Wisconsin Soccer Central

For the first time, voting for Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors resulted in a tie – and in two divisions.

Oregon's Julie Grutzner and Schofield D.C. Everest's Lucas Kollross, whose teams won the WIAA Division 2 and 1 state titles, respectively, shared the Large Public School award from the panel of voting coaches.

Mark Newman, who led Mount Horeb to its fourth consecutive state appearance, was lauded as the Small Public Schools Coach of the Year. Waukesha Catholic Memorial's John Burke and Green Bay Notre Dame's Bob Rickards, whose teams squared off in the Division 3 state final, shared the Private Schools honor.

Grutzner led Oregon (23-0-1) to an undefeated season and a state championship in its first state appearance – the Panthers were eliminated in sectional finals each of the previous two years. Oregon outscored foes 31-2 in six playoff matches, including a 3-0 win over Green Bay Southwest in the state final, and was the ninth girls team to win the title in its first state trip. Grutzner has a 126-54-18 record in 10 seasons.

D.C. Everest (27-1-2) won its final 22 matches of the season after its lone loss, a 2-1 setback to Milwaukee DSHA in a rematch of the 2014 state final also won by the Dashers. This year, the Evergreens outlasted Kettle Moraine 1-0 in double-overtime to claim their first state title. Kollross, who has a 212-135-29 record in 16 seasons, earned the WSCA Large Schools honor for the second straight season.

Newman wrapped up his 16th season as girls coach – he also coaches the Mount Horeb boys – back at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee. The Vikings (15-5-2) lost to Catholic Memorial 4-1 in the Division 3 semifinals, marking the fourth consecutive season their season concluded with a loss to the powerhouse Crusaders.  Newman's record heading up the girls program stands at 221-106-34.

Catholic Memorial (24-3-2) held off Notre Dame 2-1 in the Division 3 final to become just the second team in WIAA history to win state titles in four straight years. It was the Crusaders' eighth WIAA championship and 11th state title overall, both records.

Burke, the winningest coach in Wisconsin prep girls soccer history, is 453-50-34 in 21 seasons at the helm at Catholic Memorial. Rickards, whose Tritons finished the year 20-6-3, has a 175-78-33 record in 11 seasons.