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Can a defending state champion have a “redemption tour?”

Whitefish Bay coach Robby Dubinski certainly believes so.

The Blue Dukes are headed back to the WIAA Division 2 state girls soccer final after defeating their conference rival Cedarburg, 1-0, on Friday at Uihlein Soccer Park.

Whitefish Bay will play Oregon on Saturday for the fourth time since 2019 in the state title game.

"When we made it against Pewaukee (in sectional final), we said this is a redemption tour," Dubinski said. "We knew we were going to get Cedarburg, who had beaten us, 1-0. And now we get a crack at Oregon, who beat us, 1-0.

"Any time you can get redemption to win on the biggest stage, that’s what we’re hoping for."

Whitefish Bay earned the No. 3 seed in the 41st WIAA state tournament after finishing with a 16-5-5 record in the regular season. On May 9, they lost to Cedarburg, 1-0. Nine days later, they fell again to Oregon.

"What’s the state tournament without Oregon vs. Whitefish Bay, I guess." Dubinski said. "We played them early on. They got a 1-0 win and I thought they absolutely dominated us in the first half.

"I thought it was more of an effort problem. And then I felt like we turned the tables on them in the second half and had opportunities to score at the end and just didn’t go through."

For a team that had scored 18 goals in regulation over its first four tournament games, the Blue Dukes could not find the back of the net against Cedarburg. However, their own defense remained strong. Goalie Audyn Krueger recorded four saves as she rebuffed all of the Bulldogs' advances.

"She is freakishly athletic diving to her left or right," Dubinski said. "She’s probably one of the best ball-stopping goalies. We played Cedarburg early on and they could have legitimately gone up, 3-0, in the first five minutes, but she made some incredible saves.

"She got to sit last year behind Riley Franklin, who was our All-American goalkeeper who is playing now at Baylor, and she learned a lot from her. Riley’s even came back after the Tosa West or Pewaukee game (earlier in playoffs) and had a lot of conversations. And I know they text a lot. So just keeping that mental part because the athleticism is there. It’s just keeping that mental mind-set of you are this good, you are dominant."

Both teams exited the first half without a goal. Cedarburg came close, as it outshot Whitefish Bay, 5-1. The Blue Dukes only registered a single shot on goal in the first 40 minutes.

Early in the second half, Whitefish Bay forward Elyse Leinweber recorded her seventh goal of the season with the lone score of the afternoon. In the 46th minute, she delivered a strike to the top right corner of the goal, through the hands of Cedarburg goalie Mia Hurd.

"I feel like we were just running up the field, going at them," Leinweber said. "I think Megan (Gruber) laid it off to me. Super great layoff. And then, I don’t know, I just ran through the ball. The goalie touched it! But it went in, so it doesn’t matter."

The win not only propels Whitefish Bay to another state title appearance, but also offers closure in the North Shore conference. The Blue Dukes (7-1) and the Bulldogs (6-0-2) shared the conference title this year, despite Cedarburg winning the head-to-head matchup.

There are also historical implications for Whitefish Bay this Saturday. A win over Oregon would give the Blue Dukes their second straight state title, a feat that hasn't been accomplished in Division 2 since Catholic Memorial won in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, Whitefish Bay would tie Catholic Memorial with 11 WIAA state titles, the most of all member schools.