Columbus soccer on the brink

MARSHFIELD – Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Close, but no cigar. There’s always next year.

No matter the idiom, the Columbus Catholic boys’ soccer team knows the role of runner-up all too well, still seeking that elusive trip to the WIAA State Tournament.

And if it weren’t for Aquinas and Arcadia, the Dons may have already been there on multiple occasions.

Since Jeff Edwards took over head coaching duties in 2013, the Dons have made five trips to the Sectional championship level, five Sectional Semifinals appearances, and twice have advanced to Regional championship competition – all while claiming eight consecutive Regional titles between 2013 and 2020.
The Dons’ success should come as no surprise, however. After all, their head coach has been there and done that.

Edwards played high school soccer at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay, a program with a deep winning tradition.

“We were very good,” Edwards recalls. “We either got to the state championship or lost in the state semifinals to Marquette University High School every year (1988-91). That was back in the days of WISAA. We had some good players on our teams and it was fun. I had a good experience with high school sports, and that’s what I try to bring for teams here.”

After high school, Edwards played several years of collegiate soccer at Milwaukee School of Engineering, before transferring to Marquette University, where he did not play at the Div. 1 level. Edwards later earned a Graduate Degree from Iowa.

“When I was younger I coached youth programs in Green Bay,” Edwards told us. “When I was in college, I’d come back for summers and coach. I always enjoyed it, but I guess I never saw myself as a high school coach until the opportunity kind of just fell in my lap, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Edwards took over as the Columbus head coach in 2013 following one season as an assistant to Dennis Keffer. He has built a program that is on the brink of a state tournament berth every season.

“It’s a mentality, like we won’t take second, and it’s instilled in the kids in the summer,” said Edwards. “They’re working hard every summer. They have captains’ practices Monday through Friday in the mornings, where they’re on the field doing ball skills, then they go to the weight room after that and they’re lifting. It really starts there with the kids, and they know that’s the mentality they take into the season then, and we’re already, I think, way ahead of teams come the first day of practice because of the work they put in during the summer.”

In his first year as head coach, Edwards led the Dons to a sectional semifinal, where they lost to Pacelli.

In 2014, Columbus made a run to the Sectional Final, losing to Barron, 2-1.

The following year, the Dons lost as a No. 1 seed in a Sectional Semifinal to No. 3 Aquinas at Griese Park in Marshfield.

The same scenario occurred in 2016, only this time the winner was Arcadia.

“2016 may have been our best team ever,” Edwards said. “Unfortunately, we lost in the Sectional Semi in a 7-5 game. We gave up ten goals that whole season, and we give up seven in one game. It was just a fluke game. When you talk to those alumni, they’re all like, ‘I wish we had that game back.’ That was a very, very good team.”

McDonell/Regis beat Columbus in a Sectional Final in 2017.

In 2018, the Dons played Arcadia to a scoreless tie after regulation in a Sectional Semifinal, then lost in a 6-5 shootout in sudden death.

After finally beating Arcadia in a Sectional Semifinal the following season, Columbus lost to Northland Pines in a Sectional championship contest, 8-2, in Wisconsin Rapids.

Another Sectional Final loss to Arcadia followed in 2020. That was followed by Regional Finals losses to Aquinas in 2021 and 2022.

The Dons were on the brink again in 2023, only to suffer yet another loss in the Sectional Finals, this time to Washburn/Bayfield.

Last season ended with another Sectional Semifinal loss to Aquinas.

Also during his current tenure, Jeff’s son, Alex Edwards, recorded 323 points in his Columbus career between 2020 and 2023, good enough to place him 7th all-time in state history.

Nadim Torbey, a Columbus soccer standout from 2015 to 2018, is 11th all-time, with 287 points.

Furthermore, Alex’s 135 points scored in 2023 ranks 3rd all-time. And he is 4th all-time in goals scored, with 140. Torbey, meanwhile, ranks 8th all-time, with 122.

Edwards has recently hit a milestone of his own. The Dons’ win over Tri-County on Sept. 29 was his 200th career victory as Columbus head coach.

Continued next week