Top-seeded Hudson faced No. 4 Verona in the D1 state semifinal Thursday night. Verona had made their first state appearance since their 2022 title run. Hudson, on the other hand, are back at state after coming up short in a penalty kick shootout loss to Marquette last year.
Verona took an early lead in the match after they were awarded a foul in the box, and after forward Julian Popkewitz buried his penalty kick into the bottom corner. The Verona Wildcats took the lead into halftime. However, just a minute into the second half, Hudson forward Will Cook found midfielder Sam Olson to give Hudson the much needed equalizer.
Hudson took that goal and ran with it. Cook continued to show off his playmaking skills by finding Cal Lessard for Cook’s second assist of the night. With a 2-1 lead, the Wildcats were getting desperate. They left forward Eric Palm one-on-one in front of net. Palm took a shot which bounced through Verona’s goalkeeper Quinn Stamper to give the Hudson Raiders a 3-1 lead.
Hudson’s defense held strong, holding Verona to just a single goal throughout the match. This win marks their first state win since 2021 where Hudson lost the final to Marquette.
Just like that 2021 state tournament, Hudson will have to face Marquette in the D1 state final at 1:30pm. Every state game the two teams play in seems to turn into chaos—both fanbases have been known to be rowdy after they’ve each managed to collapse the Uihlein Soccer Park fence during a celebration.
Hear what junior captain Will Cook had to say about his team’s performance on the night.
