High School – West Wisconsin Soccer Talk

World Soccer Update

November 15, 2020 No Comments

So let’s get caught up on the World Soccer scene including the MLS, about to head into the playoffs and MLS Cup as well as updates on the Nations League, FA Womens Super League and even a little local Wisconsin news.

WIAA Boys State tournament

I have to admit, I totally whiffed on the WIAA Boys State Soccer Tournament. I mean, it just snuck up on me this past week. I have been focused on our Club training, was aware that our local school district postponed their Fall seasons and without Memorial or North playing, it just didn’t strike me there was much High School soccer being played…..but I was wrong. Happened to catch a sports update on the local news and Bam!….a state tournament update. Even in our area, private schools seasons continued and outside of Eau Claire, public schools pushed ahead with soccer. Without much local coverage, it’s tough to understand the full scope of the High School season, but I did a little research this morning.

It seems that teams who had seasons played about 10-12 games prior to the WIAA State tournament. The Big Rivers website had some results, but not a complete picture. MaxPreps site has a little better info, but it seems the reporting of scores was a little lax, so hard to grab a full picture there . For Big Rivers, the teams that played included Hudson, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, River Falls and Rice Lake. Hudson, as expected based on their recent years of being near the top of the Big Rivers, finished these games 7-0-1, with River Falls earning a 0-0 draw late in the season. So I guess Hudson is BRC Champ….not sure if they will officially award that this year? As far as the State Tournament; the Sectionals and Regionals were played late October with the State Tournament Semi-Finals and Finals played November 7th. Only 3 Divisions this year with the reduced number of teams playing. It looked like teams were moved around to fill out brackets and in some cases bracket sizes were reduced from 16 to 12 or 14. Locally we had Hudson #1, New Richmond #3, Chippewa Falls #5 and Menomonie #6 in D1, Rice Lake #1 in D2 and Regis/McDonnell #6 in D3.

And for the results: Hudson advanced to the State Tournament, congratulations Hudson soccer. Any State tournament is precious, especially since they went from 8 teams to 4 a few years back. As you would expect, top teams and programs continued to fair well. Marquette, the dominant force in Wisconsin High School soccer won their 15th State Tournament title over the past 21 years since joining WIAA when private and public schools joined up as one group. Crazy record of dominance, they are just really good. There were several first timers this year at State, which also makes sense with the reduced number of schools, with some of them being top programs. Roncalli/Two Rivers Co-Op made their first appearance and decided……what the heck….we might as well just win this thing! The Prairie School, another dominant force in Wisconsin, won their 7th State Tournament. Medord, St. Lawrence Seminary and Arcadia also made their first appearances at State, well done. I had the opportunity to attend State with two of my boys, so I know how excited the teams and families were to participate….what amazing memories. Here is the recap.

2020 State Boys Soccer Tournament

Saturday, Nov. 7

DIVISION 1 – Mukwonago H.S.

Semifinals:
Game-1: #2 Arrowhead (11-2-1) 1 – #3 Elkhorn (13-1) 0
Game-2: #1 Marquette (12-0-2) 3 – #4 Hudson (11-1-1) 0

Championship Game:
#1 Marquette (13-0-2) 3 – #2 Arrowhead (11-3-1) 0

DIVISION 2 – Marshfield H.S.

Semifinals
Game-1: #2 Roncalli/Two Rivers (13-1-1) 3 – #3 Medford (9-4-1) 2
Game-2: #4 Sauk Prairie (10-2-3) 2 – #1 Delavan-Darien (11-3) 1

Championship Game:
#3 Roncalli/Two Rivers (14-1-1) 2 – #4 Sauk Prairie (10-3-3) 0

DIVISION 3 – Kewaskum H.S.

Semifinals
Game-1: #3 St. Lawrence Seminary (11-1-2) 4 – #2 University School of Milwaukee (11-1) 2
Game-2: #1 The Prairie School (15-2-1) 1 – #4 Arcadia (8-3) 0

Championship Game:
#1 The Prairie School (16-2-1) 4 – #3 St. Lawrence Seminary (11-2-2) 0

MLS–About Time for the Playoffs

The 23-game MLS season has officially come to an end and now it’s time for some playoffs and the MLS Cup. The playoffs will start this week. There are 16 teams who will participate, broken out between the Eastern and Western Conference. In the Eastern Conference, the playoffs start with a 4-team play in round. New England vs Montreal and Nashville vs Inter Miami kick off Friday 11/20. The winners will join the Top 6: 1. Philadelphia 2. Toronto FC 3. Columbus Crew 4. Orlando City FC 5. NYC FC and 6. NY Red Bulls to determine the Eastern Conference Champions. In the Western Conference the top 8 include 1. Sporting KC 2. Seattle Sounders 3. Portland Timbers 4. Minnesota United 5. Colorado Rapids 6. FC Dallas 7. LA FC and 8. San Jose Quakes. Semi-Finals will be played 11/29. Conference Finals on 12/6 and the MLS Cup Finals o 12/12.

Minnesota plays Colorado on Sunday 11/22 at 6:30. Let’s Go Loons!!!

UEFA Nations League Update

Professional leagues around Europe are on hold for a few weeks as International Teams formed again this week for play in the Nations League. Teams are currently playing Match 5 of 6 in the Group Stages. In Group A with the top 16 European teams, the top 8 will advance into a single elimination round to determine the top European team and winner of the Nations League. Only a few teams have locked in their place in the next round including France and Portugal. It looks like it will take the final matches to determine the final 6 qualifiers. A huge game today between England and Belgium as well as Poland vs. Italy that have big implications. Getting close to the knock out stages and the games should be very entertaining.

With all apologies to Sergio Ramos and Spain, I just had to drop this video into the blog. PK’s are hard….I know they seem like they always go in, but the pressure and the nerves are real, especially with the National team games. One of the best players in the world, a perennial League winner for Real Madrid and a World Cup winner with Spain, Sergio Ramos, had a bad day on Saturday. He had an incredible play saving a goal, but he’ll have a hard time getting his two PK’s out of his head. Not much to say here….and I think Sergio would agree….these were not his best efforts, especially the second….UFF DA! Hang in there Sergio!

https://youtu.be/rgmkPDjC9Is

Ouch!

