Wisconsin Soccer Central

Less than a week after playing host to teams from Missouri and Washington, D.C., Milwaukee Marquette will square off against one of the top boys soccer prep school programs from the Northeastern part of the country today.

The Hilltoppers, the defending WIAA Division 1 state champions and the state's top-ranked team, take on South Kent School (Conn.) at DePaul's Wish Field in Chicago in a non-conference match. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed live. (Watch) 

Marquette (9-2-0) is ranked 20th in this week's USA Today/National Soccer Coaches Association of America Super 25 poll and No. 1 in Region VI, and also checks in at No. 44 in the Top Drawer Soccer Fab 50 and sixth in the website's Great Lakes Region rankings.

The Hilltoppers split their matches in the annual Jesuit Classic last weekend at Quad Park, falling to Rockhurst (Mo.) 2-0 on Friday before beating D.C. side Gonzaga 5-2. Marquette is 32-3-2 over the past two years, with all three losses to out-of-state teams – St. Louis Chaminade handed the Hilltoppers their lone loss of 2014 with a 2-1 decision last Sept. 5 and beat them 3-1 exactly one year later.

South Kent School (6-0-0) is ranked second in the TDS Prep School Top 10 and has outscored opponents 27-2 this season. The Cardinals also will play Lake Forest Academy (Ill.) on Saturday during their trip to the Midwest.

• Whitefish Bay moved into the USA Today/NSCAA Super 25 this week at No. 23, and the Blue Dukes are third in the Region VI rankings. Hartland Arrowhead is sixth, Mukwonago is eighth and Cedarburg is ninth in the regional poll. Cedarburg is second behind Marquette in the TDS state rankings, with Whitefish Bay third.
• Reigning Division 3 state champion Delavan-Darien remained perfect on the season and extended its winning streak to 21 games with an 11-3 rout of Wilmot in a Southern Lakes Conference match Tuesday. The Comets (15-0-0) have scored 99 goals this season and are averaging 6.2 goals per game in their winning streak, which dates to a 1-0 loss to Elkhorn on Oct. 7, 2014. 
• Waterford is the lone Wisconsin team playing in the Gateway City Classic this weekend in the St. Louis area. The Wolverines (6-6-1) open Group F play against Mount Carmel (Ill.) at 5:45 p.m. Friday and will play two matches Saturday in the 57-team tournament, which includes sides from nine states.
• Kiel knocked off Manitowoc Roncalli-Two Rivers 5-2 in an Eastern Wisconsin-Packerland Conference match last Thursday, a game that saw just two players account for all seven goals. Junior Zach Zorn had all five goals for the Raiders and senior Erik Raboine netted both goals for the co-operative side, according to the Manitowoc Herald-Times Reporter. Read full article
• Beaver Dam Wayland Academy sophomore midfielder Arjun Garcia was named the NSCAA/MaxPreps High School State Player of the Week. Other Wisconsin honorees this season include Lodi senior midfielder Chris Nelson, Wayland Academy junior midfielder Marco Silva, and Union Grove senior goalkeeper Hayden Howard.
• Superior will join the Big Rivers Conference for girls soccer starting in spring 2017, athletic director Ray Kosey told the Superior Telegram. The Spartans have won the Middle Border Conference each of the past three seasons, compiling a 37-1-1 record in the process. They'll play in the MBC again next spring and their move will leave both the Big Rivers and the MBC with eight teams starting in 2017. Superior already competes in the Big Rivers in gymnastics, football and boys swimming. Read full article
• The Kenosha Tremper and Waukesha Catholic Memorial girls teams continued their streaks of earning NSCAA Academic All-American Team Awards – the programs were again honored for the 2014-15 school year and have claimed the award every year since 1999. Littleton, Colo., is the only other girls program in the country honored each of the past 16 years. Three state schools – Cedarburg, Kenosha Christian Life and Menomonee Falls – were among 49 nationally to have both their boys and girls sides earn the award, which requires teams to maintain a minimum grade-point average of 3.25 for the academic year. A total of 16 Wisconsin teams, nine girls sides and seven boys teams, were among the 401 teams nationwide honored.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original version to correct the start time of the Marquette-South Kent match. It was further updated to add Sheboygan South to the girls Academic Award winners and the total number of teams honored after an update by the NSCAA.