Three games: three tough results.

The Waunakee boys’ soccer team had a difficult schedule this past week; between Middleton, Elkhorn and Sun Prairie, Waunakee’s opponents have outscored the competition by a combined 44-21 margin. First up was a home contest on Tuesday against the fourth-ranked team in Division 1: Middleton.

Middleton 4,

Waunakee 3

After an early goal from Middleton opened up the scoring less than five minutes after play began, the Warriors were forced to play from behind for the majority of the game.

Cole Kettner scored the equalizer on a penalty kick at the 21-minute mark, giving Waunakee a chance to take momentum. The Warriors were unable to seize control of the game, however; Middleton regained the lead with another goal less than nine minutes later.

Up 2-1, the Cardinals did a good job keeping everything in front of them until a late flurry of scoring.

With just over 15 minutes left to play, Middleton netted its third score of the game to take a two-goal lead. Waunakee responded quickly, getting a goal by Casey Fischer from Nathan Dresen at the 79-minute mark to claw back within a goal.

The action ramped up as the clock crept closer and closer to 90 minutes; Middleton scored again at the 86-minute mark, followed three minutes later by a Dresen goal from Kettner to bring it back to a one-score game.

With barely a minute left on the clock, the Warriors didn’t have enough time to score the tying goal and fell 4-3. In goal, Joey Fuhremann made four saves on the night.

Just two days later, Waunakee traveled to Elkhorn.

Elkhorn 4,

Waunakee 0

In a mostly forgettable performance, the Warriors were unable to muster much offense against the host Elks. Elkhorn steadily built a lead, and eventually found themselves up by four goals.

Waunakee never truly threatened the goal, and couldn’t find a way to cut the deficit, ultimately falling 4-0.

The Warriors hoped to redeem themselves after the weekend, making the short trip to Sun Prairie on Monday.

Waunakee 0,

Sun Prairie 0

Against the Cardinals, it was clear that Waunakee’s offense was more focused than they had been four days prior. In the game’s first 20 minutes, the teams spent the majority of the time on Sun Prairie’s end of the field, and Waunakee racked up a handful of shots.

Despite their shot and possession advantage, the Warriors came up empty handed time after time. Each attack got close, but was ultimately thwarted by Sun Prairie’s goalie.

As the half wore on, the Cardinals occasionally found breaks in Waunakee’s defense and managed to push onto the Warrior goal, but they too had no luck in finding the back of the net. With five minutes to go before halftime, the Warriors had their best chance at a score; Kettner found himself in front of the goal with a clean look, but his shot ricocheted off the post, and a second-chance opportunity from the Warriors was stopped once again by the Sun Prairie keeper.

Once in the second half, shots proved tougher to come by. Only when time started really ticking down did both teams start to make major pushes offensively.

Fuhremann made a pair of late saves in the final 12 minutes of the game to keep Sun Prairie off the scoreboard, while Waunakee’s offense made a handful of late runs at the Cardinal goal. All came up empty, though, and when the final whistle blew, the teams had to settle for the scoreless tie. In goal, Fuhremann saved all three shots sent his way to preserve the shutout.

“Our guys have got to learn how to finish…” said Kettner, “try to find the corners as opposed to peppering it on the net.”

Despite posting an 0-2-1 record on the week, the Warriors showed promise against some of the best competition in the area.

“For us to go toe-to-toe with [Sun Prairie], we went toe-to-toe with Middleton… We’re in a good position,” added Kettner. “We just need to start finishing.”

Waunakee (2-3-1) played their Badger North opener on Tuesday at Reedsburg, the results of which were not available for this week’s edition. The Warriors return home on Thursday night against Oregon. Start time at Warrior Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.