FA Womens Super League

Teams are completing Match Week 7 of 15 and we had two big clashes. Four of the top 5 teams faced off this weekend in two big Derbies. Manchester City faced off againt league leader Manchester United while #2 Arsenal faced off against #3 Chelsea. A really big weekend for the Super League.

Manchester Derby. An exciting 2-2 Draw.

Tobin Heath, yes, the same Tobin who is a member of the USWNT, fires in a rocket of a goal to get Manchester United back into the game before a late corner kick goal ties it up 2-2. And yes, that was Sam Mewis on Manchester City. The FA WSL has taken on a bit of an American flavor this season.

https://youtu.be/NVl5Qc2f2eA

London Derby. An exhilarating 1-1 draw.

These two games were really some good soccer and some great scoring chances as well. The Tobin Heath goal was a stunner. Current Table:

Manchester United 5-2-0 17 Points
Arsenal 5-1-1 16 Points
Chelsea 4-2-0 14 Points (but with a game in hand)
Everton 4-2-1 14 Points

Premier League Update

The Premier League took off two weeks for the international team games. The league is thru 8 of 38 games played so far. The table looks very intriguing….a wide open battle with at least 6 teams in range and likely a long battle for this years champion. The current table:

Leicester City 6-0-2 18 Points
Tottenham 5-2-1 17 Points
Liverpool 5-2-1 17 Points
Southampton 5-1-2 16 Points
Chelsea 4-3-1 15 Points
Aston Villa 15 Points

The remaining top 10 include Everton, Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton and Manchester City. And yes, you did miss seeing two important names…Arsenal 11th and Manchester United 14th. It’s going to be a fun ride this year watching teams jockey for a League title.

The top game of the weekend.

MLS and Premier League updates coming this week. Check back in.

Manchester United 5-2-0 17 Points

High School, World Soccer Scene

Premier League Week 18, Champions League and Other Fun Facts

December 24, 2019 No Comments

We are almost at the halfway point in the Premier League season, 18 games complete and Boxing Day signals the halfway point on December 26th. It’s quite the day of soccer in England. 18 teams play, it’s wall to wall soccer. I checked our local TV schedule and you will have opportunities all day to catch some top flight soccer. Channel 662 NBC Sports or also on the NBC Sports App as well.

6:30 Tottenham vs. Brighton

9:00 Chelsea vs. Southampton

11:30 Manchester United vs. Newcastle United

And to top off the day, the #1 and #2 teams in the table, this doesn’t happen very often so you might want to check this one out.

11:30 Leicester City vs. Liverpool

Boxing Day- A Quick History

A national holiday, the day after Christmas (also called St. Stephen’s Day) has come to be known as Boxing Day in England. While there is some debate on the origins, a few popular stores provide the clues. One theory suggests the date was a day off for servants who would receive a Christmas box from their employers to take home to their families. Another proposes that great ships setting sail would have a sealed box full of money onboard for good luck. If the voyage was a success, the box was given to the church and the contents donated to the poor on this day. Regardless, the real key is the tradition leads us to an incredible day of soccer. The story goes…in a moment of peace in 1914 during WWI, English and German soldiers dropped their weapons and decided to have a little game of football (the English kind). A ball appeared and a little impromptu game ensued. Crazy but probably true. Wow–what a moment. From that history, soccer on Boxing Day became a Thing! Local Derby’s were the rage for many years….big games against local rivals.

The Premier League fully takes advantage of the Holiday, much like we have Football in America on Thanksgiving, with not much to do but sit around and watch soccer all day. Sounds good to me!

Match Week 17/18 Recap

Four teams went undefeated the past two matches….Liverpool, Manchester City, Burnley and Sheffield United. Sheffield surged to 5th in the table.
Leicester City in a mini-slump. After roaring out the first half of the season and challenging for the top spot, Leicester City had a draw and loss the past week. The draw to Norwich City is a bit alarming. Manchester City had a solid 3-1 win to re-establish the faith in their fans that they have a chance to challenge Liverpool in the second half of the season.
Chelsea had an important win. After a bad run of form, winning only 1 of their last 5 and facing their former manager, Chelsea found their form and really dominated Tottenham to extend their gap and take control of the 4th spot in the table.
Manchester United, at the time in 6th, lost to #20 and bottom of the table Watford this week. A shock defeat really. Watford has been last all season and had only 1 win to show for their first 17 games. A new manager was assigned recently, and as sometimes happens, the new coach finds a new energy and a new passion from the players. Watford looked the better team all day and Manchester United looked frustrated. As is typical in a big upset, it was a mistake and PK that led to the win, but a deserving 2-0 win regardless. Wow! Have I ever mentioned, the Premier League is the toughest league in sport. Where else do you see these kind of upsets.

Games of the week. Mentioned above, these two top 6 match ups were big games. Manchester City now ready to challenge. Chelsea with a rebound win and a statement to their ex-manager. Lets take a look.

Leicester score on their first shot of the game, but then things just go City’s way…. a deflection goal, a PK and then Manchester City closes the door on a nice goal in the second half.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WFiVBAPJ9g

Chelsea switched up their formation to 3-4-3 and really won the tactical battle, owning possession, owning the shots and shots on goal stats as well. It was their best performance of the year and biggest win of the year. Sweeter that is was against “The Special One”, former coach Mourinjo.
For first year coach and club legend, Frank Lampard, it was “A Special Day”. And Tottenham, well, Tottenham just imploded a bit on two occasions. The penalty on their GK was a bit crazy…what was he thinking…a crazy jump and attempt to kick the ball resulted in a take down of Chelsea defender Alonso. He whiffed the kick and just ran over Alonso. Very clumsy. Most surprising was the initial call was goal kick. VAR correctly overturned and award the penalty. Later, what was Son thinking when he kicked out on Rudiger. Just lost his mind for a split second….Red Card. As a Chelsea fan….we don’t like Tottenham, so a pretty cool day for Chelsea fans. Win the game, beat Mourinjo and watch Tottenham implode twice.

