Wisconsin Soccer Central

Whitefish Bay defender Jake Taylor and Milwaukee Marquette midfielder Alex McBride were rivals on the soccer field this fall – honors were all square, as the Blue Dukes and Hilltoppers tied 1-1 back on Aug. 17.

Now the two will be playing on the same side for quite some time.

The Marquette University recruits, who are teammates on the Bavarian SC Under-18 team, both were named to the West team for the second annual High School All-American Soccer Game.

The match, which features 40 of the nation's top seniors, is Dec. 8 in Birmingham, Ala., the same weekend as the NCAA College Cup semifinals and final.

There will be another familiar face with Taylor and McBride for the weekend: Marquette High School coach Steve Lawrence was previously announced as one of four coaches for the West squad. Lawrence also has been working with the two with the Bavarians since the prep season ended two weeks ago.

Taylor and McBride both were first-team selections on the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association All-State team announced Thursday, with Taylor claiming the Player of the Year award. McBride had 19 goals and 15 assists for the Hilltoppers, who won their third consecutive WIAA Division 1 state championship.

• Marquette (23-1-2) moved up three spots to 12th in the Elite Soccer Report Top 50 and dropped three places to 11th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. The Hilltoppers remained atop the NSCAA Region VI rankings and Middleton (20-4-2) stayed at No. 7, while Green Bay Preble (21-3-3) inched up a spot to No. 10, Kettle Moraine (16-6-4) jumped two places to 13th and Muskego (18-5-3) slipped three spots to 15th. There are two weeks left of NSCAA polls.