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 For the first time in the event's history, a Wisconsin team has won a U.S. Youth Soccer national championship.
Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East) scored twice in two minutes in extra time and Mady Vicker (Whitefish Bay) added another insurance goal as FC Milwaukee powered past Colorado Rush Nike 4-2 in the girls Under-18 final to win the Frank Kelly Cup on Sunday morning at the Reach 11 Complex in Phoenix.
Mary Luba (Shorewood), like Vicker an incoming freshman at Marquette, gave the Nationals the lead in the 54th minute. The Rush, who beat FC Milwaukee 1-0 in a pool-play opener Wednesday equalized through Texas A&M recruit Annie Kunz in the 75th.
But the Nationals had the upper hand in a wild extra time that saw the sides combine for four goals.
Walls, a University of Wisconsin recruit, scored in the 95th and 96th minutes and Vicker pushed the lead to 4-1 in the 104th. Kaitlyn Bassett pulled one back for the Rush in the 107th, but the Region IV champions couldn't get any closer.
The various age groups of the U.S. Youth Soccer championships started in different years. The boys Under-19 competition dates to 1935, boys Under-16 play began in 1976, girls Under-19 started in 1980 and girls Under-16 division debuted in 1985. Both Under-17 brackets were added in 1991, the Under-18 divisions began in 1994 and the Under-15 and Under-14 competition started in 2001.
Check back later for more information.
Under-19 boys
Baltimore Bays Chelsea scored in the opening five minutes and went on to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Fire Juniors to win the James P. McGuire Cup. UW midfielder Joey Tennyson (Menomonee Falls) and forward Chris Prince and Marquette midfielder Bryan Ciesiulka were on the roster for the Fire.
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