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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.