WIAA State Girls Soccer Tournament Preview

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State Girls Soccer Tournament Preview

THE TOURNAMENT:  The 39th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Girls Soccer Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, June 16-18, at KOHLER Engines Stadium at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee, Wis.

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TICKET INFORMATION:  Ticket prices for the tourney are  $11 per game plus online fees and must be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner, at:  https://gofan.co/app/school/WIAAWI?activity=Soccer.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: 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

Thursday, June 16

#1 Muskego (16-1-3) vs. #4 De Pere (21-2-3)  – 4:30 p.m.
#2 Waunakee (21-1-2) vs. #3 Divine Savior Holy Angels (19-2-2) – 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 18
Championship Game – 1:35 p.m.

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Division 2

Thursday, June 16
#1 Whitefish Bay (20-4-2) vs. #4 Sauk Prairie (16-6-1) – 11 a.m.
#2 Oregon (21-0-1) vs. #3 Cedarburg (14-6-2) – 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 18
Championship Game – 11:05 a.m.

Division 3

Friday, June 17
#1 New Berlin Eisenhower (20-2-1) vs. #4 Lakeland (15-2-3) – 4:30 p.m.
#2 McFarland (19-2-1) vs. #3 Notre Dame (17-2-7) – 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 18
Championship Game – 7:05 p.m. 

Division 4

Friday, June 17
#1 Kiel (22-0-2) vs. #4 The Prairie School (12-5-3) - 11 a.m.
#2 Lake Country Lutheran (13-5-2) vs. #3 Assumption (22-0) – 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, June 18
Championship Game – 4:30 p.m.

SEMIFINAL GAMES STREAMED LIVE:  The semifinals 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 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. 

FINALS LIVE ON BALLY SPORTS WISCONSIN:  Watch the WIAA State Girls Soccer Tournament finals of all four divisions live on either Bally Sports Wisconsin or Bally Sports Wisconsin Extra. The Division 2 championship final will be aired at 11 a.m. on Bally Sports Wisconsin, and the Divisions 1 and 4 title games will be aired on Bally Sports Wisconsin Extra at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively. The Division 3 final will air on Bally Sports Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area. The tournament finals will also be streamed live on the Ballysports.com and on the Bally Sports app with cable or satellite authentication.

TOURNEYNOTES:  Catholic Memorial has captured the State crown a membership-leading 11 times. Whitefish Bay has won nine titles, and Brookfield Central has won six championships with Madison West, Divine Savior Holy Angels each possessing five titles. Homestead and Ozaukee have each claimed four championships. Whitefish Bay will now have 22 State Tournament appearances to lead all programs. Catholic Memorial and Neenah have qualified 15 times with Brookfield Central and Notre Dame qualifying 14 times. Next on the list is Madison Memorial and Madison West with 12, and Divine Savior Holy Angels, Homestead and Xavier have qualified for the tourney 11 times.

LAST TIME:  Divine Savior Holy Angels captured the Division 1 championship in 2021. The Dashers edged Hudson 2-1 in the title game. Whitefish Bay rolled to a 7-0 shutout over Notre Dame to win the Division 2 championship. In Division 3, McFarland beat Plymouth 4-1 in the championship final to earn the State title, and Brookfield Academy was crowned champion with a 4-3 shootout following a 1-1 tie with Cedar Grove-Belgium in the title game.