Race for the Top 4

Liverpool 16-1-0. 49 Points and still undefeated, plus a game in hand.
Leicester City 12-3-3 39 Points
Manchester City 12-2-4 38 Points
Chelsea 10-2-6 32 Points
Sheffield United 7-7-4 28 Points
Wolverhampton 6-9-3 27 Points

Tottenham, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Burnley round out the Top 10. Arsenal has slipped to 11th but named a new head coach this week. Mikel Arteta, the #2 behind Pep Guardiola at Manchester City was named to replaced fired Unai Emery. Lots of talent there, and can Arteta get them to find their potential and challenge for a top 6 spot.

The Relegation Zone

There are currently only 4 teams within 3 points of the relegation zone. Bottom teams are finding some key wins and climbing the table. Southampton sits in 17th, just outside the zone with 18m points. The current bottom three include:

18. Aston Villa with 15 Points. 19. Norwich City with 12 points. 20. Watford with 12 points.

Game of the Week—Week 19

Leicester City vs. Liverpool. Leicester City need a rebound after a tough week. The rest of the league needs to know that Liverpool can be caught and will not be a runaway winner of the league.

UEFA Champions League Update

The annual competition of the top clubs in Europe is well under way with teams having completed the round robin matches. The 16 Teams advancing to the Knock Out stages have been determined and the draw for match ups happened last week. Here is the next round match ups. 5 Countries represented. England (4), Spain (4), Germany (3), Italy (3) and France (2)

PSG (France) vs. Dortmund (Germany)
Bayern Munich (Germany) vs. Chelsea (England )
Manchester City (England) vs. Real Madrid (Spain)
Juventus (Italy) vs. Lyon (France)
Liverpool (England) vs. Athletico (Spain)
Barcelona (Spain) vs. Napoli (Italy)
RB Leipzig (Germany) vs. Tottenham (England)
Atalanta (Italy) vs. Valencia (Spain)

Big Rivers All Conference Recap

In case you missed it, here is a little recap of the All Conference Teams and POY announcement.

Player of the Year. Lu Shi Xiong. Memorial.

First Team. Kolton Prater (Hudson), Lu Shi Xiong (Memorial), Cole Ober (Hudson), Logan Junker (Memorial), Luke Rosenberger (Memorial), Gage Espanet (River Falls), Nick Thompson (Hudson), Parker Bowman (Rice Lake), Jacob Peloquin (Memorial), Cory Denning (Hudson), Ayden White (North). Of note….all Seniors selected this year to the first team.

Second Team. Ryder Woodworth (Memorial), Kyle Siddons (Chippewa Falls), Owen Wise (River Falls), Tyler Albrecht (North), Ben Kemp (Rice Lake), Garrett Woodford (Memorial), Josh Linton (River Falls), Sam Ross (Hudson), Shane Drazkowski (Menomonie), Louis Larson (Rice Lake), Jonathan Fenton (Menomonie). Observations….Memorial, River Falls, and Menomonie with 2 Juniors on the list.

Honorable Mention. Jared Nunez (Memorial), Braeden Williams (Hudson), Teig O’Kelly (Hudson), Matt Gyorfi (Memorial), Landon Brunke (Chippewa Falls), Jake Engebritson (Rice Lake), Jack Echternach (North), Miles Longsdorf (River Falls), Joey Grikis (Hudson), Will Hartman (Memorial), Ben Matheson (River Falls). Of note….4 sophomores make the list. No sophomore on the 1st or 2nd teams.

High School, World Soccer Scene

State Tournament Recap and Other Fun Facts

November 13, 2019 No Comments

So, it’s time to get caught up. The State tournament has been completed and we need to congratulate Verona for winning then D1 tournament. Let’s take a look at the Semi-Finals and Finals results.

State Tournament Recap

Semi-Finals Verona vs. Kenosha Tremper. Verona was in control and found the net via three different players in a comfortable 3-0 win. They out shot Kenosha 25-7 and had 9 corner kicks to 3. A 1-0 lead at half extend to a 3-0 win and a trip to the finals.

Semi-Finals Neenah vs. EC Memorial. The stats in this game don’t really tell the story. If I told you the shots on goal were 9-9 and the corner kicks were 4-3, then you would surmise it was a really close game, likely OT or PK’s needed to decide it. Unfortunately for Memorial, that wasn’t the case. Two goals with a Nasr assist and Priest goal led Neenah . Priest is rumored to be headed to Marquette to play D1 soccer next year. A pretty impressive talent for sure. Memorial scored late but it was not meant to be. Neenah was efficient and clinical in their finishing and advanced to the state finals against Verona. Congrats to Memorial on a great season and advancing to state. It’s quite an accomplishment. They have a ton of returning players and will reload for another run. Thank you to all the seniors for giving their best to Old Abe soccer. We will miss you. Thank You Scott Knowlton, Logan Junker, Ethan Pawlak, Ashton Johnson, Evan Smith, Jacob Peloquin, Will Hartman, Lu Shi Xiong, and Luke Rosenberger. An impressive group of young men, a few of whom will go on to play college soccer. We wish them the best. My lasting EC Memorial memory of this year. Sectional Champs.

D1 State Finals Verona vs. Neenah. Verona completed their championship in I think their first ever visit to the State Tournament. An efficient 2-0 win, scoring a goal in each half. The stats reflect a pretty solid win and a game where they were in control. Shots favored Verona 19-5 and corner kicks favored Verona 9-3. Two solid wins at the tournament crown them the champs.

D2 Recap. New Richmond was knocked out in the Semi-Finals, losing to Brookfield East 4-1. Brookfield Central defeated Brookfield East in the championship game. It was tied 1-1 after regulation and the stayed 1-1 after OT. An epic PK shootout ensued with Brookfield Central escaping with an 8-7 victory and a State Championship. What a way to win….the celebration likely was pretty awesome. 8-7 PK….wow!

