WIAA BOYS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS AT UIHLEIN THIS WEEKEND


THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 28th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Soccer Championships will take place Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 29-31, at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee, Wis. Ticket prices for the tournament are $7.

CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION: The single-elimination tournament features three divisions. Eight teams will compete for the State title in Division 1, and four teams play for the State crown in Divisions 2 and 3. Below are the pairings and time schedule of games.

Division 1
Thursday, Oct. 29
Time      Match-ups
Noon      Eau Claire Memorial (21-1-3) vs. De Pere (17-9)
2 p.m.    Madison Memorial (15-2-4) vs. Hartford (24-2)
5 p.m.    Arrowhead (18-2-3) vs. Marquette (18-4-1)
7 p.m.    Muskego (24-1-1) vs. Kenosha Tremper (22-1-3)

Friday, Oct. 30
5 p.m.    Winners of Thursday's noon and 2 p.m. Games
7 p.m.    Winners of Thursday's 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Games
  
Saturday, Oct. 31
2 p.m.    Championship Game
  
Division 2
Friday, Oct. 30
Noon      Edgewood (14-8-1) vs. Catholic  Memorial (18-4-2)
2 p.m.    Sparta (12-6) vs. Fox Valley Lutheran (21-3-4)

Saturday, Oct. 31
Noon      Championship Game

Division 3
Friday, Oct. 30
Noon      Winnebago Lutheran (23-1) vs. Racine St. Catherine’s (18-5)
2 p.m.    McDonell Central/Regis (16-6-2) vs. Kohler (22-4-2)

Saturday, Oct. 31
10 a.m.  Championship Game

PRE-FINAL GAMES ON WIAA.TV:  The quarterfinals and semifinals of all three divisions of the WIAA State Boys Soccer Tournament will be streamed live on the Internet on WIAA.TV.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES ON FS WISCONSIN:  Watch the delayed broadcast of the WIAA Boys Soccer Championships on FS Wisconsin. The Division 1 title game will be aired on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. The Division 2 championship game will be aired on Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. The Division 3 title game is scheduled to be aired on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Check local cable listings for the channel in your area.

LAST YEAR:  Marquette won its first State championship since 2005 with a 5-0 victory over Muskego in the Division 1 title game. In Division 2, Notre Dame won its second consecutive title by defeating Catholic Memorial for the second straight year in the championship final by a 3-2 tally. Columbus won its first championship with a 3-2 victory over McDonell Central in the  Division 3 championship game.

THE DIVISION 1 BRACKET: Defending champion Marquette qualifies for State for the 10th straight year, which is also its overall number of appearances. The Hilltoppers have won six of the last nine championships, winning four consecutive championships from 2000-03 and adding another title in 2005. In addition, they finished runner-up in 2004 and 2007. The Hilltoppers qualified by virtue of their 2-1 win over Whitefish Bay in the Whitefish Bay Sectional final. Last year’s runner-up Muskego returns to State for the second year in a row after blanking Madison La Follette 2-0 in the final of the Kettle Moraine Sectional.  It’s the sixth appearance in the State Tournament for the Warriors, who also finished runner-up in 2005. Eau Claire Memorial returns to the State Tournament for the second straight season and for the sixth time overall. The Old Abes best outcome in the tournament came with a runner-up finish in 2002. They defeated Hudson 2-1 in the final of the Chippewa Falls Sectional to earn a berth in the field. Kenosha Tremper is appearing in its seventh State Tournament and its first since 2007. The furthest advance by the Trojans in any of its previous experiences at State was to the semifinals in 1984. They won the Kenosha Bradford Sectional with a 2-1 overtime victory over Badger in the final. De Pere is making its sixth tournament appearance and also its first since 2007. The Redbirds won the Division 2 championship in 1993, a year after finishing runner-up. They advance to the State Tournament via a 4-3 shootout after tying Sheboygan South 1-1 in the Kaukauna Sectional final.  Madison Memorial is back in the State Tournament for the first time since winning the championship in 2006. It is the Spartan’s fifth overall appearance. They defeated Oregon 5-1 in the final of the Middleton Sectional to gain entry into the State Tournament field.  This will be the third trip to the State Tournament for Arrowhead. The Warhawks last appearance came in 2004. In their only other appearance in 1985, they advanced to the title game but were denied the title with a 3-0 loss. Arrowhead is the representative from the Brookfield Central Sectional following its 2-0 victory over Brookfield Central in the final. Hartford will experience the State Tournament for the first time. The Orioles qualify after surviving a 1-1 tie with Neenah in the Neenah Sectional final, advancing with a 3-2 edge in the shootout.

THE DIVISION 2 BRACKET:  Catholic Memorial, the runner-up the last two seasons, returns to the field for the fourth consecutive year and for the fifth time overall. The Crusaders remain in contention for  another shot at the title following a 2-0 overtime win over Port Washington in the sectional final at Kohler. Edgewood is making its first appearance since its only other experience at State led to a runner-up finish in 2002. The Crusaders have advanced out of the Pewaukee Sectional with a 5-1 win over Delavan-Darien in the final. Both Sparta and Fox Valley Lutheran qualify for the State Tournament for the first time. Sparta advances to its initial State Tournament with a 3-0 shutout over Osceola in the Stevens Point Sectional final. Fox Valley Lutheran defeated defending champion Notre Dame  3-1 in the West De Pere Sectional final to earn its first appearance at State.

THE DIVISION 3 BRACKET:  McDonell Central/Regis is making its third consecutive appearance in the State Tournament and its third overall. It comes following the McRegis’ 2-1 overtime win over Newman Catholic in the final of the Stevens Point Sectional. Racine St. Catherine’s qualifies for the first time since making back-to-back appearances in 2001-02. It is the third time the Angels have qualified since joining the WIAA. Their best outcome was their runner-up finish in 2001. They earn their return to the field by defeating University School 2-1 in overtime in the final of the Kettle Moraine Lutheran Sectional. Winnebago Lutheran qualifies for the State Tournament for the second time and for the first time since its only other appearance in 2005. The Vikings finished runner-up that season. They defeated Aquinas 1-0 in the Central Wisconsin Christian Sectional final to join the field. Kohler prepares for its first State Tournament following its 2-1 overtime win over Gibraltar in the Wrightstown Sectional final.

MOLTEN IS THE OFFICIAL BALL:  The Molten soccer ball is the official ball of the 2009 Boys Soccer State Championships.