Wisconsin Soccer Central

The two older FC Wisconsin Nationals teams got off to a perfect start in the 2014-15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy, sweeping Crew Soccer Academy and Internationals last weekend in Ohio – and allowing just one goal in the process.

Blake Carr (Hartland Arrowhead) scored the game-winner in each match for the Under-17/18 team.

Carr's 68th-minute goal against the Crew on Saturday gave the Nationals a two-goal lead and they held on for a 2-1 victory in Obetz, Ohio. Brady Lenius (Sturgeon Bay), who has verbally committed to Saint Louis, had the opener for FC Wisconsin after 11 minutes. A day later, Carr scored the lone goal in the 66th and Justin Cook (West Allis Hale) posted the clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Internationals in Medina, Ohio.

Meanwhile, Stephen Clemens (Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah) recorded two shutouts and Fernando Colon Jr. (Hartland Arrowhead) scored in each game as the Under-15/16 side claimed matching 3-0 victories. 

Colon opened the scoring just 6 minutes into the match against the Crew on Saturday, and Michael Carreon Jr. (Kimberly) and Robleh Omar (Madison West) added second-half goals. On Sunday, Zak Wegner (Hartland Arrowhead) found the net in the 22nd, Simar Perez (Oak Creek) doubled the lead in the 42nd and Colon closed out the victory in the 74th.

The Nationals' Under-13/14 team had a tough opening weekend, losing to the Crew 3-0 and Internationals 7-0.

All three FC Wisconsin teams play their first home matches this weekend in Germantown, taking on Michigan clubs Vardar and Crew Soccer Academy Wolves – the first game kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday and play starts at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Schedule/results/rosters

• Hannah Compernolle (Racine Prairie School) scored in the 70th minute as the FC Wisconsin Eclipse Under-16s topped St. Louis Scott Gallagher Illinois 1-0 in an Elite Clubs National League Midwest Conference match Saturday in Germantown. Katie Wegmann (Mequon Homestead) played in a cross that Mikaela Hoard (Mequon Homestead) sent on to Compernolle to finish at the back post, leading to the club's lone victory during its home openers – the Under-14 team did earn one point with a 0-0 draw in its season debut. FC Wisconsin Eclipse remains at home for matches against St. Louis Scott Gallagher-Missouri on Sunday, with the first of five games at 8:30 a.m. Schedule/results/rosters
• Hoard and FC Wisconsin Eclipse goalkeeper Jennifer Wandt (Brookfield East) were named to the Best XI at last month's Top Drawer Soccer Chicago Combine, while midfielder Taylor Tabbert (Muskego) earned honorable mention. All three are members of the Class of 2017. (Read full article)
• Group play for the fall Wisconsin State Championships kicks off Saturday and Sunday at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee. The 64 teams will conclude pool play Sept. 27, with the semifinals to follow on Sept. 28. The Under-15 final is set for Sept. 30 at Uihlein, with the Under-17 championship the same day at UW Milwaukee's Engelmann Stadium. The other two fall finals are scheduled for Oct. 2, with the Under-16s playing at Uihlein and the Under-18s at Engelmann. State champions earn berths in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships, which are June 20 to 24 in Appleton and De Pere. The four girls divisions are played in the fall each year to avoid conflicts with the WIAA season in the spring, when the other State Cup divisions are contested. Schedule/results
• WYSA honored two of the state's legendary coaches by re-naming its Under-18 State Cup competitions – the girls will be playing for the Laura Moynihan Cup, while the boys will play for the Bob Gansler Cup next spring. Moynihan was a pioneer for girls soccer, creating Wisconsin's first girls soccer league in 1977 in Wauwatosa, starting the state girls Olympic Development Program and serving as the first women's coach at UW-Milwaukee before passing away in 1992 at the age of 47. Gansler, who was WYSA's first director of coaching, led the U.S. national team to the 1990 World Cup – the team's first appearance in the event in 40 years – and coached Major League Soccer's Kansas City Wizards for seven years. He also guided the Milwaukee Rampage to an A-League title, led the UW-Milwaukee men's program and started the Milwaukee Marquette High School boys program, which has won more games and state titles than any program in Wisconsin history.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original version to reflect Simar Perez's high school.