Wisconsin Soccer Central

A high-scoring junior from a Waukesha school was named the Gatorade Wisconsin Player of the Year for girls soccer on Tuesday – just probably not the one who many would've considered the favorite for the honor heading into the season.

Forward Dani Rhodes claimed the award, becoming the first Waukesha West player so honored in the school's 22-year history.

Rhodes, who holds program records for goals in a game, season and career, has scored in 16 of the Wolverines' 18 matches and has eight hat tricks this spring. Her 41st goal of the season gave West a 1-0 Classic 8 Conference victory over Hartland Arrowhead on Tuesday night, and she also has 10 assists for the Wolverines (15-1-2) – ranked third in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 2 state poll.

Last year, the 5-foot-4 Rhodes was a "Best of the Rest" selection on the WSCA all-state team. She also has a 3.60 grade-point average and volunteers on behalf of local youth soccer and basketball programs.

"Dani Rhodes is a really impressive player," Menomonee Falls coach Scott Stein said in a news release. "She can use her athleticism and speed to get by most people, but she's also a very smart, very efficient player. You have to know where she is all the time."

Waukesha Catholic Memorial forward Emily Cervantes earned the Gatorade award as a sophomore last season and has been the WSCA Player of the Year the past two seasons. Cervantes, who has committed to Tennessee for 2016, has 20 goals and five assists this year but has been hampered by nagging knee issues.

• Senior Julia Zach had a goal and four assists Tuesday night as Kettle Moraine thumped Catholic Memorial 7-0 in a Classic 8 match in Wales. It's the second straight year the Lasers have beaten the Crusaders – last year's win was Kettle Moraine's first in 18 all-time meetings between the teams – and the seven goals are one more than the Lasers had scored against Catholic Memorial in the series. It wasn't immediately known if or when the Crusaders last conceded seven goals in a game, but in 152 matches over the past six years, they had only once allowed as many as four goals in a game. The Lasers are ranked fifth in Division 1 and Catholic Memorial has been No. 1 in the Division 3 state poll all season.
• Senior Sydney Gutman had a hat trick in just 137 seconds as host Valders blanked Sturgeon Bay 3-0 in a Packerland Conference match Monday. Gutman opened the scoring in the 8th minute, then scored twice in an 18-second span in the 10th.
• Oregon (14-0-0) is ranked ninth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Region III poll. The final NSCAA rankings of the season will be released June 23.
• Waukesha West slipped three spots to No. 7 in this week's Top Drawer Soccer Great Lakes Region rankings. The Wolverines top the website's Wisconsin rankings, followed by Catholic Memorial and Brookfield Central.