D3 Recap. Rice Lake also lost in the semi-finals 7-2 to McFarland. McFarland took on Shorewood in the finals and Shorewood prevailed 2-1 to win for their second state tournament title.

D4 Recap. Sturgeon Bay secured the state title with a 2-1 win over The Prairie School. It was Sturgeon Bay’s second title and they defeated perennial favorite, The Prairie School with 5 state titles to their credit.

USWNT Names New Head Coach

A new era for the USWNT has begun. Legendary coach Jill Ellis retired from the job coaching the US Women’s National Team and passed the torch to newly named head coach Vlatko Andonovski. A little quick review of Jill Ellis and her career.

Played college soccer at William & Mary from 1984-1987.

Assistant Coach at NC State, Maryland and Virginia

Head Coach at Illinois and UCLA

USWT Coach for U21 and U20 National Teams before being named Interim coach of the USWNT and then officially head coach from 2014-2019. Her record of 106-19-7 is pretty impressive. As well, she is the back to back winner of the 2015 and 2019 World Cupsa, only the seocnd coach to do that I am told. An impressive resume for sure. But now we move on to a new era and a new coach.

Vlatko Andonovski played professional in lower level European leagues, played in the US in the NPSL and MISL, lower level professional leagues in the US. He moved into coaching and was in charge of the FC Kansas City and Rein FC teams from the National Womens Soccer League. In addition to being named Coach of the Year in 2013, he won two league titles in 2014 and 2015. He is well respected and knows soccer and the women’s game from years of coaching in the NWSL. He also understands the player pool well and is well positioned to bring in the next wave of USWNT players. He is off an running with two wins in two to start his career, a solid 3-2 win over talented Sweden and a strong 6-0 win over Costa Rica.

I love Rose Lavelle. She is awesome.

MLS Cup Results

The MLS season came to a close this past weekend with the MLS Cup between the Seattle Sounders and the Toronto FC. It was a bit of a surprise final with Seattle being a #2 seed of 8 in the West and Toronto being a #4 seed in the East. Seattle upsetting the top seed LAFC in the semi-finals while Toronto getting past both the #1 and #2 seeds along the way, NYCFC and Atlanta United. Quite a path to the finals.

Toronto could not keep their run going though, losing to a strong game from Seattle. Three second half goals provided Seattle all the room they needed in a dominating second half. A stoppage time goal for Toronto made it a bit more respectable. 3-1 in the finals.

Premier League Quick Update

Game of the Year- Liverpool vs. Manchester City. This past weekend marked the marquee match up of the season to date. Liverpool the early leader and Manchester City, last years champions but currently chasing Liverpool. The game was played at Anfield in Liverpool and the crowd was electric. Liverpool really dominated the game and was stunningly effective on the counter attack. Two really amazing goals jettisoned them to an early 2-0 lead and they never looked back. The Fabinho goal from 25 yards away was a rocket…an amazing strike. One of the best of the year for sure. As always in big games….a little bit of controversy. What could easily have been called a hand ball in Liverpool’s box that would have led to a PK for Manchester City was waived off and immediately Liverpool counter attacked and produced a moment of magic on the other end for a goal for Salah. Crazy. From no penalty to a goal in like 15 seconds. VAR reviewed and declared no penalty. Oh my. Kind of looked like a hand ball, but that’s a tough rule to interpret and the rules have changed on that recently….but it was not called a hand ball and Liverpool pounced! It went 3-0 until a late Manchester City goal salvaged a little respect. Liverpool extended their league lead to 8 points over second and 9 points over 4th place Manchester City. It’s Liverpool’s title to win.

Chelsea’s Pulisic Scores Again

Captain America, the USMNT’s best player…in my opinion….and the great hope of American soccer, Christian Pulisic was at it again this past weekend. He notched his 5th goal of the season and helped Chelsea to a much needed win against Crystal Palace moving up to 3rd in the table. He has now recorded 5 goals and 5 assists on the year, one of only a handful of players to do so this year. Pretty impressive. The only bummer, he injured his hip on the play and had to back out of a couple of important games for the National Team. He will be missed as he is playing a a really high level the past month.

Captain America Strikes Again!

The Premier League is off for a few weeks on the international break, MLS is completed, so look for an update on Champions League later this weekend.

Hope these updates can keep you covered until then!

High School

State Tournament Preview and Other Fun Facts

November 6, 2019 No Comments

The State Soccer Semi-Finals weekend is here. Let’s take a look at some of the historical facts as we look forward to Neenah vs. Memorial.

State Tournament

The Boys Soccer State Tournament started in 1982 with 1 Division. In 1992 the Tournament split into 2 divisions as the number of schools with teams continued to increase. In 2002 the Tournament went to 3 Divisions and the last change occurred in 2013 when the Tournament went to 4 Divisions. 2013 is also important because that was the first year they reduced the Tournament to 4 Teams. Prior to that, the tournament included the Top 8 teams in the state. With the change in 2013, it is REALLY difficult to make it to the state tournament, only 4 teams is hard! D1 will have 64 teams start in the Regional’s and end up with 4 Sectional winners going to State.

Regionals/Sectionals

EC Memorial is in Sectional 1. Sectional 1 is broken up into two regions.

Region A includes the following teams: Chippewa Falls, DC Everest, EC Memorial, EC North, Hudson, Stevens Point, Superior and Wausau West.

Region B includes the following teams: Appleton East, Appleton North, Appleton West, Bay Port, DePere, Green Bay East, Green Bay Preble and Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln.

Tournament History

From 1982 to 1999 the Tournament was only held between Public Schools. In that period there were 8 different State Champions: Whitefish Bay(3), Madison West(3), Cedarburg(3), Neenah(2), Wauwatosa East(2), Homestead(2), Brookfield East(2) and Brookfield Central.

