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Club notes: FC Wisconsin Nationals out of Development Academy

07/07/2015, 10:30pm CDT
By ERIC ANDERSON
FC Wisconsin Nationals logo

When the U.S. Soccer Development Academy kicks off its ninth season next month, Wisconsin won't have a representative in the nation's top boys club competition.

FC Wisconsin Nationals were removed from the Development Academy by U.S. Soccer Federation this spring. The club, then known as FC Milwaukee Nationals, was one of 68 charter members of the league when it launched in the 2007-08 season.

Ben Shepherd, Nationals co-director of coaching along with Billy Solberg (Brookfield East/Marquette), wrote in a text that USSF officials told the club that the state is too small of a market to support a Development Academy program moving forward.

"U.S. Soccer has made the determination that, at this time, the Wisconsin soccer market as a whole is not large enough to consistently support teams at the Development Academy level – especially as the program expands to younger age groups and more teams," Shepherd wrote.

"The requirements to participate in the Development Academy are very high, and it requires a very large, talented pool of players capable of meeting this standard, and at multiple ages. Based on our discussions, we understand that as a state, Wisconsin will not have a DA program any time in the near future."

The USSF didn't reply to an email requesting information about the decision.

Playing in the Central Conference's Mid-America Division, the Nationals recorded an overall record of 129-277-95 in the Development Academy – their Under-17/18 team was 61-120-40 and their Under-15/16 side went 58-122-47 in eight seasons apiece, while their Under-13/14 team was 10-35-8 in two seasons. Their Under-17/18 team in the 2009-10 season had the best season, finishing 15-12-4, advancing to the playoffs and coming up one win short of a Finals berth.

"We are very proud of the teams and players that the club has had in the DA the past several years," Shepherd wrote. "Milwaukee was the smallest market in the DA in the country, and despite this challenge our teams performed well, with many of the players each year successfully moving on to collegiate soccer."

FC Wisconsin players and parents were told of the change at a meeting May 6, before the end of the 2014-15 season and before tryouts for the 2015-16 season. The Nationals will field teams "in a variety of leagues and competitions" next season, Shepherd wrote, including U.S. Club Soccer's National Premier Leagues Midwest Developmental League. The club also is a member of the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association's Wisconsin Developmental Academy.

"We will continue to offer the same high-level training and development in the club as we always have, and will continue to raise the bar in our club and in Wisconsin with respect to long-term athlete development," Shepherd wrote. "It is an exciting future."

NATIONALS IN U.S. SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

Under-17/18 Under-15/16 Under-13/14
2007-08 6-17-4 3-18-7 x
2008-09 6-16-8 9-11-11 x
2009-10 15-12-4 7-14-8 x
2010-11 7-13-6 5-17-4 x
2011-12 7-13-6 4-19-3 x
2012-13 4-20-3 10-14-3 x
2013-14 8-15-4 11-12-7 8-12-6
2014-15 8-14-5 9-17-4 2-23-2
Totals 61-120-40 58-122-47 10-35-8
  • University of Wisconsin assistant Stan Anderson (UW-Parkside) is an assistant for the Chicago Fire Under-17/18 team, which scored in the final minute of stoppage time to beat the host Houston Dynamo 4-3 in a Development Academy quarterfinal Tuesday. The Fire (17-4-10), who were seeded sixth out of the final eight sides, will play the top-seeded Montreal Impact (25-2-3) in the semifinals July 16 in Carson, Calif. Goalkeeper Luis Barraza, an incoming freshman at Marquette, and No. 2 seed Real Salt Lake-Arizona (36-3-4) will play the fourth-seeded San Jose Earthquakes (26-7-4) in the other semifinal, with the final July 18.
  • The FC Wisconsin Eclipse Under-16 team finished second in the Elite Clubs National League North American Cup, falling to the Minnesota Thunder Academy 3-2 on penalties after a 1-1 tie in last Tuesday's final in Redmond, Wash. Lindsey Weiss (Cedarburg) and Elyse Bennett (De Pere) both scored three goals in four matches as the team posted the best finish in club history – the North American Cup is a 16-team, knockout competition for the teams that finished between 33rd and 48th in the ECNL during the regular season. FCWE (10-9-7) beat Ohio Elite 1-0, California's Arsenal FC 4-3 in overtime and Texas' Solar FC 3-2 in overtime to advance to the final, with Bennett and Weiss scoring OT game-winners. The FCWE Under-17 team (6-12-6) went 1-1-1 in the ECNL Showcase Cup, tying the North Carolina Fusion 0-0 and falling to California's Mustang SC 2-1 on a late goal before closing out the season with a 3-0 win over California's Pleasanton Rage. FC Wisconsin Eclipse results, rosters
  • The Elm Grove Blues Under-16 boys team heads to Overland Park, Kan., for this week's U.S. Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup. They'll face Virginia's VSA Heat Blue on Thursday, Florida's FCT Scorpio on Friday and Washington's PacNW Blue on Saturday in round-robin play. The top two finishers will meet Sunday for the title, with the other two teams playing a consolation match. The event includes 40 boys and girls teams in the Under-13 through Under-17 age groups from 21 states. National Presidents Cup schedule and results
  • The U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Region II Showcase is this week in Rockford, Ill., with Wisconsin boys and girls teams from the 1998 through 2002 birth years taking on opponents from across the Midwest. Preliminary games are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the finals and consolation matches Sunday. Region II champions in the 1999 and 2000 age groups will earn spots in the 2016 U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Championships. Results and schedules. Here's a look at the rosters and coaches for six of the 10 state teams participating in the event:

