WIAA Girls Soccer State Tournament Preview

THE TOURNAMENT:  The 38th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Soccer Tournament will take place Thursday and Friday, June 24-25, at KOHLER Engines Stadium and Pat Jones Field at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee, Wis. Ticket prices are $11 per session. Tickets for the semifinal games are available through the participating schools, and championship game tickets will be available at the venue.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: Maintaining COVID-19 accommodations, the traditional three-day format has been altered to a two-day event utilizing two fields. The single-elimination tournament features four teams in each of the four divisions. Below are the seeds, pairings and time schedule of games.

DIVISION 1

Semifinals – Thursday, June 24 – 1 p.m.
#1 Divine Savior Holy Angels (15-1-1) vs. #4 Kenosha Bradford/Reuther (13-2) – KOHLER
#2 Hudson (15-0) vs. #3 Kettle Moraine (10-4) – Jones

Championship Game – Thursday, June 24 – 7 p.m.
Semifinal Winners – KOHLER

DIVISION 2

Semifinals – Thursday, June 24 – 10 a.m.
#1 Whitefish Bay (18-0) vs. #4 Sauk Prairie (15-0) – KOHLER
#2 Oregon (13-1) vs. #3 Notre Dame  (16-2-1) – Jones

Championship Game – Thursday, June 24 – 4 p.m.
Semifinal Winners – KOHLER

DIVISION 3

Semifinals – Friday, June 25 – 1 p.m.
#1 Plymouth (17-0) vs. #4 Ashland (19-1) – KOHLER
#2 McFarland (14-0) vs. #3  New Berlin Eisenhower (15-2) – Jones

Championship Game – Friday, June 24 – 7 p.m.
Semifinal Winners – KOHLER

DIVISION 4

Semifinals – Friday, June 25 – 10 a.m.
#1 Cedar Grove-Belgium (14-1) vs. #4 Assumption (13-0-2) – KOHLER
#2 Howards Grove (10-2-1) vs. #3 Brookfield Academy (9-0-2) – Jones

Championship Game – Friday, June 25 – 4 p.m.
Semifinal Winners – KOHLER

ALL GAMES STREAMED LIVE:  Each game of all four divisions of the WIAA State Girls  Soccer Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis. To purchase a $10.99 subscription to the live programming, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription image near the top of the page.

TOURNEY NOTES:  Catholic Memorial has captured the State crown a membership-leading 11 times. Whitefish Bay has won eight titles, and Brookfield Central has won six championships with Madison West possessing five titles. Divine Savior Holy Angels, Homestead and Ozaukee have each claimed four championships. Whitefish Bay will now have 21 State Tournament appearances to lead all programs. Catholic Memorial and Neenah have qualified 15 times with Brookfield Central qualifying 14 times. Next on the list is Notre Dame with 13, and Madison Memorial and Madison West with 12, and Homestead and Xavier have qualified for the tourney 11 times.

LAST TIME:  Muskego was crowned champion in Division 1 the last time the tournament was played in 2019. The 2020 season and State Tournament were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Warriors edged Divine Savior Holy Angels 2-1 in the title game. Oregon worked overtime to win the Division 2 championship with a 4-1 tally in the shootout following a 1-1 tie with Whitefish Bay in the championship game. In Division 3, Catholic Memorial blanked Edgewood 1-0 in the championship final, and The Prairie School was the champion in Division 4 with a 2-0 win over Oostburg in the title game.

DIVISION 1 NOTES:  Top-seeded Divine Savior Holy Angels qualifies for the State Tournament for the 10th time overall and essentially for the second  time in a row after the 2020 season and tournament was canceled. The Dashers qualified and finished runner-up in 2019. They have won four State championships. The most recent was in 2016. Their other titles came in 2014 and back-to-back in 2008-09. This season, they finished atop the standings in the Greater Metro Conference. The Dashers have advanced to the State semifinals through the Arrowhead Sectional with a 7-2 win over Appleton East in the final. It has been 20 years since second-seeded Hudson has qualified for the State Tournament. The Raiders are making their seventh appearance overall. The first six were in succession from 1996-2001. The most notable experience of their previous trips was a runner-up finish in 1996. The Raiders are the champions in the Big Rivers Conference this spring. They return to the State tourney following a 3-0 victory over Kimberly in the Kaukauna Sectional final.  Third-seeded Kettle Moraine will make its fourth State appearance and its first since 2018. The Lasers first two experiences came in back-to-back in 2014 and again in 2015, when they finished runner-up. This season, they finished fourth in the Classic Eight Conference. Their return to the State semifinals is the result of a 3-0 shutout over Madison West in the sectional final played at Sun Prairie. It’s the first-ever State appearance for fourth-seeded Kenosha Bradford/Reuther. The Red Devils placed second in the Southeast Conference this spring. They are the representatives out of the Kenosha Tremper Sectional with a 2-1 decision over 2019 champion Muskego in the final.

