Southwest Soccer is making believers.
The Green Bay Southwest girls soccer team has been building toward this moment since the day Tyler Thomas was hired as its coach.
The Trojans don't believe in rebuilding or looking toward next season. It's always about the present, and it's an attitude that has helped propel them to a place nobody outside the program really thought they'd get to just yet.
For the first time in more than a decade, Southwest will compete at the WIAA state tournament, taking on Rhinelander in a Division 2 semifinal at 2 p.m. Friday at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.
The Trojans are making their fourth state appearance overall and the first since 2003. They also are looking for their first state win since advancing to a D1 semifinal in 2001.
"We lost basically our whole starting lineup this year," junior goaltender Toni Champion said. "We didn't have a lot of returning starters. So, I guess not a lot of people believed in us."
It's a lot easier to believe now than when Thomas took over in 2012.
The Trojans won three games his first season and followed with eight the next. But they took a big step forward last season, winning 14 games and reaching sectional play as a No. 2 seed.
This season, featuring a starting lineup with no seniors, the Trojans finally broke through to reach the big stage.
They did so in pretty dramatic fashion.
After getting a No. 3 seed in the tournament, Southwest went through its bracket one upset at a time.
It started with a win over No. 2 seed Menasha in a regional championship and continued with a win over No. 1 seed Oshkosh North in a sectional semifinal. It ended with a dramatic shootout win over third-ranked Pewaukee in a sectional championship on Saturday.
There are some in the soccer community who have praised Thomas for getting the most out of the talent he's had, which partly explains why he was named the Fox River Classic Conference coach of the year last season despite finishing in a tie with Ashwaubenon for seventh in the 12-team league.
It was the same story this season. The all-conference list didn't have much of a Southwest presence on it.
Junior forward Paige Pierce was the only player to be a first or second team pick, while Champion, junior midfielder Kaitlyn Schuurmans and sophomore defender Sarah Klemp were honorable mentions.
Not that it was a big surprise. Southwest is a young team that again finished seventh in the conference. But the players knew they could accomplish big things, and Thomas wouldn't let them believe anything less.
"Coach Thomas is the best coach I've ever had," Champion said. "He's my role model. He's my idol. He brings so much to the team. Always positive. Never ever puts himself before us. It's always us before him.
"I don't know, Thomas is just a great man. He believed in us all the way through. He always fights for us."
Southwest will be the underdog against Rhinelander, which is yet another No. 1 seed it must beat.
The Hodags have gone 19-3-2 overall and are 12-0-1 since losing 5-1 to Green Bay Notre Dame on May 1.
Rhinelander has gone 2-2-1 against teams from the FRCC this season, beating Green Bay Preble and Ashwaubenon, losing to Notre Dame and De Pere and tying Pulaski.
But if Southwest can contain standout Gabrielle Millot, who has scored 50 goals and has 17 assists, anything is possible.
Of course, the Trojans already know that.
"These girls are ready now," Thomas said. "They have been prepping and practicing all season long. … it's going to be tough, but we have got No. 26 (Champion) in between the posts. If she can continue playing the way she has been playing, it's going to be great.
"If the defense can continue to be disciplined and keep their formation and keep containing and keep covering, we are going to be fine."
— svenci@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter @scottvenci
WIAA girls state soccer tournament
Division 2 semifinals, Uihlein Soccer Park, Milwaukee
Friday
Oregon (21-0-1) vs. Whitefish Bay (13-5-5), noon.
Rhinelander (19-3-2) vs. G.B. Southwest (13-9-4), 2 p.m.
CREDIT: Green Bay Press Gazette