RIVER FALLS — River Falls girls soccer was looking to make a statement coming out of the 2024 season with a State Tournament appearance. Thus far the Wildcats are well on their way to reaching the top, holding onto a record of three wins, one loss and two draws on the year.

Most recently, River Falls took to the pitch to take on Wausau West at home Friday night, coming away with a 3-0 win.

“We saw a lot of growth. We were humbled a little bit last week with our result at D.C. Everest, and I think a lot of factors came into play. Bottom line, we just came out flat, and it’s going to happen over a long season,” Head Coach Charles Conley said. “Four of the previous six goals we gave up were on transition goals, so we worked on some defensive transition stuff, and I thought our defense played phenomenal.”

The 4-0 loss to D.C. Everest a week prior was a tough one to swallow considering it was the team’s first loss, but it served them well, shining a light on many areas to improve. They did not watch the film from the matchup, considered it a fluke and moved on.

Conley said goalkeeper Addie Johnson made one difficult save and was kept clean by her fellow defenders for the remainder of the match.

Senior captains Kaelin Jalowitz and Hanna Cook were given a tall task of replacing all-star defenders Maggie Johnson and Emily Van Ausdal who left a gaping hole in the lineup after graduating a year ago. The two were wide backs last year, and Conley threw them into a new role.
“They’ve just been willing to roll with the punches,” Conley said. “We’ve just asked them to try some things and work on some things, and they’ve been completely open to it… With the way they’ve kept our keeper clean, the way they’ve been starting to really organize the back and take charge has been fun to watch.”

Conley has noticed the two have become more and more confident stepping up into plays when the opportunity presents itself. He expects continued growth as the playoffs draw closer.

“It’s a different person every game stepping up for us,” Conley said.

All three of River Falls’ goals Friday had their own unique factor to make them special. The first came from Olivia Doerre, taking a corner kick off the thigh and striking it out of the air into the net. In the second half, Dylan Paulson booted one from about 30 yards out beautifully off the crossbar and in. Just minutes later, Hazel Schmidt took a pass from Elliott Bell and was one-on-one with the keeper, sliding a roller to the corner of the net.

“They were all sweet goals,” Conley said. “We’ve really been working with Elliott on, it comes from heart and competitiveness, but trying to release a little sooner, so when she found Hazel on that play, fantastic setup.”

Prior to the game, the team watched the greatest goals of the women’s World Cup, with many of the goals coming from long range. Conley felt the flashbacks in real time watching the Paulson goal.

With about two-thirds of the regular season to play, the Wildcats are still pushing for perfection.

“We’re pretty good with our foundation play, so I want to see us tactically get a little bit faster,” Conley said. “And then continue to grow as a team. The little things like communication, and moving off the ball and supporting each other. I think tonight was the most fun I’ve had this year, watching them on the bench celebrate the goals and how excited they got for each other.”