd minute, a Leo Escorza tally from Jarred Kohout.
Koenen finished with six saves.
The Demons had eight shots on the night.
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