The Mauston boys’ soccer team was at it again this week, fighting to keep their winning streak alive. 

Tuesday they were in action at Adams, a newer team to the Wisconsin Soccer Circuit. After 10-minutes of play, the Eagles were able to get a goal from Adam Ryan with an assist from Captain Brandon Nielsen, and the scoring did not stop there. Jake Shaller hit the net next, with a lovely unassisted effort from about 20-yards out. Ryan tallied again unassisted, before Josh McCaffrey and Alex Wieland connected beautifully for a goal. The half finished with Ryan picking up another unassisted goal, completing his hat trick for the evening. Adams hit a consolation goal off of a penalty given away early in the second half, but it would be their only shot on net the rest of the night. Mauston would add two more goals with the first coming from Captain Matt Walsh, his first of the season, with an assist from McCaffrey, and the last goal was added by sophomore Tanner Hill, with an assist from Dominic Graf. In the end, Mauston went on to win with a final score of 7 to 1. 

Building on this momentum and winning a small bet with their coach, the Golden Eagles went into Thursday’s match against West Salem with high hopes, but the match did not start well for Mauston. They conceded two goals to West Salem in the first 20-minutes to end the half down 2-nil.  However, the Eagles were not finished yet. Coming out with renewed vigor after halftime, Ryan took the show by slotting the first MHS goal, dribbling through half of West Salem’s back line before beating the keeper down low, showing his skill and power on the ball. Ryan struck again less than 10-minutes later, taking Shane Popp’s pass and beating the defender to finish into the net. The last goal came quickly, with Ryan controlling a Shaller cross and striking home to take the lead. The Eagles defended valiantly, but to no avail as West Salem clawed their way back into the match by scoring an equalizer with about 6-minutes remaining in regular time. For the third time this season, the Eagles left fans on the edge of their seats until the last moment, playing nearly two full OT periods before McCaffrey’s brilliant header flick from Nielsen went into the back of the net to snatch another victory, 4 to 3. 

Coach Bjelland said after the victory, “The fellas have played so well the last few weeks, they deserve everything that is coming to them. To show-up and train hard, prepare themselves for matches, and most importantly have the right attitude to make things happen on the pitch; that is why we have won 6 matches in a row. This is our third extra-time match this season, and our third extra-time win. I think that says it all about the heart and quality of these kids on the pitch. I’m incredibly proud that the boys could come from behind yet again to grab that W. We did not get the seed we wanted in the postseason, partly our weaker schedule was to blame, but they put it on display tonight beating West Salem, the team seeded ahead of us. We have an ability to surprise teams, and we have to continue to do that until the last whistle of the season.” 

The Eagles are next in action Friday, October 7th, at the Lodi Quad taking on Stoughton to begin, and Tuesday, October 13th they will compete in their first regional match of the season against McFarland.