Boys soccer: Wausau East beats the lightning and River Falls to open the season with a win.

The Wausau East boys' soccer team kicked off the 2026 season with a 4-0 victory over River Falls on Tuesday night. The Lumberjacks had to wait out a 1 hour, 30 minute lightning and rain delay to earn the win over the school that ended their season in the playoffs last season.

Wausau East carried the play for most of the first half but it was just before the intermission that the Lumberjacks took the lead. In the 39th minute it was Benjamin Hoelter who scored the first goal of the season and gave East the 1-0 lead they would take into halftime.

Just over five minutes into the second half lightning was seen in the sky and the game was suspended. It took 90 minutes before the game was restarted but took only seconds for East to score and extend the lead to 2-0. East would continue to dominate and it was Abonde Msenwa who put the game away with two goals in about five minutes of playing time. First Msenwa scored in the 61st minute to make it 3-0 and then finished the scoring in the 66th minute to complete the 4-0 East win.

The Lumberjacks will return to action on Thursday with a non-conference game in Minocqua vs. Lakeland Union.