ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WFRV) -- The flu outbreak that closed Ashwaubenon High School, has ended the season for the boys soccer team.
The team was forced to forfeit a regional playoff game on Thursday. The district had appealed to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) to let the team play, but was denied.
Instead, Ashwaubenon soccer players watched the soccer game from the bleachers. The team they defeated last week, Shawano High School, played against De Pere High School in their place. De Pere won 2-0.
Ashwaubenon High School had beat both teams earlier in the season.
“It’s bad knowing that it should be us out there and not them,” said Colton Wesoloski, an Ashwaubenon soccer player. “We worked all season to get here, but we didn’t get the chance to play.”
Earlier on Thursday, the soccer team rallied outside Ashwaubenon High School. Team members chanted for the WIAA to grant them a chance to compete.
“Is this really about winning and losing? No. It’s about the competing,” said David Schmidt, the Ashwaubenon School District Superintendent. “The decision was right to [close the school]. The unintended consequences are not good.”
According to WIAA rules created in response to the H1N1 virus, any school closed on the day of a tournament game can no longer compete.
The soccer team isn’t the only Ashwaubenon team that’s been forced to forfeit. Both cross country teams will have to miss their all-conference meet. The football team will also forfeit a game.
Ashwaubenon soccer players told Channel 5’s Jenna Sachs it was the team’s first time advancing to the regional playoff round in four years.
