Updated: DeForest falls to Waunakee, gets revenge in win over Sauk Prairie

Wins rarely, if ever, come easy when the Waunakee Warriors and the DeForest Norskies girls’ soccer teams meet. Wednesday night was certainly no exception.

After a scoreless first half, Waunakee found its breakthrough in the 30 minutes, using a pair of timely second-half goals to lift the Warriors to a 2-0 shutout victory over the visiting Norskies on May 6.

At the 50:43 mark of the second half, the Warriors capitalized on a free kick opportunity when freshman defender Leea Wu struck a hard-hit shot beyond the outstretched hands of the Norskies’ goalkeeper to take a 1-0 lead.

Waunakee doubled its advantage at the 67:47 mark after sustained pressure from the Warriors’ attack forced a DeForest own goal.

While the goals speak for themselves, the Warriors’ defense was equally deserving of its flowers. That’s because the Warriors held the Norskies’ attack to zero shots and zero corner kicks.

“That’s a good day defensively,” Waunakee head coach Andy Moll said. “Positionally, organizationally, (we) were really good, smart with the ball, limited mistakes in the back, and just played with a lot of poise.”

But DeForest made a late push to make things interesting down the stretch.

With the game clock winding down, the Norskies had a chance at getting within one goal near the 78-minute mark.

DeForest earned an indirect free kick, and its head coach, Josh Howard, selected his senior captain, Marissa Titel, to take the set piece. In response, Waunakee collapsed its entire defense to pack the goal line, thus denying Titel a chance at cutting into the Norskies’ deficit.

While the ball ultimately didn’t find its way into the back of the net, Howard said he’d have his captain take that shot 10 out of 10 times — with zero hesitation.

“If I were to do it again, I’d put her on the ball again,” Howard said.

Titel is one of just three seniors on this year’s DeForest team. Her leadership and flexibility on the field have been instrumental in guiding the youthful Norskies throughout its 2026 spring campaign.

“I can put her anywhere and know that she’s gonna give everything, and she’s gonna be successful at it,” Howard said.

With the Waunakee victory, the Warriors moved into sole possession of second place in the Badger-Large Conference at 4-1.

For Waunakee, the Warriors have faced a grueling, seemingly never-forgiving schedule. 10 games into the season, they’ve already squared off against the likes of state-ranked foes in Divine Savior Holy Angels (DSHA), Oregon and Verona.

But Andy Moll knows this is all by design. It’s all a part of the process, with the goal of preparing the team to play its best brand of soccer deep into June.