Two Wisconsin teams played in the U.S. Youth Futsal Midwest Regional last weekend in St. Louis, and both teams earned berths in the national tournament.
The WI Futsal Academy boys team will shoot for its fifth title in the past seven years at nationals from Feb. 14 to 17 at New Century Fieldhouse in Gardner, Kan., after winning the Under-16/17 regional title on Sunday.
The team won national championships at Under-10 (2008), Under-12 (2010), Under-13 (2011) and Under-15 (2013), but opened regional play with a 5-4 loss to FCSTL Blue in Saturday's group opener. However, WI Futsal Academy won its other pool match and semifinal, then returned the favor to FCSTL Blue with a 5-4 victory in the final.
Meanwhile, Brookfield finished 3-1-0 in the round-robin Under-13/14 girls division to claim second place and a nationals spot. The team averaged seven goals per game in its three wins and suffered its lone loss to Kentucky's SportsTutor 00, which outscored opponents 38-8 in going unbeaten to win the regional title.