Lake Country This Month

By Jeff Hagenau Freeman Correspondent MILWAUKEE — With a state championship hanging in the balance, Jordyn Ostrowski seized her moment to shine. Ostrowski, a 5-foot-6 junior forward, scored the winning goal off an assist from sophomore midfielder Kendra Wolfgram in the 103rd minute as the D.C. Everest High School girls soccer team outlasted Kettle Moraine 1-0 in a dramatic, double-overtime WIAA Divi- sion 1 state title game at Uih- lein Soccer Park last month. It was the 22nd consecu- tive victory for the Ever- greens, who captured their first state title and finished the season 27-1-2 overall. It was a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching outcome to the 110-minute battle for KM, which ended the season 17-4-3 overall. On the game-winner, Wolf- gram made a strong cross- ing pass to left foward Ostrowski, who took control of the ball in full stride, quickly worked past a defender and fired a shot into the left corner just beyond the outstretched arms of diving KM senior goalkeeper Jessica Hoppe. "It was the shot of my life," a smiling Ostrowski said of her pressure-packed 20th goal of the season. "After getting a really good ball from my teammate, I just tried to finish the play and find the back of the net. When the ball made it past the goalie, the feeling was amazing. "Winning a state champi- onship is something we have wanted forever so there real- ly aren't enough words to describe how happy I am right now. It was an incredi- ble way to end the day." KM made a valiant attempt to tie the game over the course of the final seven minutes of the second extra period, including a close- proximity shot on goal that was saved by D.C. Everest senior goalkeeper Steph Meuret in the 107th minute. Hoppe and Meuret were sta- bilizing forces in goal for their respective teams, each con- tributing four saves in the physical, marathon contest. D.C. Everest outshot the Lasers by an 11-9 margin, highlighted by seven opportu- nities in the momentum- building second half of regu- lation. KM struggled to capitalize on several golden opportuni- ties throughout the course of the day, including a shot that ricocheted off the middle of the crossbar in the 24th minute and another that hit off the far right post in the 38th minute. KM coach Will Loepfe was disappointed with the final result but proud of the way his squad responded to the pressure of playing in its biggest game of the season. "I'm very proud of what we accomplished," said Loepfe, who guided the Lasers to the state tourna- ment the last two years. "Not many teams have an oppor- tunity to play for a state championship, so it was a great, great season. "At times, I really feel like we outplayed them but just came up short on the scor- ing end. We controlled pos- session in the first half, they started to match our intensi- ty in the second half and then both teams lost their legs in overtime. That's when D.C. Everest stepped up and made a big play. Unfortunately, we fell short at the end." KM senior midfielder Julia Zach, who successfully returned to the lineup in the sectional semifinals after suffering a concussion earli- er in the season, savored the opportunity to compete for a state title. "This experience meant the world to the seniors," said Zach, referring to Hoppe, goalkeeper Hailey Bergin, midfielder Chase Rehm, defender Hailey Campbell, defender Natalie Schmidt, midfielder Savvy Brummer, defender Jesse Haefner, defender Courtney Schanau and forward Olivia Hively. "To be able to make it to the championship level and compete for a state title was special." FREEMAN & ENTERPRISE LAKE COUNTRY • Page 7 JULY 2015 ORIGINALLY STARTING OUT in real estate in 1988, the path that brought Pat Bolger to his own office on Summit Avenue in Oconomowoc isn't the straight shot one might expect. Pat did well during his first year in real estate; he was voted Rookie of the Year, but he wasn't confident in his sales skills. When Pat was offered a job at a car dealership in Waukesha, he decided to accept the position to hone his skills, and planned to jump back into real estate in a year or two. Pat was successful, receiving promotion after promotion, and soon a year turned into 10 and then 15. In 2007, many car businesses in the Milwaukee area were consolidated, and Pat thought it was a good time to return to his first love: real estate. After a year, the market crashed. With a young family, Pat had to figure out ways to sell and be successful. He learned new skills to complement his knowledge of marketing and negotiating for the competitive auto industry. His tactics worked, and Pat's business was booming through the