DIVISION 2 NOTES:  Top-seeded Whitefish Bay is making its membership-leading 21st appearance in the State Tournament and essentially its second consecutive trip with the cancellation of the 2020 season and tournament. The Blue Dukes have won eight State titles. Four of their titles have come in Division 2 from 1998-2000 and again in 2017, and four came prior to the expansion of the tournament to more than one division (1983-85, 1994). In addition to finishing runner-up in 2019, they have claimed second-place finishes in 1997, 2001 and 2005. The Blue Dukes blanked Brookfield Central 3-0 in the West Allis Central Sectional final to advance to the tournament field, and they possess a cumulative 14-0 scoring advantage over postseason foes in three games. They are the North Shore Conference champions this spring. Oregon, the champion the last time the tournament was played in 2019, is seeded second in a bracket. It’s essentially the Panthers sixth consecutive appearance, which also accounts for  their overall total. Three of their other previous State experiences ended in the championship game with their first title in 2015 and runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2018. Their return to the tournament comes after edging Waukesha West 2-1 in sectional final played at Oregon. The Panthers have a combined 35-1 scoring advantage over their tourney opponents in four games. They are the champions in the South Division of the Badger Conference this spring. Third-seeded Notre Dame qualifies for the 13th time and for essentially the third straight season considering the cancellation of the 2020 season and tournament. The Tritons won the championship in 2018 and have been State runners-up four times. They fell in the Division 2 finals in 2002, 2003 and 2011, and in Division 3 in 2015. This season, they are the champions of the Oshkosh North Sectional with a 4-1 victory over Cedarburg in the final. The Tritons placed third in the Fox River Classic Conference standings this spring. Sauk Prairie, the fourth seed, qualifies for State for just the second time. The first came in 1999, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The Eagles are the champions of the Marshfield Sectional, advancing with a 3-0 win over River Falls in the final.  They have held tournament opponents scoreless in their four postseason games this season and have a cumulative 21-0 goal advantage. They finished first in the North Division of the Badger Conference this season.

DIVISION 3 NOTES:   Top-seeded Plymouth makes its first appearance in the State tournament since 2000 when the Panthers qualified and were eliminated from title contention in the semifinals following a tie and the subsequent shootout. They cruised through the competition on their path to the State Tournament this year, outscoring their opponent by a combined score of 27-0 in four games. They defeated Freedom 10-0 in the sectional final game played at Plymouth. The Panthers are the champions of the East Central Conference this spring. Second-seeded McFarland will make its fourth overall appearance at State and the first since 2008. The Spartans’ first appearance came in 1991. The most notable experience in the tournament was a runner-up finish in 2007. They earned their opportunity to continue playing for a State title this season with a 4-0 win over Belleville/New Glarus in the McFarland Sectional final. The Spartans finished first in the Rock Valley Conference this season, and they have not allowed an opponent to score during the tournament, outscoring foes by an cumulative total of 16-0 in three games. New Berlin Eisenhower, the #3 seed, will make its first State appearance since 2018 and its sixth overall. The Lions’ most notable experience in the tournament was a runner-up finish in 1999. They are the champions of the Woodland Conference this spring. They qualify for the tournament field following a 3-0 win over Kewaskum in the sectional final game played at Kewaskum. The Lions have outscored their three Tournament Series opponents by a combined total of 21-0. Fourth-seeded Ashland returns to the tournament bracket for the sixth time overall and essentially for the second straight time after the 2020 season and tournament was canceled. They qualified in 2019 and lost in the semifinals. The Oredockers had a string of three appearances end after the 2015 season, and they are attempting to advance past the semifinals for the first time. They edged Rice Lake 3-2 in the Medford Sectional final to return to State. The Oredockers are the champions of the Great Northern Conference this year.

DIVISION 4 NOTES:  Top-seeded Cedar Grove-Belgium makes its second appearance in the State Tournament and the first since the Rockets’ only other appearance resulted in a runner-up finish in 2018. They are back at State following a 3-2 win over  Lake Country Lutheran in the St. Mary’s Springs Sectional final. They are the champions in the Big East Conference this year. Second-seeded Howards Grove is also making its second appearance at State. The first came in 2017, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The Tigers advance to the State semifinals after a tightly contested 2-2 tie and subsequent 4-3 advantage over St. Mary Catholic in the Kiel Sectional final. They finished third in the Big East Conference standings, the same league as fellow Division 4 qualifier Cedar Grove-Belgium, which is the top seed in the bracket. Brookfield Academy, the third seed, qualifies for the State Tournament for the third time overall and for the first time since winning the title in 2017. The Blue Knights’ only other appearance came in the 2015 when they were eliminated from title contention by a shootout following a tie in the semifinals. They edged Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic 1-0 in the sectional final host by The Prairie School to continue their quest for a title. The Blue Knights placed first in the Midwest Classic Conference this spring.  Fourth-seeded Assumption is back in the State Tournament for the third time with previous appearances in 2011 and 2014. In each of those two previous experiences, the Royals finished runners-up. The first came  in Division 3 and the second in Division 4. This season, they advance with a 2-0 blanking of Regis/McDonell Catholic in sectional final held at Assumption. The Royals finished first in the Marawood Conference this year.

NEED RESULTS?:  The quickest way to get results will be to access the girls soccer home page on the WIAA website: https://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/Spring/Girls-Soccer/Tournament and choose the appropriate link.

SELECT IS THE OFFICIAL BALL:  The Select “Royale” soccer ball is the official ball of the 2021 Girls Soccer State Tournament. For more information on Select soccer items, access the Select website at: www.selectsportamerica.com.

FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA:  Receive updates of the State Girls Soccer Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaasoccer. Also like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram at wiaawi.

STATE SOUVENIR PROGRAMS ONLINE:  The souvenir programs for the 2021 spring State Tournaments are available online and available to download and print at no cost. The complete State Girls Soccer Tournament program with rosters of qualifiers, history and schedule information can be accessed at: https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Publications/Programs/2021girlssoccer.pdf.

ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the 2021 Girls Soccer Tournament. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://wiaastategirlssoccer21.itemorder.com/sale. Online purchases will be shipped after the online store closes at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, June 30