A big change in 2000. Private schools were added to the group and tournament. You will notice some significant changes based on this decision. Since 2000 there have been 19 tournaments and only 5 winners. Marquette (14), Muskego (2), Middleton, Madison Memorial, and Neenah. The prior 18 tournaments had 8 different winners and the roll call is the elite of Wisconsin soccer. Whitefish Bay (3), Madison West (3), Neenah (2), Cedarburg (3), Wauwautosa East (2), Brookfield Central, Homestead (2), Brookfield East (2). As many of you have heard, the rest of Wisconsin soccer is smiling a little bit this week, and feeling a bit better about their chances to win a state title….Marquette was knocked out of the tournament in the Sectional Semi-Finals. I think their earliest exit since they joined the D1 tournament in 2000. Let’s take a look at Exhibit A of Private School dominance of sports in Wisconsin: Marquette University High School.

In 19 years since being eligible for the tournament, Marquette has participated 18 years. The missed the tournament in 2013 and now again in 2019. In those previous 18 years they have been in the finals 16 times and won the tournament 14 times. So, 74% of the tournaments they have won after the 2019 tournament. 84% of the tournaments they have made it to the finals. Crazy! Just crazy! But not this year, this year we crown a new champion!!

Memorial Tournament History

When you hear Coach Kite refer to EC Memorial as one of the best programs in the State, he is basing that on facts, not just a proud coach. Let’s take a look at the top programs in the state based on tournament appearances. 272 Schools. School/Wins/Division.

Marquette 18 D1
Brookfield East 18 D1/D2
Neenah 17 D1
Madison West 15 D1
Whitefish Bay 14 D2
Middleton 13 D1
Racine Horlick 12 D1
Cedarburg 12 D2
EC Memorial 11 D1 (4 appearances coached by George Oien and 7 coached by David Kite)
Green Bay Preble 10 D1
Hudson, Brookfield Central and The Prairie School 9 D1/D2/D4

Other Schools of interest: McDonnel/Regis (3) D3, Chippewa Falls (2) D1, Rice Lake (4) D3, River Falls (2) D2

So lets take a closer look at Memorial’s Tournament History

1999 (0-1) No info on game.

2001 (1-1) Beat Wisconsin Rapids in Quarters-2 Goals by Connor O’Meara. Lost to Marquette in Semis-goal by Chad Hendricks.

2002 (2-1) State Runner Up. 1-0 win over Milton in the quarters-goal by Andy Rapacz assisted by Aaron Czubkowski. With a direct connect to this years team, Aaron’s brother Jacob Peloquin has been a valuable part of the varsity team. You know Jacob wants a win at the state tournament, just so he doesn’t have to hear it from his brother. A 2-0 win over Green Bay Preble-Adam Koger stars with a goal and assist. 4-0 loss to Marquette.

2004 (0-1) 4-2 loss to Middleton in the Quarters. Some players I recognize: Aaron Czubkowski. Patrick McClain in goal and maybe the most successful player from Memorial who played multiple years in MLS including Minnesota FC. Eric Wirth, yes that Eric Wirth, former assistant coach for Memorial.

2008 (0-1) 1-0 loss to Homestead.

2009 (0-1) Loss to DePere 0-0 and 4-2 in the Shootout. Some names you may recognize: Elek Lane (GK), Zach Brown, Collin Printz, Max Sebesta, Neil Klingensmith. At least ones I recognize. A few friends of the family.

2010 (1-1) A 1-0 win over Middleton. I was at this game. Wow. Zach Brown scored in the 7^th minute. We have only 2 shots on goal and for the rest of the game it is a defensive battle, save after save. Amazing we hung in to win 1-0. A great memory for Memorial soccer. Elek Lane in Goal was a beast.

2012 (0-1) A 4-0 loss to Marquette. I was at this game as well. Worst conditions ever for a soccer game. 36 degrees, rainy and 40 mph winds. Especially tough as my son Austin was playing in this game. Emotional night for the family. You know Cooper Lyons wanted to get to a state tournament, just so he didn’t have to hear it from his brother.

Important Note. D1 goes to 4 teams at State. In 2013 Memorial lost in the Sectional Final (would have been 1^st game at State) to Green Bay Preble on deflected direct kick off a shoulder. Maybe our best chance to win state if not for a late season injury to Scotty Nicolai. Huge bummer. Still hurts thinking about it. Great Team!! Preble loses in the final in a shoot out.

2014 (0-1) 3-1 loss to Marquette. Led by Marcus Wollack and Andy Frank, the Abes keep it interesting. 2-1 at half.

2017 (0-1) A 4-2 loss to Arrowhead after leading at halftime 2-1. Luke
Rosenberger scored the first and Matt Martinez the second. In what can only be described as unusual, Arrowhead scored 3 goals from direct kicks of 40+ yards in the game. Had seen that happen once or twice in my lifetime watching soccer, but 3 in one game. Thought this was a team who had a shot at the title. Cooper did get to a State tournament!

2019. That story still needs to be written. LETS GO ABES!

Looking at the Neenah Match Up

Neenah High School Mascot: Rockets Colors: Red/White Coach: Brian Ross WI Rank: 4 National Rank: 47

Eau Claire Memorial WI Rank: 3 National Rank 31

Common Opponents and other Fun Facts

Neenah played Oshkosh West twice this season in their conference play and in the playoffs, beating them 3-1 each time. During a non-conference road trip to Milwaukee, Memorial rallied from a 1 goal deficit to earn a hard fought 2-1 win over Oshkosh West. I think the game that really started their push to State. Advantage Neenah.

Neenah played and defeated Appleton North in their conference 2-1. Memorial played and defeated Appleton North twice this year…2-1 early in the season and 3-0 in the Sectional Finals. Advantage EC Memorial.

Memorial on a nice 13 game winning streak while Neenah is on a 7 game winning streak. Advantage EC Memorial.

Neenah played in a tougher conference with higher quality opponents. Wins over Homestead and then Arrowhead in the playoffs were pretty impressive wins. Arrowhead the #2 ranked team in state and Homestead the team who knocked off Marquette. A ton of confidence coming into State and playing their best soccer of the season it feels like. Same for Memorial but slight advantage Neenah.

