For many high school kids, summer is a time for lazy days and kicking back. That is not the case for River Falls forward Olivia Doerre. Her schedule is as full as a Pierce County rain gauge this weekend.

Doerre, who recently committed to UW-Milwaukee for volleyball, is the libero on her Kokoro Club volleyball team. That team is headed to the AAU National Tournament in Orlando this weekend. Doerre also moonlights on the River Falls Wildcat soccer team that just qualified for their second straight trip to the WIAA State Soccer Tournament this past weekend.

As the end of the match horn sounded on Saturday in Arcadia, the players sprinted toward their goal to celebrate the 3-0 victory over Onalaska in the section finals. Doerre's smile and the spark in her eyes were as bright as Wildcat goalkeeper Addie Johnson’s neon green jersey.  

"Welp, I guess I'm going to Milwaukee," said Doerre to teammate Kaelin Jalowitz as they lined up to receive their section champion medals at midfield.

"I want to win a state championship," said Doerre. "We have just as good of a chance as anyone. I'm a competitive player and I never want to lose. I want to be the one that makes sure we don't lose."

Not only have the Wildcats not lost in the playoffs, Doerre has been dominating. In four playoff games, Doerre has scored 10 goals and dished out three assists, helping account for 13 of the Wildcats’ 16 playoff goals.

"I don't think I've seen anything like this and we've had some really good players come through here," said Head Coach Charles Conley. "She's (Doerre) a gamer and she has a knack for finding the back of the net. She's always in the right place at the right time and she's a fighter. She never gives up until she beats that ball."

Doerre scored three goals in the 8-0 region semi-final blowout win over Altoona. In the region finals, Marshfield "parked the bus" according to Conley, with 10 players on their defensive end of the field. Doerre found the back of the net once in a 2-0 Wildcat win.

The Wildcats split with conference foe New Richmond during the season, including a 4-1 win on May 8 and a 2-0 loss on May 22. The Wildcats were commanding in the rubber match with a 3-0 victory. Doerre scored all three goals: One in the first half and two in the second.

"The way I'm feeling right now, any chance I get I'm going to rip it," said Doerre after the New Richmond win on Thursday about her first half goal. "My teammates give me really good balls. That first half goal was really all Elliott (Bell). I just had to tap it in."

It was more than just a tap. Doerre drove it home with authority after streaking past the Tiger defense. Bell did have a picturesque pass that helped put the Wildcats ahead 1-0 and New Richmond could no longer "park the bus." Doerre's first half drill shot caused the proverbial bus to move in the second half. With the Tigers roaming and in more of an attack mode, it made for easier passing for the Wildcats on the offensive end.

"We moved the ball really well against New Richmond," said Conley. "The fact she's (Doerre) been willing to open it up and rip some shots has obviously been beneficial for us, but our defense did a great job of keeping them out of the box."

"We're defending as a team and defending together," said senior middle backer Kealin Jalowitz. "And it's not just our defense; our offense is defending on top and it puts a lot less pressure on us."

"New Richmond is one of our biggest rivals and it was a very emotional game," said senior middle backer Hannah Cook on Thursday. "The beginning of the season was a little rough, but we've clicked into it. The confidence has been building and building."

"We are clicking so well right now," said senior midfielder Dylan Paulson. "And we've grown a lot as a team. We've become one and we all push each other, which I really love."

The Wildcat defense had not allowed a goal in the first three playoff games, and their defense was locked up tighter than a guitar string on Saturday in Arcadia, the neutral site for the section finals this past Saturday.

"From the get-go, you could tell the girls were ready to play," said Conley. "We jumped all over them right from the kick-off."

The Wildcats won the time of possession 62% to 38%. They outshot the Hilltoppers 17 to one. Onalaska had one corner kick the entire game. The Wildcats had nine. The corner kicks were the difference in the game, as two of River Falls' three goals came via corner kicks off the left foot of senior Hannah Cook.

"We ran 'The Liv,'” said Cook referring to one of their corner kick plays. "It's dedicated to Liv Nelson from a couple years ago and now we have Liv Doerre and she kind of took over."

"We have two people at the back post," said Doerre describing the play. "Two people on the front post and one on the keeper. I just swing to the middle and get a head on it."

Wildcat junior Nathalie Rotsaert was on the goalkeeper during a first-half corner kick with the Wildcats ahead 1-0. As Cook's left-footed corner kick bender came screaming in like a left-handed hooked drive off the Kilkarney Hills' number 10 tee box into the driving range, Rotsaert and Onalaska's Sofiya Cromheecke collided in mid-air jumping for the ball. Cromheecke went sailing into the back of the net area. Rotsaert headed the pass to Doerre in a scrum of white and navy shirts. Doerre's left foot swatted the ball into the open net.

"This time of year, everybody's good," said Conley. "So you have to have those dirty grind it out kind of goals. We spent a ton of time on set pieces in practice and corner kicks, especially, but having Hannah on that side and bending it the way she does it, it's tough to clear it."

The final Wildcat goal in the second half was picture perfect passing, once again, from Elliott Bell on a center pass to Doerre, who was warding off a Hilltopper defender and running to the goal like the hair bun on her head was on fire.

"They (teammates) keep finding my foot and I just shoot," said Doerre. "Hopefully it goes in."

The ball did go in and the Wildcats prevailed as section champions with the 3-0 win. It is the fourth time River Falls girls soccer has qualified for the state tournament. The first trip was in 2011. Conley's first year at the helm was in 2012. He has guided the Wildcats to three state tournament trips, including 2018, 2024, and this season.

Senior Hannah Cook said the Wildcats are excited, pumped, and as motivated as they’ve ever been.   

"My teammates are the motivation," said Cook. "I'm playing to be with them one more week. That's the motivation, to be able to practice one more week with them. My best friends are on this team and I don't want it to end."

The fourth-seeded Wildcats will play number-one-seed Pewaukee at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Southeast Sales Powersports Stadium at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee. The Pirates (12-8) are currently ranked fifth in the latest Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association poll. River Falls comes in with a 13-6-2 record and ranked seventh in the same poll. This is the first-ever soccer state tournament appearance for Pewaukee.

Third-ranked and two-seed Brookfield Central (12-6) will take on 10th-ranked and three-seed Sauk Prairie (14-3-3) in the other Division 2 state semi-final game at 7 p.m. Friday.

The WIAA Division 2 state finals will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday. The games will be live-streamed on the NFHS network for a fee.