De Pere soccer has eyes on another trip to state

DE PERE, Wis. (WBAY) - De Pere soccer is off to a great start at 4-0, but have some unfinished business from 2022.

The Redbirds are coming off their first trip to state since 2013, but lost in the semifinal 2-0 to Muskego. That taste of state motivates them more, despite losing six seniors this offseason.

“A little bit of unfinished business,” De Pere head coach Andy Steger says. “We want to be able to get back there and show that we belong and see if we can’t do better than last year.”

“There’s definitely a lot of excitement every time we talk about last year. Everyone is so happy to continue that and keep that motivation up,” Redbirds senior Greta Czachor says.

“Yeah I definitely think that makes us more hungry. It think we know how sweet that feels so we want to strive for that end goal of the state championship every year,” senior Claire Bradford says.

In three of the Redbirds’ first four games this year, they scored six goals in each match-up. They’re returning four of their top goal scorers from 2022.

“Our strength is in our returning players that have been there last year. Those that have the experience understand what it takes,” Steger says.

“We’re really good at attacking,” Czachor adds. “We have a great offense.”

“We are a very quick team. We have a lot of speed up front,” Bradford says.

The Redbirds are ranked No. 4 in the state in division one. On Thursday they’ll face no. 1 Kimberly, a team that gave them one of their three losses last season.

“We kind of want some revenge,” says Bradford. “They obviously have some really good players. Gonna be put to the test on Thursday.”

“There’s a tough road ahead of us, and we know that. There’s some great competition,” Steger says. “We look forward to that and trying to test our metal against theirs. When we have opportunities, finish them off.”

De Pere also knows the road to returning to state will likely go through Kimberly down the line. For now, this Redbirds squad is staying optimistic and confident.

Copyright 2023 WBAY. All rights reserved.