MILWAUKEE — The season keeps rolling for the Oostburg Flying Dutchmen boys soccer team, which prevailed in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinal on Nov. 6 2-1 over Madison Country Day co-op.
It was the fourth-ever trip to state for the Flying Dutchmen, which were the top-overall seed in D4.
Oostburg outshot Madison Country Day 9-3 overall and used a 7-0 shot advantage in the first half to take control.
The match began with the Flying Dutchmen having four corner kicks in the opening minutes as they were extremely aggressive and contained the Prairie Hawks attack.
Parker Meerdink got the scoring going for Oostburg, having a wide-open shot off a pass from teammate Lucas LeMahieu in the eighth minute.
It was an excellent bit of unselfishness by LeMahieu, who could have taken the shot himself but instead dinked it to Meerdink who had the net completely open.
Plays like that are a perfect example of why the Flying Dutchmen have been almost unbeatable on the season, putting the team above personal glory.
Cade Dirkse struck one home in the 32nd minute to double the Oostburg advantage, assisted by Carson Miller.
Dirkse was not going to be stopped when he made his run, striking the ball past the keeper from the edge of the net.
The Prairie Hawks got back in the match in the 46th minute on a goal on a free kick by Isaias Hernandez-Castrova.
It was a bit of a flukey goal as Hernandez-Castrova appeared to be trying to set up a teammate for a header only for the ball to float into the net.
Madison Country Day kept attacking but only mustered three shots in the half as the Flying Dutchmen defense remained stout.
Oostburg now plays in the state championship for the first time since 2021 on Nov. 8.
Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Oostburg boys soccer wins WIAA Division 4 state semifinal over Madison Country Day Co-op
Reporting by Tom Dombeck, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Sheboygan Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