tough years of 2008, 2009 and 2010. "I love everything about real estate," says Pat, who particularly enjoys the people he gets to work with and meet, working deals and showing houses. "I can't believe I get paid to do this!" Pat Bolger Realty Group prides itself on provid- ing extraordinary service. Pat reports that he has been able to get up to 18% more than market value for many of the homes he sells. His team works hard to achieve the best deals for their buyers, as well. Pat and his team got the extra mile for their clients – even sending limos to the airport for clients who are relocating to the area, and lodging the at The Pfister Hotel. Even though Pat's goal "is not to be the biggest but rather the best," he believes his company is the fastest realty group in Lake Country, where his focus lies. "We aren't trying to be all things to all people." says this life-long resident of Lake Country. Pat knows all our local lakes, and which frontage is desirable. "If I haven't lived on a particular lake, I have friends who have." Pat jokes, "I've water skied on them all." Pat's wife is a registered nurse at Aurora Medical Center in Summit. His son Hunter, a junior at University Lake School, was the leading high school basket ball scorer in Waukesha County, averaging over 24 points, last season. His remark- able record was 50 points in one game. The Family also includes two Golden Retrievers who f requent Pat's Office. "Our office isn't typical," remarks Pat. Employees' children often visit as well, and SpongeBob SquarePants plays regularly at the office. Due to the group's location in a strip mall, clients who are passing often stop by to hang out and chat. "It's a fun place; everyone who works here has a good sense of humor. We laugh a lot." Stop by the office yourself to see Pat's whiteboards of sales, goals and customer matches – a holdover from his days in the auto industry. And meet the rest of Pat's team: Jamie, his trusty assistant; Jennifer and Jason (also known as Jason SquarePants), buyer agents; Sarah, the team's lending partner; Angie and Annie, who handle closings and titles; Mary, who takes care of staging and interior decorating; Eric, in the IT department; and Julie who takes the fantastic photos and high-quality videos that Pat's listings are known for. ➤ PatBolgerHomes.com WHO IS … PAT BOLGER Providing Extraordinary Service in Lake Country and why is he selling so many homes!?! By LAURA USTANOVSKA 245224020 paid advertising Lutheran a runaway champion By Mark Hutchinson Freeman Staff GRAND CHUTE — There are countless virtual games to play these days. Joe Lipsky and his Lake Country Lutheran High School baseball teammates will attest, though, that none of them match the champi- onship-level thrill of the real deal. The sophomore designat- ed hitter delivered a two-out, two-run single to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Lightning to a 5-4 triumph over Aquinas in the WIAA Divi- sion 3 title game at Fox Cities Stadium last month. The rally earned LCL — which outlasted McDonell Central 11-7 in 11 innings in the 2014 Division 4 finale — its second straight state championship in its third consecutive title game appearance. The Lightning finished 28-2, while Aquinas wound up 27-4. "This is unbelievable," Lipsky said. "My buddies and I were talking before the game on Tee Work. They wrote up a situation that was the same exact thing as that. "In the bottom of the sev- enth, I was like, 'If there's an opportunity, just give it to me.' I got it, and scratched one through the hole. It was pretty amazing. ... awe- some." When Lipsky stepped up with the bases loaded and connected with a fastball from Aquinas senior reliev- er Alex Dee, he didn't antici- pate what happened next. "I thought the first base- man picked it, actually," Lip- sky said. "When I saw it in the outfield, I ran away from my team. "That was part of the situ- ation before the game. I said, 'I'm going to run away from you guys. Have fun catching me.'" LCL coach David Bahr gave credit for the pregame visualization where it was due. "I'm more the word guy," Bahr said. "I preach to them all the time, 'Hey, we're the most experienced team here. This is our home field. This is our sixth game here.' That kind of stuff, just to make them feel positive. "My coach who runs the defense, John Meulendyke, is the one who came up with the bat thing they do before the game. He works that mental immersion." Lutheran, riding the pitch- ing of senior Ben Wilkins, took a 2-1 lead into the top of the seventh. That's when Aquinas capitalized on three singles, a walk, an error and a sacrifice fly to score three runs and