Prediction: A tough, hard fought 1-goal thriller. I am thinking 2-1. And I am really hoping our defense holds up, we can limit Neenah’s chances and somehow find the goal a few times. This could be the year we make it back to the finals and finally the year we bring home the hardware. I am getting a bit nervous just writing that sentence. A lot of years cheering for the Old Abes. I know the boys will bring it….and I am wishing the coaches, players, parents and fans the best. I know it’s going to be fun.

High School

State Tournament Update: Boys Soccer Final 4

November 3, 2019 No Comments

The seedings are out. Here you go.

DIVISION 1

Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 8
Game-1: #1 Verona vs. #4 Kenosha Tremper – 4:30 p.m.
Game-2: #2 Eau Claire Memorial vs. #3 Neenah – 7 p.m.

Championship Game: Saturday, Nov. 9
Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – 7 p.m.

DIVISION 2

Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 8
Game-1: #1 Brookfield East vs. #4 New Richmond – 11 a.m.
Game-2: #2 Elkhorn vs. #3 Brookfield Central – 1:30 p.m.

Championship Game: Saturday, Nov. 9
Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – 4:30 p.m.

DIVISION 3

Semifinals: Thursday, Nov. 7
Game-1: #1 McFarland vs. #4 Rice Lake – 4:30 p.m.
Game-2: #2 Shorewood vs. #3 Seymour – 7 p.m.

Championship Game: Saturday, Nov. 9
Winner of Game-1 vs. Winner of Game-2 – 1:30 p.m.

Congratulations to New Richmond for making the tournament in D2. They have developed a nice program including their youth program that is supporting the high school teams. Well done!

Congratulations to Rice Lake for making the tournament in D3. The BRC is well represented this year. Good stuff!!

High School

Sectional Finals: Memorial Takes Down Appleton North

November 3, 2019 No Comments

Last years blog headline; Epic;Just Not the Good Kind! followed an intense and thrilling game that turned into a marathon PK battle. Memorial came up short. Appleton North advanced and Memorial’s season ended. Heartbreaking! The next day the boys were in the gym and using that loss to fuel their off season. Why lift weights this winter….Appleton North. Why work on technique all winter…Appleton North. Why are we training so hard…Appleton North. And then fate shined on Memorial, they were gifted a match up with the team who knocked them out of last years playoffs in an Epic battle. Very few teams get the chance for redemption. And on the home field of the opponent to enhance the experience. You just can’t make this stuff up, only in sports.

I’ll have a full write up on the game and some thoughts in the morning, but it’s getting late, but I did not want to finish the day without dropping in a few images and videos. Check back later if you catch this before I add some commentary, but enjoy this while I get some sleep.

One of the craziest goals of the year…I think I counted 6-7 headers in the sequence…between Ryder and Garrett there was 4-5…and then the sweet one time side net finish from Rosenberger.. Oh my!

It was meant to be!

The offense was clicking in the second half. The passing and speed of play provided multiple chances including this one.

We were a bit nervous up only 1-0, so Garrett fixed that. My fingers were not working that well, hit the start button a few times, but whoops, no go, so what you don’t see here is a few passes on the right wing and then a lofted ball into the 18 to give Garrett a shot. But Garret takes it from there!

Late in the game, Garrett found another opportunity off a corner kick and made it 3-0. Relief. Game over. You just love how Garrett finds a way to score goals. Love his energy and passion for the game. Fun to watch.

The only thing left to do is celebrate.

And collect some hardware.

D1 Sectional 1 Champs

On to State. They reseed the final 4, so I am guessing we draw the 2 seed and play Neenah. Just a hunch.

Results from today.

#1 Memorial 3-0 over Appleton North

#3 Neenah over #4 Homestead 2-1 (OT)

#1 Verona over #2 Madison West 1-0

#4 Kenosha Tremper over #3 Kenosha Bradford

GO ABES!!

High School

Sectional Finals Preview and Other Interesting Notes

November 1, 2019 No Comments

As we look forward to the game Saturday, let’s take a look at some clues we might be able to find in Appleton North games and Memorial games this season.

August 30. Memorial 2-1 over Appleton North. An early season match up that gave us a clue both teams were good and had a chance to go deep.

Key games for Appleton North.

Lost to Neenah who has been ranked in the Top 10 most of the year.

Beat Oshkosh West 2-0. This is a common opponent for the two teams. Memorial edged past Oshkosh West 2-1 in early October to start their good run of play.

Tied Bay Port 1-1, Bay Port received a #1 Seed in the tournament. A quality draw.

Tied Hudson 1-1 early in the season. Another strong game and draw.

Beat Green Bay Preble 2-1 in OT in the Sectional Semi-finals. Earlier this year, the same weekend Memorial beat Appleton North, they tied Green Bay Preble, 0-0.

Conclusion….the game should be very competitive. Both teams have quality wins and have played well in big games against strong competition. Does Memorial have the edge having won earlier this year….does Appleton North have the edge as they may view it as a revenge game and be fired up? Memorial still has the taste from last years defeat lingering for motivation as well. I know it will be a good game, can’t wait.

Sectional 2 Games it appears were moved to today. Same for Sectional 3 and 4. Not sure if that was how they were scheduled or they were moved due to weather. #1 Marquette vs. #4 Homestead and #2 Arrowhead vs. #3 Neenah. Might be a surprising result to report soon if the rumors are true.

Section 3 Semi-Finals also look to have moved to Friday. #1 Verona vs. #5 Middleton and #3 Madison East vs. #2 Madison West. Madison area has some pretty serious soccer talent.

Sectional 4 Semi-Finals. #1 Racine Case vs. #4 Kenosha Tremper and #3 Kenosha Bradford vs. #7 Milwaukee Pulaski.

High School

Wisconsin Boys Soccer Playoffs Round 3

November 1, 2019 No Comments

Okay, so now its getting serious. We are down to the Sectionals….16 Teams remain in the state D1 Playoffs and the games are going to start getting really good. And that starts right here in Eau Claire with EC Memorial vs. Hudson.