BOYS
1998: Theodore Augustine, Nikhiel Biswas, Joey Dorgan, Evan Dujardin, Taylor Durall, Harrison Fuhr, Jack Macy, Timothy Madsen, Luke McCann, Tyler Nelson, Collin Nikolai, Cole Sampson, Jon Schmidt, Zachary Snyder. Coach – Dave Scott.
1999: Enrique Abrajan, Carson Albert, Lorenzo Albertoni, Josh Bobke, Gianluca DeMartino, Patrick Hefferan, Michael Henry, Henry Hill-Gorman, Martin Mersenski, Noah Mesdjian, Sam Naik, Mark Orlowski, Andrew Schweinert, Austen Schweinert, Ben Stephens, Manuel Valenzuela, Grant Wallander, Martin Wilson. Coach – Craig Peltonen.
2000: Dennis Christoff, Madison Conduah, Evan Donini, Zach Gerber, Pauly Gregory, Alex Klinkner, Matthew Kohler, Bryan Lopez, Kieran Mullen, Anthony Perdue, Ricky Perez, Ethan Poppen, Stephen Priest, Shane Sullivan, Evan Thom, Alex Warholic, Evan Weber. Coach – Andy Kohel.

GIRLS
1998: Nicole Albrecht, Tori Barnhart, Anna Boyd, Catherine Carter, Abby Johnson, Courtney Johnson, Megan Kronschnabel, Allison Lessila, Aleesa Medina, Justice Menge, Danaan Montag, Katherine Murphy, Samantha Pavlik, Cali Pfleger, Jeray Riffel, Geneva Swager, Julia Urban, Abby Veeser. Coach – Jason Murphy.
1999: Erin Benson, Emily Blaney, Josephine Borene, Anna Eager, Kylie Gierach, Erika Hess, Angela LaMacchia, Hannah McTrusty, Emily Moccero, Cynnara Montag, Madison Polack, Gwen Schad, Kendall Schoenike, Alyssa Wilkinson, Kaitlyn Zanon, Grace Zellner. Coach – Craig Carlson.
2000: Zoe Alonso, Megan Crevoiserat, Delaney Davila, Selena Esten, Anna Gulan, Lauren Hahn, Haley Johnson, McKayla Kertscher, Katie Koker, Margaret Krolczyk, Bonnie Lacey, Elaina LaMacchia, Ysabella Overman, Trudy Quidzinski, Mallory Veeser, Sophia Wasco, Taylor Wiegert. Coach – Quinn Ross.

Note: Rosters not provided for 2001 and 2002 age groups.

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