DIVISION 1 NOTES:  Top-seeded Muskego has qualified for the seventh time and for the first time since a six-year string of appearances ended in 2019 with the Warriors winning the championship. Their five experiences prior to that resulted in losses in the semifinals. They defeated Kenosha Bradford/ Reuther 6-1 in the sectional final held at Kenosha Bradford to earn their trip to Uihlein. They tied for the championship of the Classic Eight Conference this season with Waukesha West. Waunakee has been issued the second seed. The Warriors are making their fourth appearance in the State Tournament and their first since 2019. They won the Division 2 championship in 2014 and advanced to the Division 1 championship game and finished runner-up in 2008. The Warriors return to the field following a 2-0 win over Kettle Moraine in the sectional final hosted at Waunakee. They placed first in the East Division of the Badger Conference this season. Defending champion Divine Savior Holy Angels is the #3 seed in the bracket. The Dashers qualify for the State Tournament for the 11th time overall and essentially for the third time in a row after the 2020 season and tournament was canceled. They have won five State championships. In addition to last season, they won titles back-to-back in 2008-09 and added championships in 2014 and 2016. They also advanced to the championship game in 2019 and finished runner-up. This season, they finished second in the standings in the Greater Metro Conference behind Brookfield Central. The Dashers have advanced to State through the Slinger Sectional with a 2-1 win over Homestead in the final. De Pere will make its sixth appearance and the first since 2013. The Redbirds have advanced to the championship game twice, resulting in runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2012. They advance to the State Tournament this year with a 3-1 victory over Eau Claire Memorial in the Marshfield Sectional final. The Redbirds finished in a first-place tie with Division 3 State qualifier Notre Dame in the Fox River Classic Conference this spring.

DIVISION 2 NOTES:  Perennial power and defending champion Whitefish Bay is the top seed. The Blue Dukes are making their membership-leading 22nd appearance in the State Tournament and essentially their third consecutive trip with the cancellation of the 2020 season and tournament. They have won nine State titles, which also leads the membership. Five of their titles have come in Division 2 from 1998-2000 and again in 2017 and 2021. Four came prior to the expansion of the tournament to more than one division (1983-85, 1994). They have claimed second-place finishes in 1997, 2001 2005 and 2019. This season, the Blue Dukes edged Brookfield Central 2-1 in the sectional final played at Brookfield Central to return to the tournament field. They are the North Shore Conference champions this spring. Oregon is seeded second in a bracket. It’s essentially the Panthers seventh consecutive appearance, which also accounts for their overall total. Four of their other previous State experiences ended in the championship game. Their two titles came in 2015 and 2019, and their two runner-up finishes were in 2016 and 2018. The Panthers’ return to the tournament this season comes after blanking Union Grove 5-0 in sectional final played at Oregon. They are the champions in the West Division of the Badger Conference this spring. Cedarburg is making the school’s sixth appearance in the State Tournament and the first since 2014. The Bulldog’s first four experiences came in Division 1 or when their was only one division of play. They finished runner-up in 1994 and 2004, and then won the championship in 2013 prior to qualifying to Division 2 in 2014, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The Bulldogs qualify this season with a 2-1 win over Green Bay Southwest in the Pulaski Sectional final. They finished second in the North Shore Conference standings this year behind Whitefish Bay, the 2021 Division 2 champion and the top-seeded team in the bracket. Sauk Prairie, the fourth seed, qualifies for State for the second year in a row and its third overall. The Eagles’ first appearance in the tournament came back in 1999. They fell in their semifinal game last year to eventual champion Whitefish Bay. This spring, the Eagles finished runner-up in the West Division of the Badger Conference behind second-seeded Oregon. They defeated River Falls 3-1 in the final of the Rhinelander Sectional to advance to the State semifinals.

