West Bend, Wi – The No. 14 seed West Bend East boy’s varsity soccer team will take on No. 6 seed Homestead in a WIAA Division II playoff this afternoon at 1 p.m. The Suns are living a true Cinderella story, and at the heart of it is one homeschool family.
The Suns shocked the WIAA Division II playoff bracket Tuesday night with a 1–0 victory over No. 3-seed Slinger, marking East’s first postseason win in a decade. For head coach Forest Rodman, 24, the moment was the culmination of years of rebuilding — and the power of family.
“It’s easy to make the team into a family when half of us are family already,” said Forest.
The Suns’ stunning win came courtesy of Rodman’s youngest brother, freshman striker Nathan Rodman, who scored the game’s only goal in the 65th minute.
Brothers Casey, a center back, and coaching assistant Timmy, 20, round out the Rodman foursome.
Together, they’ve breathed new life into a program that was once on the brink.
“When I took over three years ago, East boys soccer hadn’t won a regular season game in about four years,” said Forest. “It had been six years since they’d won a conference game. The bar was low — but I believed we could change that.”
And change it they did. In Forest’s first season, the Suns earned a long-awaited win. The next year, they tallied three victories and a tie. This season — the third under Forest’s leadership — East finished with an overall record of 6-14, its first conference victory in nine years (1-11 in conference), and now, a monumental playoff upset.
“I told the boys before the game, we were going to win 1–0,” Forest said. “If we could get one goal, our defense would carry us. And that’s exactly what happened.”
Goalkeeper Jonah Fischer delivered a standout performance, shutting down every Slinger attack. But Forest said the real difference wasn’t in talent — it was in chemistry.
“Individually, Slinger might have had some stronger players,” he said. “But my guys — they play as one. Their chemistry is incredible. Their determination is what won that game.”
That sense of unity runs deep. The team often eats together after games, carpools to extra practices, and rallies around each other through losses and long odds.
The team also has a strong homeschool presence; six of the 20 players on the team are homeschooled.
“These boys are the most tight-knit group I’ve ever seen,” Forest said. “Even when we got mercy-ruled twice this season, they still found ways to pick each other up. My captains — Cole Proffit, Brett Wagenknecht, and Jonah Fischer — they keep everyone’s spirits high.”
Casey Rodman, 16, said the win was definitely a big confidence boost. “We’d lost to Slinger just five days before, 3-1, so we knew what to expect. Our strategy was to play tight defense — what my brother’s old coach used to call ‘park the bus.’ Everyone played midfield or defense, and we just had one striker up top.”
That striker happened to be Casey’s brother, Nathan Rodman.
“It feels amazing, even just being on the team for one year,” said Nathan about the victory.
He credited the strong defensive formation as the key to securing the win.
“Even our main striker was playing defense. Our other formations weren’t working so, basically we were really protecting the goal and following up shots,” he said.
For Forest, who played sports for East while being homeschooled, coaching alongside his brother Timmy is especially meaningful.
“Coaching with my brother is the greatest blessing ever,” he said. “He’s honestly the real mastermind behind it all. I might be the better coach, but Timmy’s the better manager. All the good ideas come from him.”
Forest emphasized his mission has always been about more than wins.
“My goal was to make great soccer players — but even better young men,” he said. “Seeing how far they’ve come, that’s the real victory.”
Now, the Suns advance to face reigning champions Homestead in the second round of the WIAA playoffs on Saturday at 1 p.m. Homestead advanced with a 6-0 win over Ashwaubenon.
Casey said, even though Homestead holds home-field advantage, East is hoping to level the playing field with solid defense, clever strategy, and comaraderie.
“At the start of the year, we had a lot of players who had almost never played before — even a couple of seniors who joined for the first time,” he said. “But everyone’s improving, getting more fluent, and it’s all starting to come together.”
As for the mindset heading into Saturday’s showdown?
“We need to be confident — not cocky,” Casey said. “We’re not expecting to win, but we are expecting to play our best. And if we play our absolute best, then we will win.”
“It’s a big game,” said Forest. “But my boys know — if they can beat Slinger, they can beat anybody.”
The winner of today’s regional will move onto play the winner of No. 10 Cedarburg vs. No. 2 Pulaski in a sectional matchup October 30.