We knew this was the likely match up and we know a few things already….it was going to be a physical match up…..it was going to be well played by both teams…..likely it would be a one goal game for much of the match and probably a few yellow cards…..these teams don’t really like each other. Success breed that competitive fire. Being the top two teams in the BRC makes this a true rivalry game. The stakes are almost always high when these two teams play. So let’s review.

First, a 3:00 start. now come on, how in the heck are we supposed to plan for a 3:00 game. Season games are 5:00, and then they move them to 4:30. Round 2 games started at 4:00….but 3:00. Holy Toledo. So of course no matter how hard you try, the phone rings, a meeting goes late, you rush to the game but arrive a few minutes late….and you miss the first goal. A header off a cross from Will Hartman to Garrett Woodford. Nerves are settled, the home team has a goal, all is right with the world. But then of course, I don’t have the video to show, what the heck. But I do have access to YouTube…so in honor of Woodford, let’s show a great header goal from years past. A flying header in tribute to crazy man Woodford who has a few amazing header goals this year. In your honor Garrett….

So now I have arrived and settle in. Top Observations for the game.

Kolton Prater is good. I knew the Hudson midfielder was good. He was Conference Player of the Year and I am guessing he goes back to back. A few Memorial players may have a case, but not sure anyone in the league is better. He is better than good, he is dynamic. Fast, physical, skilled, great feet, constant movement and energy. He really controlled midfield in the first half and looked very dangerous. A few collisions near the 18 made me very nervous. In the box?, out of the box?. A few no calls, but he also got his share of calls. Fortunately on this night, the free kicks just did not turn into anything dangerous. A few into the wall and a few easy saves, whew, we dodged a bullet with Kolton.

The Trio of Rosenberger, Nunez and Peloquin are clicking right now. This three headed monster from Memorial is really playing their best soccer of the season. They are all really fast, they are all willing passers, they all seem to know where the other two are located and they all have mad skills on offense. Shooting, dribbling, passing…..they are dynamic offensive players. It could have been 4-0 or 5-0 tonight.

A clean sheet on defense. Memorials defense is experienced, fast, physical, and all are really smart soccer players. Hartman, Gyorfi, Junker and Biwer really hold down the line and limit the attacks and shots on goal. Knowlton stops everything he should. The midfield, under a ton of pressure tonight, responded. Woodworth is a beast. Xiong is box to box. Whitis has stepped up his game and is earning his spot. Throw in Jolley and you have a scrappy group that plays really hard, very physical, presses everything and limits opportunities. 2 Goals to Hudson in 3 games is impressive.

The game was chippy. There were bodies flying everywhere. It got physical and a bit testy a few times. Fans are never happy, both teams always want the call to go their way, and are never happy if it doesn’t, but I thought the ref got the calls right. You knew the teams did not like each other, you knew it would be physical.

The better team won. It will be interesting to look at the stats tomorrow. Felt like Memorial won the possession battle. I think they had a pretty good advantage in shots as well. The shots on goal for Hudson were all manageable for Knowlton. Memorial hit for 2, but there were several very close, I think 3-0, 4-0 would not have been a surprise. Memorial got better each game against Hudson, from a 1-1 tie, to a 3-1 win to a 2-0 shutout.

Let’s look at some highlights.

Back Post Header off the upright.

What appeared to be an easy floater to the GK turned into an almost goal off the post. It was a sign the second goal was getting closer. And then there was the Rosenberger show! He was strong all night. He is a real difference maker and had multiple good looks tonight. He is saving them for the Sectional Finals I think…or hope! Here is a Rosenberger highlight reel.

The trio previously mentioned hooked up for goal #2. It all starts with a very high quality pass from Rosenberger. How he sees Peloquin, I don’t know and then he drops the ball into a perfect position. A really amazing pass. Peloquin does his thing and serves a ball right into the box and Nunez does his thing and delivers the final blow to Hudson’s hopes. Boom…Game Over!

Nothing left to do but celebrate. On the the Sectional Finals!

#2 seed Appleton North took down Green Bay Preble 2-1 in OT to advance to the Sectional Final against Memorial. It shows the game time on Saturday at 1:00. It also shows the location as Appleton North. So that’s interesting. I did not think a team could host a Sectional Final….that they were played in a neutral site. I’ll keep an eye on that, very surprising they would allow this game to be played at Appleton North’s home field ….Memorial is the #1 seed, Appleton North is the #2 seed. Curious!

New Richmond and Rice Lake both advanced as well to the Sectional Finals.

High School

Wisconsin Boys Soccer Playoffs Round 1

October 22, 2019 No Comments

#1 Memorial Rolls Over #8 North, 7-0

I guess it’s what you expect in an 8 vs. 1 match up. The underdog hopes to keep it close, steal a goal and hang on….but it was not meant to be for North. Memorial was dominant. The scoring started early….actually a bit too early for me….I thought the game started at 4:30. Whoooops, a 4:00 start and two goals in the first 20 minutes meant I missed them both. Sorry Luke….8 goals in the past few games and you are really rolling. But I did watch the rest of the game.

Memorial dominated possession, had a ton of shots, allowed maybe 1 shot on goal, and did not let North in their half except for a few dribbles here and there. It was the third match up between the two teams and I think Memorial has stepped it up a bit in each game. North just had no answers for the Memorial attack and just not enough offense to test the Memorial defenders. Possession–shot–save–clearance–steal and repeat was the flow of the game. Sprinkle in 3 goals in the first half and 4 goals in the second and you have Memorial advancing to the next round.

The real story of the game were the conditions. Not ideal for soccer. Cold, wet, and very windy. Tough on fans and anyone not playing. For Memorial, once they got to 4, it was time to rest a few players and get ready for Round 2. A few takeaways from the game.

–Rosenberger is starting to take over….and that’s a good thing. Something like 7-8 goals in the past 3 games. A hat trick at Rice Lake and just a little different attitude it feels like. That’s what you want from your Senior Captains!

–The bench is getting shorter which is normal in playoff time. Key players will get the minutes and as the team goes deeper, I think that continues.

