Wisconsin Soccer Central

Offense was the order of the day Saturday at the 22nd annual Wisconsin Masonic All-Star Soccer Games.

A whopping 21 goals were scored in the two matches at UW-Whitewater's Fiskum Field – and in keeping with the theme of the day, the last kick of the afternoon wasn't too far from providing one final, stunning goal.

Angie Mann (Grafton) and Nicole Rauckman (Eau Claire Memorial) each had hat tricks as the Gold team rolled past the Blue 10-2 in the girls game, while Charles Salazar (Racine Prairie School) scored twice and the Blue held on for a 5-4 victory in the boys match.

Prairie School's Corey Oakland and Waukesha Catholic Memorial's John Burke coached both games, Oakland with the Blue sides and Burke with the Gold, while Oregon's Julie Grutzner worked alongside Oakland in the girls match to honor players who recently graduated from high school.

BOYS

Salazar, who is headed to NCAA Division II Rockhurst (Kan.), was named the game's MVP after scoring the first two goals for the Blue.

"It was a fantastic game," Burke said. "We really tried to let the kids showcase their talents and they did. I thought there was some great play out there."

Salazar's first goal tied the score in the 12th minute after Cardinal Stritch recruit Wolfie Pilarski (Grafton) had given the Gold the early lead, and the second gave the Blue the lead for good in the 15th.

Alberto Gonzalez (Kenosha Indian Trail) had a hand in the final three goals for the Blue, setting up Tylor Bacher (Waukesha West) – another Stritch recruit – in the 31st, scoring in the 64th and assisting on a 79th-minute goal by Jordan Dejno (Kenosha Tremper) that made it 5-3 heading into the final minute.

But Henry Brose (Hudson), who will play at Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota, scored with 10 seconds left to make it a one-goal game and amazingly the Gold team somehow managed to get one last shot. After the Blue kicked off, Robert Holschuh (Milwaukee Pius) stole the ball and let loose with a long shot from near midfield.

"Their keeper was not expecting that obviously at all, so the keeper was well off his line. And it just blew by the left post," Burke said of Holschuh's last-gasp shot. "He could've tied it right at the end there. He was savvy enough to jump in and get it and actually got a shot off."

Andy Harmon (Hudson) and Ryan Burton (Appleton Xavier), a Carroll recruit, had the other goals for the Gold. Burke also had high praise for Greg Borsari (Milwaukee Pius), who played the first half and the opening 10 minutes of the second half despite a nagging knee injury that forced him to jog throughout halftime to keep his leg from tightening up.

"Greg Borsari was just fantastic. It's too bad we couldn't play him for the whole game," said Burke, whose team was down 3-1 at halftime. "He kind of helped us crawl back into it. He gave us a great 10 minutes (in the second half)."

GIRLS

Mann collected MVP honors after scoring three goals and assisting on another in the Gold's convincing victory.

"Angie Mann was brilliant," Burke said of the Central Michigan recruit.

Carina Krausert (Waukesha Catholic Memorial), getting a run out on the field where she'll play college soccer for the Warhawks, and Katie Bares (Ozaukee), a Viterbo recruit, each had a goal and an assist. Rauckman's prep teammate Meg Van de Loo, headed to Johns Hopkins in Maryland, added a pair of assists.

University of Wisconsin goalkeeper Meghan Ledin (Middleton) had a long day between the posts for the Blue team, but counted several highlight-reel saves among her nine stops.

"She made one save on Van de Loo that was exactly what you want to see in an all-star game," Burke said. "Van de Loo just killed a ball, one of the best shots I've seen from a girl, and Meghan completely outstretched to her left ... a fantastic save."

Kara Komoto (Rice Lake) and Lauren Hughes (Oregon), who will play at Luther in Iowa, scored for the Blue.