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MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield girls soccer team dominated Wisconsin Valley Conference rival Wausau East from start to finish, cruising to a 3-0 win in a WIAA Division 2 regional final on Saturday afternoon at Griese Park.
No. 2 seed Marshfield (12-7-2) will play a Division 2 sectional semifinal at top seed Rhinelander (11-4) at 5 p.m. Thursday. Rhinelander defeated Merrill 4-0 in a regional final Saturday. The Hodags beat Marshfield 2-0 in a nonconference game on May 4.
Paige Preston scored in the ninth minute and Courtney Meyer added a goal at the 23:23 mark to give the Tigers a quick 2-0 lead.
Marshfield’s midfield and defenders were able to stymie every attack from Wausau East (6-9-1), holding the Lumberjacks without a shot on goal in the first half. The shutout is the Tigers’ eighth this season.
“We came ready to play and dominated from the get go, outshooting East 14-0 in the first half,” Marshfield coach Steve Lindner said. “The coaching staff stresses not to give up corner kicks and we want to be on the positive ledger on these, and today was an awesome display of this. We had an 18-0 advantage on corner kicks. That is incredible.”
Nina Hashimoto added a goal at the 81:15 mark to cap the scoring for the Tigers. The goal was Hashimoto’s 35th of the season, tying Darian Molter’s school record for goals in a season she set in 2014.
“Ana Paape, Eva Wahlstrom, Paige Gruenling, Ally Bakke, and Aly Dietsche have been outstanding defensively all year. Mikayla Brueggen had two super saves in the second half to prevent East any opportunity to get back into the game,” Lindner said.
Tigers 3, Lumberjacks 0
Wausau East 0 0 – 0
Marshfield 2 1 – 3
First half: 1. MAR, Paige Preston (Nina Hashimoto), 8:59; 2. MAR, Courtney Meyer (Sophia Grruenling), 23:23.
Second half: 3. MAR, Hashimoto, 81:15.
Shots on goal: Wausau East 3; Marshfield 13.
Saves: WE, Alexis Tats 10; MAR, Mikayla Brueggen 3.
Records: Wausau East 6-9-1; Marshfield 12-7-2.