Wisconsin Soccer Central

If someone calculated a strength of schedule statistic for the state's prep girls soccer teams, Waukesha West surely would be near the top this season.

The Wolverines suffered their first loss of the season Thursday night, as freshman defender Sarah Lessila scored in the 85th minute to lift host Wauwatosa East to a 2-1 victory in a non-conference match.

Waukesha West (13-1-2) – ranked first in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 2 state poll – took the lead through freshman midfielder Emily Blaney in the 4th minute, but senior midfielder Beca Pallo equalized 6 minutes later for third-ranked East (12-2-3). The Red Raiders are unbeaten in their past 10 games (9-0-1).

• On Tuesday, the Wolverines got goals from senior Sabrina DuPaix and junior Dani Rhodes in a 9-minute span in the second half as they rallied for a 2-2 tie with Waukesha Catholic Memorial – the state's top-ranked Division 3 side – in a Classic 8 Conference game at Waukesha South. Senior Nicole Piette scored in the 35th and 57th to give Catholic Memorial (13-1-2) a 2-0 lead, only to see DuPaix pull one back in the 60th and Rhodes level the score in the 69th with her 37th goal of the season.
• How challenging is Waukesha West's schedule? Seven of the Wolverines' past eight matches have been against teams either ranked or earning honorable mention in the WSCA state poll, as are their final five regular-season matches – including Saturday night's home game against Brookfield Central. The Lancers (6-1-3), honorable mention in Division 1, are coming off a 2-1 victory over top-ranked Milwaukee DSHA on Tuesday.
• Catholic Memorial wasn't at full strength against Waukesha West: Two-time reigning state player of the year Emily Cervantes was one of three starters rested, and fellow junior forward Jo Rolli played only 35 minutes. Coach John Burke wrote in an email that his goal is to have the Crusaders 100 percent healthy for the postseason. He added that Cervantes, who has been dealing with nagging knee issues, likely won't play for at least two more weeks. "If (Tuesday) night would have been the state final, she would have played," Burke wrote of Cervantes, who has verbally committed to Tennessee for 2016.
• Senior Kelsey Jahn, a Valparaiso recruit, snapped a tie in the 50th minute and Oregon – ranked second in Division 2 – held off visiting Monona Grove 3-2 in a battle of Southern Badger Conference unbeatens Tuesday. The Panthers (13-0-0), who have won or shared the past three conference titles, lost forward Jen Brien to an ankle injury in the opening 5 minutes. The junior leads Oregon with 10 assists, and scored her 11th goal of the season in the 2nd minute before being injured.
• This weekend's Pewaukee Cup features only four teams – but all of them appear in the latest WSCA rankings, in different divisions. Mount Horeb (No. 2 in Division 3) plays Hartland Arrowhead (honorable mention in Division 1) at 4:30 p.m. Friday, followed by Pewaukee (No. 4 in Division 2) playing host to Lake Country Lutheran-Hartland University Lake (No. 1 in Division 4) at 6:30 p.m. Mount Horeb faces Lake Country Lutheran at 9 a.m. Saturday, while the Pirates take on Arrowhead at 11 a.m.
• Waukesha West dropped two spots to No. 4 and Milwaukee DSHA moved up one place to No. 5 in this week's Top Drawer Soccer Great Lakes rankings. The website's Wisconsin rankings remained the same, with the Wolverines and Dashers first and second, respectively, and Oregon third.
• The next National Soccer Coaches Association of America national and regional rankings will be released Tuesday.
• Menomonee Falls is seeking teams to participate in a junior varsity event May 30. Interested coaches should contact Scott Stein at SteiSco@sdmfschools.org