Stars still aligning

Ashland Oredockers girls soccer coach Jonny BeBeau has been selected to coach the red team in the WSCA girls all-star game on July 27 at Breese Stadium in Madison. BeBeau will be joined by recent graduates Cassidy Lustig and Hannah Bochler in the annual showcase. It’s an honor BeBeau has enjoyed previously, when he coached the then North team to a 4-3 victory over the South. One of the exciting parts of coaching this team is that BeBeau got to draft his players, he remarked.

“There are two teams, red and blue,” BeBeau said. “Coaches from each team take turns drafting players until they complete their 24 player rosters. The players arrive one day before the game and meet each other and their coaches. They have a training session together and then there is a dinner where all players selected for the weekend gather together.”

Unsurprisingly, BeBeau drafted both Lustig and Bochler, who respectively led the ‘Dockers on both defensive and offensive sides of the field. Lustig was one of the state’s best defenders over the past two seasons with an all-state nod in 2023, while Bochler provided a potent offensive attack which earned her honorable mention all-state as in both her junior and senior years. BeBeau’s praise for both is effusive.

“I knew they had a chance to be chosen for the game,” he said. “They have both been tremendous leaders and contributors for me over the span of their careers. Their impact cannot be measured. Like the rest of the senior class, they leave large shoes to fill.

BeBeau expressed interest in coaching the game at the start of the season, which is a requirement for eligibility, but the selection hardly ranks with the satisfaction he gains from having successful teams, like the six he has helped guide to state and the others who narrowly missed after claiming conference championships and stellar won/loss season records.

“Things like this are certainly not why I coach,” he said, “and if I were never chosen, that would be just fine. I view this nomination as a reflection of what the Ashland girls soccer program has been working towards. Collectively (from youth programs through varsity), we have put Ashland girls soccer on the map.”

That success has resulted in Ashland being bumped into WIAA D2 after a beastly run, including six state playoff appearances in WIAA D3, for over a decade. BeBeau remains bullish on the prospects for his team and its incoming players regardless of where they are seeded.

“This will make our schedule a lot more difficult, but that’s fine,” he said. “I look forward to the challenge. We are still left with a large group of talented players who have learned a lot from (an outstanding 2024 class). I have seen similar transitions many times over my span as a head coach and an assistant coach. All the remaining players will be ready to carry the torch and make their own mark.”