Wisconsin Soccer Central

Madison West's impressive defensive display last weekend at Uihlein Soccer Park was something not seen at the WIAA state girls soccer tournament in 20 years.

The Regents and sophomore goalkeeper Meredith Thompson posted three consecutive shutouts in winning the state championship, matching a feat previously accomplished by just five teams in the event's 30-year history – the most recent team to do it was Mequon Homestead in 1992.

The other teams with three clean sheets in one state tournament: Madison Memorial in 1986 and '87, Neenah in 1990 and West in 1991. Thompson stopped all 18 shots she faced in the Regents' 1-0 victories over Milwaukee DSHA, Grafton and De Pere.

• West and Waukesha Catholic Memorial, which beat Mount Horeb 2-0 in the Division 2 final, moved into a tie for second place with five state championships apiece. The Regents won one-division titles in 1988 and '91 and have claimed Division 1 crowns in 1999, 2000 and '12, while the Crusaders have won Division 2 five times in the past nine years (2004, '06, '07, '10 and '12). They both trail Whitefish Bay, which has seven state titles: The Blue Dukes won the single-division competition in 1983, '84, '85 and '94, along with Division 2 championships in 1998, '99 and 2000.
• Catholic Memorial's victory marked the ninth consecutive year that a private school won the Division 2 state title.
• Complete records aren't readily available, but West likely is the lowest-seeded team to win a state championship – the Regents were the No. 6 seed in the Waunakee sectional and posted one-goal victories over third-seeded Oregon (3-2), second-seeded Verona (1-0) and fourth-seeded Middleton (2-1) to advance to state. Adding in the state tournament, West's final six matches were all one-goal victories.
• Catholic Memorial (21-4-3) was fifth in the season's final National Soccer Coaches Association Region IV rankings. There were no state teams in the final NSCAA Top 20 or the final ESPNHS Powerade Fab 50.