Offensive Woes Catch Up to Spartans in WIAA Soccer Defeat

Brookfield East’s season came to close Thursday night, as the Spartans suffered a tough 1-0 loss at the hands of conference rivals Sussex Hamilton in a WIAA girls soccer regional matchup.

Jen Jobke scored in the ninth minute for Hamilton, and the Chargers made the goal stand.

Coach Matt Schroeder said his team played with “passion, heart and fight,” but was defeated due to its inability to finish scoring opportunities.

Finding goals has been problem for East’s squad all season, he said. Despite possessing the ball for long stretches during the first half and applying pressure to Hamilton’s defense, the Spartans created few truly threatening attacks. This year, the Spartans scored only 17 goals and nine of those came in one game. The team was shut out 11 times.

Schroeder said his team did a good job working the flanks and crossing balls into the box, but said his offensive players lacked confidence in one-on-one situations against the Chargers’ backline.

“We needed to be better one-on-one with the amount of space they were giving us,” he said.

Although the loss was tough to take, Schroeder said his young team will learn from the experience and come back stronger next season. East’s roster features nine sophomores and one freshman but only four juniors and five seniors.

Schroeder said junior forward Taylor Swittel and junior midfielder Aly Loepfe are poised to take leadership positions next year.