–Goals are coming from multiple players. Tonight there were 6 different goal scorers. A balanced attack is a good thing.

–The defense looks solid. The midfield is stepping aggressively and winning balls. If an attacker loses possession, they quickly press and work to regain. It looks hard to play against. The competition will get better, but Memorial looks ready for any challenge.

Let’s take a look at some highlights.

I missed a few good goals from Rosenberger and Xiong, but did catch this corner kick goal for Mason Sherman. He has tallied a few lately and is becoming a threat on the outside to compliment the starting group.

As fate would have it, my fingers were too cold to press play on a goal from Gyorfi…sorry Matt. As well, I flubbed a goal from Peloqin….sorry Jacob. But I seemd to not mess up when I was filming Sherman. Here was another dangerous ball from the right side. Just a bit outside! GK was beat.

I suppose practice makes perfect. Sherman gets another shot at it after a nice pass beats the defense. Mason one times a drive across goal and hits the net this time. A double for Mason!

Last goal on the night and it was deserving. A little touch into space, a spurt to get to the ball….a hot shot that’s just hot enough the GK can’t handle it….maybe a little fortunate deflection, but hey, the ball settled into the net. Nice work Joey Moua, exciting to see the Freshman tally a goal in the playoffs.

Regional Finals in Sectional 1

So we are now set for the Regional Finals on Saturday. Only one upset so far in Sectional 1, with #6 seed Appleton West advancing. Other games of notes: Steven Point 1-0 winner over DC Everest. Wausau West a 5-2 win over Superior. Hudson with a 8-0 win over Chippewa Falls.

#1 Memorial vs. #4 Stevens Point

#3 Wausau West vs. #2 Hudson

#1 Bay Port vs. #4 Green Bay Preble

#2 Appleton North vs. #6 Appleton West

Coaches Poll Week 8

No change as we enter the playoffs.

Marquette
Arrowhead
Verona
Madison West
EC Memorial
Madison East
Oconomowac
Neenah
Homestead
Hudson

D2-D3-D4 Regional Updates

In D2, #4 River Falls advances with a 3-2 win over LaCrosse Central but now faces off against top seeded Onalaska.

#6 Menomonie fell to #3 Holman 8-1 and is eliminated.

#2 New Richmond dominated #7 Tomah 9-0 to advance to the next round against #2 Holman.

In D3, #1 Rice Lake plays on Thursday.

In D4, #8 McDonell/Regis won against #9 Wisc Valley Lutheran and takes on #1 seed Barron in the next round.

High School

Big Rivers Week 8 Update and Other Fun Facts

October 16, 2019 No Comments

Things are winding down in the BRC and right now it looks like EC Memorial will be your Big Rivers Champs for 2109. In what was essentially a championship game, Memorial took down Hudson last week 3-1 to take control. Only an upset or wobble would keep them from taking the title and they have taken care of business since then with back to back 7-0 wins over North and Menomonie. With just one game left against Rice Lake, even a loss guarantees them a title…I think….as they would own the tie breaker with Hudson based on the win last week.

The Memorial v. Hudson game lived up to expectations. A physical and aggressively played encounter. Memorial struck first and then extended their lead to 2-0 at halftime. The game with Hudson is always a battle. Even with the lead, the Abe’s took 3 yellows in the first half. The second half, the physical play continued and the fate struck, Memorial got hit with a penalty in the box, PK, Hudson scores and the game is now 2-1. Game on! Nerves initiated! I predicted 2-1 and now Memorial would have to hold off a charging Hudson team. But sometimes in soccer, the referee will giveth and sometime the referee will taketh away. A few minutes later and a Hudson foul in the box and Memorial delivers and the score is 3-1. Memorial weathers the quick storm and finishes the game off 3-1. Big Rivers Is now under control and There just need a few wins to finish it off, which they got. Well done Memorial.

Big Rivers Updates

Hudson with back to back 4-1 wins over Rice Lake has locked in the 2nd spot in Big Rivers. River Falls with back to back wins over Chippewa Falls has put some pressure on Rice Lake but looks to finish 4th. Rice Lake has taken care of all their games this year but just can’t get past the top two teams in BRC. Menomonie, North and Chippewa Falls fill out the 5-6-7 spots.

Coaches Poll

Not many changes this week in the coaches poll for D1.

Marquette
Arrowhead
Verona
Madison West
Eau Claire Memorial
Madison East
Oconomowoc
Neenah
Homestead
Hudson

State Playoffs-Seeding Announced

With just a few games left this year, the seedlings have been announced and are available to view at wiaawi.org. Let’s take a look at how the Big Rivers is set up in the tournament. Here are the seedlings:

D1 Sectional 1: Memorial #1, Hudson #2, Chippewa Falls #7 and North #8. A bit confused by the Chippewa Falls and North, I would think those two would be reversed. Oh well, just an innocent bystander blogger here with an opinion. In D2 Section 1: River Falls #4, Menomonie #6 and local team New Richmond with a #2 seed. In D3 Sectional 1: Rice Lake earned a #1 seed. In D4 Sectional 1 McD/Regis looks to have secured the #8 seed this year and has a tough road to advance.

If seeds hold, then another Memorial v. Hudson showdown looms, but a few games to go before that happens and some good teams to get past. On Memorials side of the bracket is Stevens Point who earlier this year beat Hudson and has wins over Green Bay Preble and DC Everest and is a very dangerous team. As well, cross town rivals can always make the game interesting in the opening match with North. They have a quality GK who can get hot. Wausau West has some quality wins too, so Hudson will have their hands full. Bay Port and Appleton North look like solid picks to advance. When they went from 8 teams at state down to 4, it made getting to State a really big accomplishment. It is quite a challenge to advance. Take a look at Sectional 2, the top 2 teams in the coaches poll, Marquette and Arrowhead are in that Sectional and have to face off to get to State, oh my.

Upcoming Schedule

Memorial starts their playoff run next Tuesday, 4:30 at home vs. North. Get your popcorn ready….here we go!

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