Blue Dukes Topple Homestead, 3-0

The Blue Dukes recorded another impressive home victory on Monday night, with a 3-0 victory over Homestead. 

Whitefish Bay maintains its perfect record at Lubar Stadium, undefeated and without conceding a goal at home this season.

It was a memorable night for the seniors, who were honored at half-time for their contributions to Blue Dukes athletics over the years. Seniors Jack Middleton, Jack Comiskey, Andy Krugler, Nick Sisson, Max Loebl, TJ Schmid, Matt Borris, Jake Taylor and Joey Davey all received special recognition.  And it was fitting that seniors were involved in all three goals on the night. Matt Borris assisted Jack Menard for an early goal, while Jack Comiskey and Jake Taylor headed in from Menard corners to round out the scoring.

The Blue Dukes came out flying, with all seniors getting the start. It didn’t take long for this enthusiasm to translate into goals, and after just seven minutes it was 1-0 for the home team.  Right back Matt Borris pushed forward down the flank and delivered a wonderful cross.  His driven ball met the onrushing Jack Menard, who timed his run well and left the goalkeeper no chance with a clinical finish. Whitefish Bay continued to assert its dominance over the following minutes, but occasionally allowed too much space for the Homestead attackers and nearly paid the price for it after the visitors fashioned a few solid chances.  But

The momentum of the early goal continued to carry the Blue Dukes in the first half and as time went on, they looked increasingly dangerous. The creative off-the-ball running of Joey Davey caused problems at the back for Homestead, and Davey nearly scored on the half hour mark. Great pressure from Menard led to a giveaway in a dangerous area and his pass played Davey clear through, but the effort was not enough to beat the goalkeeper. The Blue Dukes continued to pressure and won another corner kick late on. The resulting delivery from Menard met a leaping Jack Comiskey, whose header found the far corner for an important goal just before halftime. 

After an extended halftime wherein the seniors received some deserved praise, the Blue Dukes came out looking to finish the game off, and it didn’t take very long for Whitefish Bay to put the game out of reach. Constant pressure led to yet another corner for the Blue Dukes. And it was Menard again who delivered the ball which found the head of senior captain Jake Taylor. Taylor’s downward header left the goalkeeper stranded and flat-footed and it was 3-0 to Whitefish Bay. Minutes later, a clever flick from Menard put Nick Burmeister through, but his shot from a difficult angle was saved.  All seniors, with the exception of the injured Nick Sisson, came on for the final minutes of the shutout credited jointly to Alex Witteman and freshman Adin Chiappa.

The Blue Dukes finish out conference play with a “must win” game at Nicolet next week Tuesday, but first must negotiate two non-conference home games.  Next up is Kenosha Bradford on Thursday, with another match at the Lubar on Saturday at 2 p.m. against a strong Brookfield East team.

(This match report was written by Whitefish Bay assistant soccer coach Pat Rich.)