Top-seed Neenah proves too much to handle for Appleton United boys lacrosse in WIAA sectional semifinal

By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com

FOX CROSSING – Every team always want to be playing at its best come playoff time, which was the case for the Appleton United boys lacrosse team.

Winners of 11 of its last 12 games, including a 7-6 game against Neenah a few weeks back to claim the conference title, Appleton United entered Saturday’s WIAA sectional semifinal looking to make it two against the Rockets.

Unlike in their previous matchup where both teams played about as evenly as possible, the Rockets had all the motivation they needed as they looked to avenge that loss in front of the home crowd. Sparked by a scoring barrage anchored by nine unanswered goals to end the game, it was No. 1 seed Neenah moving on as with a 17-4 victory at Neenah High School.

“Today wasn’t the effort we expected out of us,” Appleton head coach Danny Rafalski said. “I don’t really know what to say except that we weren’t playing like ourselves today. Everything felt right heading into the game, but once the game started it just wasn’t there.”

Appleton (13-5), the fourth seed in the Sectional 1 bracket, couldn’t have asked for a better start as it opened the scoring 55 seconds into the first quarter on a goal by Jaylen Kempfer.

It was the kind of start a team dreams of when looking to take the home crowd out of it, but on this day the Rockets had other ideas. Not only did Neenah answer with their first goal one minute later by Keane Sullivan, but the Rockets closed out the first quarter with five answered goals from five different players, including three of them in a five-minute stretch. That put the Rockets in front 5-1 and had Appleton facing a massive deficit.

With their shaky first quarter out of the way, Appleton started to put forth the energy it was lacking in the first 12 minutes. Once again it was a quick-strike goal opening the period as Ryder Hill delivered a power play goal 46 seconds in, and just more than two minutes later, Brody Olp found the back of the net to help United cut Neenah’s lead to 5-3.

That was as close as Appleton would get as the Rockets duplicated their strong first quarter finish with another in the second quarter. It all started with another goal from Sullivan, before Reshawn Vaughn and Ben Carey added two more goals to close out the second with three goals to help the Rockets take an 8-3 lead into the break. When asked about what changed following his team’s goals, Rafalski credits the Rockets for stepping up when they needed to.

“They are a bunch of dogs and have an amazing group of athletes,” he said. “We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game, but when they get a lead like that, they are animals.”

Down, but not out, Appleton continued to dictate the tempo in the early parts of the quarters and it all came following a face-off win. Just 18 seconds into the second half, it was Appleton finding the net again as Hill added his second goal of the game to make this an 8-4 game. Unfortunately, that would be the final goal of the night for Appleton as Neenah got hot quickly to end the game with nine-straight goals.

Six of them came in the third quarter, and five of those six came after the six-minute mark as the Rockets smelled blood in the water. Owen Grotenhuis and Evan Hans were responsible for four of the goals. That was enough to make a change in goal as Collin Mancl was lifted in favor of Trevor Bishop with one quarter to go.

Despite Bishop making some nice saves early in the fourth, the Rockets’ high-powered offense was too much as they delivered three more goals in the final quarter to take down Appleton 17-4. Although the loss ended Appleton’s season, Rafalski said he is proud of what his team accomplished and is looking forward for the future.

“One thing I will take away from this season is the overall potential that this program has,” Rafalski said. “It’s really exciting to see that and gives me tons of hope for the future of lacrosse in Northeast Wisconsin.”

Neenah (13-5) moves into a sectional final at home against Hudson (12-5) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will play in the first-ever WIAA state boys lacrosse championship game on Saturday, June 8, at Sun Prairie East High School.

Rockets 17, United 4
Appleton   1   2   1   0   –   4
Neenah   5   3   6   3   –   17
First Quarter: 1. A, Jaylen Kempfer, 0:55; 2. N, Klundt, 1:55; 3. N, Brandon Price, 3:57; 4. N, Green, 7:43; 5. N, Grotenhuis, 9:19; 6. N, Evan Hans, 9:40.
Second Quarter: 7. A, Ryder Hill, 0:46; 8. A, Brody Olp, 2:25; 9. N, Keane Sullivan, 2:56; 10. N, Rashawn Vaughn (N), 3:16; 11. N, Ben Carey, 9:43.
Third Quarter: 12. A, Hill, 0:18; 13. N, Hans, 1:22; 14. N, Grotenhuis, 6:28; 15. N, Grotenhuis, 7:13; 16. N, Hunter Weinke, 8:31; 17. N, Drew Green, 9:00; 18. N, Hans, 11:54.
Fourth Quarter: 19. N, Price, 3:08; 20. N, Green, 6:48; 21. N, Hans, 8:18.
Records: Appleton 13-5; Neenah 13-5.