skip navigation

Prep girls notes: Rhodes repeats as Gatorade Wisconsin honoree

05/19/2016, 10:15am CDT
By ERIC ANDERSON
Dani Rhodes

Dani Rhodes joined some pretty elite company in Wisconsin prep girls soccer history this week.

The high-scoring Waukesha West senior forward, who will play at the University of Wisconsin next fall, was named the Gatorade Wisconsin Girls Soccer Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

She's the fourth girl to accomplish the feat in the award's 19-year history, following Waukesha Catholic Memorial midfielder Leslie Osborne (2000 and '01), Brookfield Central midfielder Marti Desjarlais (2004 and '05) and Cedarburg midfielder Josee Stiever (2012 and '13).

Rhodes, a Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Co-Player of the Year last spring, had 32 goals and eight assists for the Wolverines (13-1-2) heading into Thursday night's non-conference match at Germantown. She had all three of West's goals in its 3-2 Classic 8 Conference victory over Waukesha Catholic Memorial on Tuesday night, a win that ended the Crusaders' 24-game unbeaten streak (22-0-2).

“She's equally dangerous with her right or left foot and she's very quick,” Kenosha Indian Trail coach Drew Baker said of Rhodes in a news release. "She can create her own shot and mentally she's always thinking ahead."

GATORADE WISCONSIN GIRLS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

Year Winner Pos Yr School
1997-98 Jenny Kundert F So. Madison West
1998-99 Gillian Hatch M So. Whitefish Bay
1999-2000 Leslie Osborne M Jr. Waukesha Catholic Memorial
2000-01 Leslie Osborne M Sr. Waukesha Catholic Memorial
2001-02 Kate Taylor GK Sr. Milwaukee University School
2002-03 Heather Ferron M-F Sr. Brookfield Central
2003-04 Marti Desjarlais M Jr. Brookfield Central
2004-05 Marti Desjarlais M Sr. Brookfield Central
2005-06 Kelly Wepking M Sr. Kenosha Tremper
2006-07 Jennifer Baumann M Sr. Waukesha Catholic Memorial
2007-08 Laurel Ragalie F Sr. Kenosha Bradford
2008-09 Taylor Madigan M Sr. Waunakee
2009-10 Alex Melin M-F Sr. Verona
2010-11 Morgan LaPlant F Sr. Madison La Follette
2011-12 Josee Stiever M Jr. Cedarburg
2012-13 Josee Stiever M Sr. Cedarburg
2013-14 Emily Cervantes F So. Waukesha Catholic Memorial
2014-15 Dani Rhodes M Jr. Waukesha West
2015-16 Dani Rhodes F Sr. Waukesha West
  • The two state sides in the Top Drawer Soccer Fab 50, Eau Claire Memorial and Brookfield Central, each moved up seven spots this week – the Old Abes are 39th and the Lancers are 42nd. The teams remained fourth and sixth, respectively, in the website's Great Lakes Region rankings and first and second in the TDS Wisconsin rankings ahead of Schofield D.C. Everest.
  • Eau Claire Memorial is sixth and Brookfield Central is ninth in the latest USA Today/NSCAA Region III rankings, which were released Tuesday.
  • Sophomore midfielder Ali Bowe scored in the 3rd minute and junior goalkeeper Grace Frank posted the shutout as Eau Claire Memorial ended Schofield D.C. Everest's 34-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory May 6 at the UW-Eau Claire Spring Classic. The Evergreens had gone 31-0-3 since their previous loss, a 2-1 setback against Milwaukee DSHA on April 21, 2015.
  • Sophomore Sydney King scored in the 19th minute and freshman Grace Droessler made four saves in the clean sheet as Mount Horeb handed host Waunakee its first Northern Badger Conference loss in nearly 13 years with a 1-0 decision May 10. Waunakee had been unbeaten in 66 conference matches (65-0-1) since its only other Northern Badger loss, a 1-0 setback against Reedsburg on May 20, 2003, and is 77-2-1 all-time in the league since it was formed in 2002. The lone draw was 1-1 against Mount Horeb on May 5, 2015. The Vikings, meanwhile, wrapped up their first Northern Badger title with a 2-0 victory over DeForest on Tuesday - it's their first conference title since winning the Capitol Conference crown back in 2001.
  • MacKenzie Schill set a Pewaukee program record on May 5, scoring her 95th career goal in a 15-0 rout of Brown Deer in a Woodland Conference match. Shannon (Sullivan) Friesen, the sister of Pirates coach Sean Sullivan and a 1992 Pewaukee graduate, held the previous record of 94. Schill, who has verbally committed to UW-Milwaukee for 2017, has 27 goals this season and 101 in her career.
  • Oregon coach Julie Grutzner (Madison La Follette/UW-Green Bay), who led the Panthers to an undefeated season (23-0-1) and the school's first WIAA Division 2 state championship last spring, will receive a Special Achievement Award from the Madison Sports Hall of Fame Club at its annual banquet June 1.
  • Grutzner and the Panthers (9-3-3, 4-0-0) have a huge match Thursday night as they play at Monona Grove (13-1-1, 4-0-0) for the Southern Badger Conference title. Oregon has won or shared the past four conference titles; the Silver Eagles' most recent championship came in the Southern Badger's inaugural 2002 season.
  • Each of the four Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association state polls this week includes four teams from last week's rankings, plus a newcomer at No. 5. Here are this week's polls:

DIVISION 1

Rank Team Record Pvs
1 Eau Claire Memorial 14-0-0 1
2 Brookfield Central 9-0-1 2
3 Schofield D.C. Everest 13-1-3 3
4 Hartland Arrowhead 8-1-4 4
5 Neenah 12-2-0 NR

Honorable mention: Muskego, Appleton North, Kimberly, Middleton, Milwaukee DSHA, Wisconsin Rapids.

DIVISION 2

Rank Team Record Pvs
1 Waukesha West 12-1-2 1
2 Whitefish Bay 8-2-3 2
3 Cedarburg 7-2-2 3
4 Wauwatosa West 11-2-3 4
5 Monona Grove 12-1-1 HM

Honorable mention: Pewaukee, Elkhorn, Wauwatosa East, Mequon Homestead, Oregon, Rhinelander.

DIVISION 3

Rank Team Record Pvs
1 Waukesha Catholic Memorial 14-0-2 1
2 Green Bay Notre Dame 13-1-3 2
3 Sugar River 12-2-2 4
4 Mount Horeb 10-3-3 5
5 Madison Edgewood 6-3-6 HM

Honorable mention: Lodi, Mosinee, Amherst/Iola-Scandinavia, Osceola, Appleton Xavier, Grafton.

DIVISION 4

Rank Team Record Pvs
1 Racine Prairie School 13-3-0 1
2 La Crosse Aquinas 14-1-0 2
3 Brookfield Academy 14-3-0 3
4 Oostburg 11-0-3 5
5 Howards Grove 11-2-1 HM

Honorable mention: Lake Country Lutheran-University Lake School, Manitowoc Roncalli, Milwaukee University School, Wrightstown.

Records through Sunday

Recent Articles

Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association logo
Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association logo
Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association logo

Tag(s): Home  Prep Girls  News