skip navigation

Quick kicks: WIAA Division 2 preview

10/25/2012, 8:13pm CDT
By ERIC ANDERSON

In a bit of a rarity, both semifinal matches of the WIAA Division 2 state boys soccer tournament are rematches from regular-season games.

Back on Aug. 18, just five days into the season, host Pewaukee got past reigning state champion Mount Horeb 2-1 on senior Ethan Brownell's header in the 74th minute. Friday afternoon, those teams will meet again for a berth in Saturday's state final.

The other semifinal is between Appleton Xavier and Green Bay Notre Dame, which saw a halftime lead turn into a 2-1 loss to the Hawks on Sept. 15 at the Xavier Invitational.

Also, the four state semifinalists were the top four teams in the final Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Division 2 state poll of the season: Xavier was first, followed by Notre Dame, Pewaukee and Mount Horeb.

Here's a look at the four teams shooting for the Division 2 title at Time Warner Cable Stadium this weekend at Milwaukee's Uihlein Soccer Park.

Schedule

At Uihlein Soccer Complex, Milwaukee
Live stream: www.foxsportswisconsin.com
Friday, Oct. 26
Semifinals
Appleton Xavier (20-4-1) vs. Green Bay Notre Dame (20-5-2), 1 p.m.
Mount Horeb (14-5-2) vs. Pewaukee (18-2-3), 3 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27
Championship

Semifinal winners, noon

Appleton Xavier Hawks

Coach: Kasey Smith, seventh season at Xavier (106-47-17), 15th season overall..
Record: 20-4-1 (8-0-0 Eastern Valley Conference, first). Last 10 games: 10-0-0.
Averages: Goals for – 4.04. Goals against – 1.04. Shutouts: 13.
Final WSCA ranking: First.
State tournament history: Fifth appearance, other four came in consecutive years from 2003 to '06. Won state titles in 2003, '04 and '06.
From the touchline: Have won 15 consecutive matches, nine of them by shutout. ... Scored four goals or more 11 times. ... Three of four losses have come to Division 1 state qualifiers – Kimberly, Milwaukee Marquette and Brookfield East. ... Sixteen players have recorded goals. ... Won all four playoff games by combined 17-0. ... Senior forwards Austin Weigman (22 goals, 6 assists) and Jacob Hernandez (17-17) and junior defender Stephen Varkoly (12-5) each have reached double figures in goals, while senior defender Seth Maertz (9-2) is on the cusp. Two more seniors, midfielder Cesar Martinez (7-7) and defender Erik Van Hammond (2-9) also have played key roles. ... Senior Joe Goudzwaard is the starting keeper.

Green Bay Notre Dame Tritons

Coach: Bob Rickards, seventh season at Notre Dame (144-52-22), 12th season overall (195-96-27).
Record: 20-5-2 (8-2-1 Fox River Classic Conference, second). Last 10 games: 9-0-1.
Averages: Goals for – 2.89. Goals against – 0.89. Shutouts: 14.
Final WSCA ranking: Second.
State tournament history: Sixth appearance, first since 2008. Won state titles in 2001, '07 and '08.
From the touchline: Unbeaten in 11 matches (10-0-1) since the loss to Xavier, with seven clean sheets in that stretch. ... Perfect in four postseason matches, outscoring opponents 19-1. ... Lost in sectional finals in 2009, '10 and '11. ... Senior striker Michael LaTorre (22-4) and junior midfielders Eric Meyer (15-2) and Caleb Smyth (10-7) have accounted for 64 percent of their goals. ... In goal, senior Martin Metzler has been the primary starter, but junior Austin Watzka has seen significant playing time.

Mount Horeb Vikings

Coach: Mark Newman, 15th season (224-96-30).
Record: 14-5-2 (4-1-0 Northern Badger Conference, tied for first). Last 10 games: 6-2-2.
Averages: Goals for – 2.29. Goals against – 1.00. Shutouts: 10.
Final WSCA ranking: Fourth.
State tournament history: Third appearance, all in a row. Beat Waukesha Catholic Memorial 1-0 in the state final last year to claim its first title.
From the touchline: Tournament run came after four-game winless stretch (0-2-2) to close the regular season. ... All but one loss came to Division 1 opponents. ... Tied Division 1 state quarterfinalist Oregon 2-2. ... Outscored four postseason foes 17-1. ... Have won 10 consecutive playoff matches over the past two years by a combined 46-4 margin. ... The senior trio of midfielder Connor DeHaven (12-6), striker Ryan Crum (7-13) and midfielder-forward Travis Ibinger (9-3) pace a balanced attack. ... Senior keeper Colin Schulz, who has 10 shutouts, joined the program as a junior – before that, he hadn't played soccer since he was in third grade.

Pewaukee Pirates

Coach: Randy Staus, 14th season (206-85-37).
Record: 18-2-3 (9-1-1 Woodland Conference, second). Last 10 games: 8-0-2.
Averages: Goals for – 2.96. Goals against – 0.57. Shutouts: 12.
Final WSCA ranking: Third.
State tournament history: Second appearance, first since 2008.
From the touchline: Only losses were by one goal to Division 1 sides, 1-0 to Verona on Aug. 16 and 2-1 to Milwaukee Pius on Sept. 10. ... Only allowed more than one goal twice, in the loss to Pius and in a 3-2 win over Wauwatosa West on Aug. 29. ... Tied Division 1 state quarterfinalist Oregon 0-0. ... Junior forward Alex Zabel (11-11) can score and create, and spearheads an attack that also features senior striker Sohan Shah (9-4), junior forward Dominik Florian (6-6) and senior midfielder Austin Rosenberger (6-5). ... In goal, junior Garrett Shibilski has logged the vast majority of the minutes behind a solid backline.

Recent Articles

Soccer ball on field
Soccer ball on a field
Soccer ball
Soccer ball
Soccer ball

Tag(s): Prep Boys  News