take a 4-2 lead. Sophomore Ryan Nehls relieved Wilkins and got the last two outs, sending LCL back to its dugout needing to rally late for the third time in four games. "We did what we've done all year," Wilkins said. "We've been down. We've been in this situation before. Our theme for the year has been 'Press on.' That's what we've had to do this whole time, and we've done it." Senior center fielder Jacob Budnik led off by grounding out to second, but Wilkins singled to right before junior third baseman Andrew Buran and senior first baseman CJ Teske hit back-to-back singles to left to load the bases. "We had our doubts," said Teske, who was batting .505 entering the state tourna- ment. "When Budnik, our leadoff hitter, got up to the plate and grounded out, it was like, 'Uh-oh. One out. We only have two outs to score three runs.' Then 'Benny Boy' got on and I was like, 'OK,' and I settled down a little bit. Then 'Hop' (Buran), our third batter, gets on — first and second — and I was like, 'All right, just put the ball in play and try to advance the runners.' "I ended up hitting one between short and third and got on — bases loaded. I knew we had it from there. We weren't going to let our opportunity slip. We pressed on and we got it." Junior shortstop Jake Hall reached on an infield single to pull LCL within 4-3, and after senior second baseman TJ Hopkins struck out, Lip- sky did exactly what he envi- sioned he would. "The first guy (Aquinas senior starter Rudy Rott) came over the top and his fastball had a little sink to it," Lipsky said. "The second guy (Dee) threw straight. They had similar speeds. I only saw two fastballs, and I poked one of them." LCL opened the scoring in the second when Hall sin- gled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior second baseman TJ Hop- kins, took third on a single by Lipsky and scored on a double by senior right field- er Jack Euclide. Euclide, who was promot- ed from a reserve role in 2014 to starting status this season, doubled twice in three at-bats. "I knew my opportunity was coming," Euclide said. "My coach told me, 'You're going to have your time on the field. Make the most of it.' That's what I tried to do." Aquinas tied the score in the top of the third before the Lightning went back ahead in the bottom of the inning. Buran walked, advanced on a single by Teske and scored when a ball hit by Hall was mis- played. The 2-1 lead held until the top of the seventh, when Aquinas rallied back in front. Bahr has seen his veteran team respond to pressure repeatedly, so he didn't count the Lightning out entering the bottom of the seventh. But he also knew the odds. "I've been doing this for 28 years," Bahr said. "You know it's unlikely, but I thought there was at least a chance that, if we could get a couple of runners on, the right guys were coming up — the top of the order, veter- an guys. "CJ Teske's probably got 25 state tournament at-bats. He and Ben Wilkins and Andrew Buran have been up in these situations. They weren't panicked at all. The coaches were probably more panicked than they were, because we've been around long enough to see it not work. But they think they're just going to do it, and they do it. "The wild thing is the sophomore did it. He's prob- ably our best fastball hitter, and the kid was throwing fastballs. We have a lot more trouble with a guy who changes speeds, so we got in a good situation there with fastballs." Teske, one of five LCL players who started his sec- ond straight state final, was asked if he considered this season's championship run more stressful than the 2014 trek. "Yes, but in some sense, it was stressful last year when it went 11 innings," Teske replied. "In this case, it stayed within seven and went by a little faster, but it never gets any easier; it real- ly doesn't. "We had to persevere when we got down by two runs in the top of the sev- enth, and that's just what we did. We persevered through it and we ended up getting the victory." Email: mhutchinson@conleynet.com Lipsky caps comeback with game-winning single Kristin Simons/Special to The Freeman Lake Country Lutheran players chase Joe Lipsky, left, after Lipsky's game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning of the WIAA Division 3 state title game last month. Kristin Simons/Special to The Freeman Lake Country Lutheran players pile up in the outfield after beating Aquinas 5-4 in the WIAA Divi- sion 3 state title game last month. Kettle Moraine unable to break through in title match WIAA DIVISION 1 STATE GIRLS SOCCER TITLE GAME: D.C. Everest 1, Kettle Moraine 0 (two overtimes)

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