Okay, so one game left for Memorial and then it’s playoff time. Regionals, Sectionals and the State Tournament. Big game tomorrow against New Richmond. Time to get a little winning streak going! New Richmond has played two common opponents this year. They beat River Falls by a goal and lost to Hudson by a goal. I think this will be a good test and a good gauge where we are headed into the Regionals next week.
Speaking of Playoffs and the State Tournament. How about some fun facts and history to get you ready. I spent a few hours scouring websites and thought you might enjoy a few facts and figures about the tournament and EC Memorials history in the tournament.
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 Regionals 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.
Based on conference records this year, the top contenders to come out of each Region into the Sectional Finals are Memorial, Hudson, Wausau West, Wisconsin Rapids and Green Bay Preble. Maybe a rematch of Memorial vs. Preble. That would be interesting. But a few games to go, so lets just take it one game at a time. Where have I heard that before?
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 17 tournaments and 5 winners. Marquette(12), Muskego(2), Middleton, Madison Memorial, and Neenah. So I am going to rant a little now. Have not done a good rant on the blog so here we go….what the heck with letting the private schools join back into the tournament. It’s obviously not a fair deal for the public schools, just look at the results! …..Okay…done…whew… that felt good. Let’s take a look at Exhibit A of Private School dominance of sports in Wisconsin: Marquette University High School.
In 17 years since being eligible for the tournament, Marquette has participated 16 years. In those 16 years they have been in the finals 14 times and won the tournament 12 times. So, 70% of the tournaments they have won. 82% of the tournaments they have made it to the finals. 94% of the time, they qualify for the state tournament. Crazy! Just crazy!
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.
- Brookfield East 17 D1/D2
- Marquette 16 D1
- Neenah 16 D1
- Madison West 14 D1
- Middleton 13 D1
- Whitefish Bay 13 D2
- Racine Horlick 12 D1
- Cedarburg 11 D2
- EC Memorial 9 D1 (4 appearances coached by George Oien and 5 coached by David Kite)
- Green Bay Preble 9 D1
- Hudson 9 D1
Other Schools of interest: McDonnel/Regis(3) D3, Chippewa Falls(2) D1, Rice Lake(3) D3, River Falls(1) D2
So lets take a closer look at Memorials 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 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. *See earlier notes about Marquette. Ugh!
2004 (0-1) 4-2 loss to Middleton in the Quarters. Some players I recognize: Aaron Czubkowski. Patrick McClain in goal and currently on the roster of the MLS Minnesota FC. Eric Wirth, yes that Eric Wirth, current 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 7th 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 wants to get to a state tournament, just so he doesn’t have to hear it from his brother.
Important Note. D1 goes to 4 teams at State. I could have rant #2 here. Why 4 teams. Most other sports get 8. What the heck. The boys deserve a cahnce to go to state. Okay…done with rant #2. whew. Still feels good. In 2013 Memorial Lost in the Sectional Final (would have been 1st 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. That story still needs to be written. LETS GO ABES!