DIVISION 3 NOTES:  New Berlin Eisenhower was issued the #1 seed in the bracket. The Lions will make their second consecutive appearance at State and their seventh overall. Their most notable experience in the tournament was a runner-up finish in 1999. They are the champions of the Woodland Conference this spring. The Lions qualify for the tournament field after defeating Shorewood 2-1 in the sectional final game played at Shorewood. Defending champion McFarland is the #2 seed. The Spartans are back making their fifth appearance at State in the program’s history. In addition to last year, they advanced to the championship game on one other occasion, placing runner-up in Division 2 in 2007. They earned their opportunity to defend their title with a 1-0 win over Edgewood in the sectional final hosted by the Spartans. McFarland is the champion in the Rock Valley Conference this season. Last year’s runner-up Notre Dame is seeded third. The Tritons qualify for the 14th time overall and for essentially the fourth straight season considering the cancellation of the 2020 season and tournament. They won the Division 3 championship in 2018 and have been State runners-up four times. They fell in the Division 2 final in 2002, 2003, and again in 2021. In addition, they finished runner-up in Division 3 in 2015. This season, they are the champions of the sectional they hosted with a 1-0 victory over last year’s State runner-up Plymouth in the final. The Tritons are co-champions in the Fox River Classic Conference standings this spring with Division1 qualifier De Pere. Fourth-seeded Lakeland returns to the tournament bracket for the second time. The only other time the Thunderbirds qualified was in 2004, which resulted in the a loss in the Division 1 quarterfinals. They advanced from the Arcadia Sectional with a 4-2 shootout advantage following a 2-2 tie versus Rice Lake. The Thunderbirds are the champions of the Great Northern Conference this year.

DIVISION 4 NOTES:  Top-seeded Kiel makes its first-ever appearance in the State Tournament. They advance to the semifinals with a 4-0 shutout win over Howards Grove in the St. Mary Catholic Sectional final. They are the co-champions of the Eastern Wisconsin/Packerland Conference this year with Sheboygan Falls. Lake Country Lutheran is making is first State Tournament appearance as a stand-alone program. They qualified six other times as a member of two previous co-op arrangements. The co-op with University Lake School produced a Division 3 championship in 2012 and runner-up finishes in Division 4 in 2015 and 2017. The co-op with University Lake School and Trinity Academy qualified twice, including 2013 and 2014. On each of those occasions, the co-op fell in the semifinals. This year, the Lightning advance to the State semifinals with a 4-3 advantage in a shootout after playing to a 1-1 tie with Sheboygan Falls in the Marian Sectional final. They placed second in the Midwest Classic Conference behind Brookfield Academy during the regular season. Third-seeded Assumption is back in the State Tournament for the fourth time and for the second year in a row. Their two other previous appearances in came 2011 and 2014. In each of those two previous experiences, the Royals advanced to the title game. The first resulted in a runner-up finish in Division 3 and the second a championship in Division 4. This season, they advance with a 3-0 blanking of Northland Pines in sectional final held at Assumption. The Royals finished first in the Mid-Western Wisconsin Conference this year. The Prairie School, the fourth seed in the bracket, will be participating in the State Tournament for the eighth time and for the first time since 2019 when the Hawks captured the State title. They also won the Division 4 championship in 2016. Prior to winning the title for the first time that season, the Hawks finished runners-up five times in Division 3, including 2003, 2004, 2010, 2012 and 2013. This spring, they tied last year’s State champion Brookfield Academy 2-2 in The Prairie School Sectional final and advanced by virtue of a 4-2 shootout. The Hawks finished second in the Metro Classic Conference this spring behind Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic.

NEED RESULTS?:  The quickest way to get results will be to access the girls soccer home page on the WIAA website at : 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 2022 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.

ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel is available online for the 2022 Girls Soccer Tournament. To browse and purchase branded merchandise, visit the WIAA Store at: https://tier1sports.com/product/wiaa-girls-state-soccer/. The online store closes at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 13. Online purchases can be picked at Uihlein Soccer Park during the State Girls Soccer Tournament.

TITLE IX 50TH ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION: The WIAA launched a year-long celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation at the  first-ever State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament in January. A complimentary commemorative program will be available at all State Tournaments throughout the year. Participants in all girls’ State Tournaments this year will receive a commemorative bag tag, and recognition of the campaign will be promoted on tournament signage, t-shirt giveaways, stories and facts on the WIAA website and social media platforms.

COVID PROVISIONS:  Fully vaccinated individuals should consider wearing a mask in areas of high likelihood of transmission. In addition, masks are strongly encouraged for individuals not fully vaccinated.

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David Keech
Author: David Keech

David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]