Wisconsin regional playoff notebook

Here are some of the notes from the WIAA regional action last week: <strong>Sofia Miranda leads DSHA to two wins</strong> Miranda has been one of DSHA’s most electric players this season. So far, the senior forward had a big part in their opening-round wins. Against Appleton East, she found the back of the net twice during the second half. DSHA won 6-0. In round two, she had scored and assisted by the second minute of the game. Those two goals were the difference makers as they defeated Neenah 3-1. Junior midfielder [player_tooltip player_id="43834" first="Jane" last="Martin"] also played well this week. She tallied the opening assist to Miranda against Neenah to open the scoring and followed that up with a goal of her own in the 28th minute. Bridget Parks, Piper Dupies, Ahnna Faust, and sophomore Ava Hardwood also scored this week. A date with Arrowhead awaits. <strong>Notre Dame Academy outscores opponents 15-0 for regional</strong> Notre Dame Academy started the D3 playoffs with a bang. The 15 goals matched the number of total goal scorers the team has this season. I learned a lot about the potential of this team in their opening-round win. So many players contributed. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="32855" first="Audrey" last="Burnell"], leading point-getter, scored and assisted in this game. The same can be said for junior F Mia Lemkuil, who has the second-most points on the team this season. Another sophomore, forward Anna Clancy, scored twice in the opening game. In the second round, Notre Dame defeated Xavier 4-0 on Saturday for the regional championship. <strong>Paige Cotton and Julia James combine for 21 points in the opening rounds</strong> The attacking duo of senior midfielder Paige Cotton and sophomore forward Julia James have been extraordinary all season long for the D2 Union Grove squad. This weekend, the two combined for 21 total points. Four goals and two assists came from Julia James alone in the opening round blowout over Wilmot Union. Cotton also had a hat trick that game, as the duo played less than a half of action. That seemed to be a major confidence booster heading to the regional final. They had a much tougher test against Westosha Central, but Cotton had a terrific outing. She tallied two goals and an assist to beat them 3-1. Her assist went to, you guessed it, James. Union Grove will have an even tougher test in the sectional semifinal against Waukesha West. <strong>New Berlin Eisenhower continues unbeaten run</strong> Eisenhower’s last loss came on April 23 against perennial powerhouse Whitefish Bay. Since then, they’ve picked up 16 wins and a draw. One of those wins, and undoubtedly their biggest, came at Muskego on May 12. Midfielder Lauren Hernandez has more than 20 goals and assists this year. She’s been terrific. After a first-round bye, Hernandez picked up her 21st assist on the season against St. Thomas More. In that game, Taylor Rinzel scored two first-half goals. Alex Nunag, Sarah Stalder, Mary Kowitz, and Kassidy Lake also scored. Eisenhower’s is one of the top favorites in Division 3. <strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Arrowhead downs unbeaten Kimberly, wins regional</strong> The biggest upset was most likely this one. Kimberly was one of the few unbeatens remaining this season. Their strength of schedule was probably their biggest problem. Kimberly cruised past Fond Du Lac 5-0 in Round 1 but was bested by Arrowhead in the regional final. Arrowhead has shut out opponents 4-0 and 3-0 this postseason.