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 No Wisconsin team has ever won a title at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, which started in 1935.
Thanks the opportunistic Justine Hovden, the FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team has an opportunity to end that streak.
Hovden scored twice in a 15-minute span, with both goals coming off rebounds, as the Nationals posted a 3-1 victory over Mockingbird Premier (Kent.) in the Region II championship game Wednesday morning at the USA Youth Sports Complex in Appleton to earn a spot at nationals.
"Credit to her, because she worked her guts out all week and put herself in the right place at the right time twice today," FC Milwaukee coach Christian Lavers said of Hovden, a former Lake Geneva Badger athlete headed to Baylor in the fall.
The Nationals join Region III champion Team Boca from Florida and Region IV champion Colorado Rush Nike in qualifying for the girls Under-18 division at the national championships, which are July 27 to 31 at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix.
The final entry will be the winner of the Region I tournament, which kicks off Friday in Lancaster, Pa. The four teams will play each other, and the sides with the two best records will meet for the title on July 31.
In the Region II final, Marquette recruit Mady Vicker (Whitefish Bay) put FC Milwaukee ahead in the 13th minute, scoring on a shot from the top of the box, and Hovden was on the spot to double the lead in the 20th.
Jacie Jermier (McFarland), another incoming freshman at Marquette, played a cross into the box that turned into a shot for a teammate. Mockingbird Premier goalkeeper Katie Pope made the initital save, but Hovden popped in the rebound.
The Kentucky side halved the lead five minutes later as Louisville recruit Casey Whitfield continued her torrid scoring streak with a long-range blast. It was her seventh straight goal for her team over the past three matches.
"She was a dangerous player," Lavers said of Whitfield. "She was strong, she was quick, she struck the ball well. The goal she scored was a great finish from about 25 yards. She was a good player."
But Hovden restored the Nationals' two-goal lead on a similar goal, pouncing when Pope stopped but couldn't hold a shot by an FC Milwaukee player and finishing in the 35th.
"The second half really was about keeping the ball, trying to kill the game and just not let them back into the game," said Lavers, who noted that this team didn't even win the Wisconsin State Championship three years ago.
This was the final USYS regional tournament for most FC Milwaukee Blue teams, as the club's top teams at each age group from Under-14 to Under-18 will participate only in Elite Clubs National League competition starting in the fall.
"It was a great event to be part of, and we're happy to win it in our last year," Lavers said. "Hopefully, we can win a few more games. It's been a long time since Wisconsin has had a girls team go to nationals."
The most recent state team to win a Region II title was FC Milwaukee's Under-13 team in 2004, but the national championships start at Under-14. The last Wisconsin team to advance to nationals is believed to be the FC Milwaukee Under-18 girls team in 1999, which finished third.
From the touchline
University of Wisconsin defender Catie Sessions also is headed to nationals, as her Inferno side from Minnesota beat Kansas' Mallorca 2-0 in the Under-19 final. ... Defender Brianna Stelzer, a 2012 UW recruit, and her Minnesota Thunder Academy team lost to Chicago's Sockers FC 2-0 after extra time in the Under-17 final. ... ECNL clubs have dominated the regional championships: League teams swept the titles at the Region II and Region IV tournaments and won four of six at the Region III event. "It's a strong statement," said Lavers, who also is the president of the ECNL. ... As for playing matches in Phoenix in the middle of the summer, Lavers recalled when nationals were in Frisco, Texas, in 2007. Games kicked off at 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to minimize exposure to the heat. "I almost hope for that type of schedule," he said, "because I can't imagine how we're going to play in Phoenix in the middle of the day."
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