Wisconsin Soccer Central

Three coaches whose teams put together tremendous seasons that culminated in WIAA state tournament berths last fall were honored as the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association boys coaches of the year for 2014.

Beloit Memorial's Brian Denu collected the Large Schools award, Delavan-Darien's Mike Marse was the Small Schools recipient and Milwaukee Thomas More's Kevin Dineen claimed the Private Schools honor bestowed by the coaches' association.

Denu guided the Purple Knights (20-2-7) to their first state appearance, where they were ousted 3-2 on penalty kicks by Menomonee Falls following a 5-5 tie in a Division 1 semifinal. Beloit Memorial was unbeaten in its first 12 matches (10-0-2) and outscored foes 119-35 overall in the best season in the program's 31-year history.

Marse and the Comets (23-2-2) won the Division 3 state title, topping Mount Horeb 3-1 in the final. Delavan-Darien outscored opponents by a whopping 128-26 margin en route to winning its second state championship and first since 2000.

Dineen's Cavaliers won only once in their first five matches of the season, then rattled off a 17-game unbeaten streak (14-0-3) – they allowed five goals and posted 14 clean sheets in the run – to earn their first state berth in eight years. Thomas More lost to Metro Classic Conference rival Racine Prairie School 2-0 in the Division 4 state final and finished the season 15-4-4.