Wisconsin Soccer Central

Three state college men's soccer teams saw their phenomenal seasons come to an end in the postseason this weekend.

Marquette tied the program record for wins in a season and made the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time since 1997. UW-Platteville claimed its first conference title and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the Division III tournament for the first time. And Cardinal Stritch claimed its first conference title and made its debut in the NAIA national tournament.

Three Wisconsin natives, though, are headed to the NCAA Division III national semifinals with Loras (Iowa), while several former state players saw their sides advance to the third round of the Division I tournament. Catch up on all the highlights:

NCAA Division I

Freshman Joey Calistri scored his team-best ninth goal of the season in the 31st minute as visiting Northwestern ended Marquette's incredible season with a 1-0 decision in front of 1,186 fans in a second-round match at Valley Fields.

The 10th-ranked Golden Eagles (16-4-1) had only two shots on target, both coming in the final 14 minutes, as they were shut out for the first time this season. It also was their first loss in 12 home games this fall (10-1-1).

The lone goal came on a set piece. Wildcats junior defender Scott Lakin took a free kick from the left side of the penalty area and played it back to the top of the box, where Calistri one-timed a 20-yard drive past Marquette sophomore goalkeeper Charlie Lyon to the upper right corner.

Northwestern limited the Golden Eagles' chances going forward.

Junior Adam Lysak (Milton) had an opportunity just before halftime, as he ran onto a flick from senior striker partner Andy Huftalin, but fired wide from the top of the box. Wildcats sophomore keeper Tyler Miller scrambled off his line to smother a loose ball in the 69th and despite Marquette keeping possession, Northwestern eventually cleared it out.

In the final seconds, Lyon came forward to take a free kick from the center circle. He served the ball into the box, but a Wildcats defender headed it out of danger to send Northwestern on to a third-round matchup at No. 17 Louisville (13-5-1) next Sunday. Miller finished with two saves in his 10th shutout of the year, and Lyon also turned aside two shots.

Marquette, which earned its second NCAA berth and first since 1997, matched the program record for wins, was ranked in the nation's top 10 for most of the season and was the seventh overall seed for the NCAA tournament in a breakthrough season.

• Senior defender Andrew Ribeiro (Green Bay Notre Dame) scored the game-winner for the second straight game as host and 12th-ranked Creighton posted a 4-2 victory over No. 21 Washington (13-5-3) on Sunday in Omaha, Neb. Ribeiro scored his third goal of the season in the 66th minute for the Bluejays (15-3-2), who will play at top-ranked Akron (18-1-2) in a third-round match next Sunday – the teams played a 1-1 draw back on Aug. 31.
• Freshman forward Patrick Hodan (Milwaukee Marquette) played 55 minutes off the bench as No. 7 Notre Dame, the top overall seed in the tournament, blanked Michigan State 3-0 in South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish (17-3-1) will play host to Indiana (11-5-3) next Sunday in a rematch of a non-conference game Notre Dame won 1-0 on Sept. 26.

NCAA Division III

Kevin Cavers scored in the ninth and 65th minutes and Dylan Milkent stopped a penalty kick as host and No. 4 Loras avenged its lone loss of the season with a 2-1 victory over visiting UW-Platteville in a third-round match Friday night in Dubuque, Iowa.

The Pioneers (15-4-2) equalized through senior midfielder Chris Brown (McFarland), who netted his seventh goal of the year on a drive from 30 yards out in the 34th.

Two minutes after Cavers put the Duhawks ahead again, Loras junior defender Erik Berkowitz (Racine St. Catherine's) was whistled for a foul on a tackle in the box. SeniorBrandon Chmiel (Cedarburg), who scored both goals in host Platteville's 2-1 win over the Duhawks on Sept. 19, shot low to the right on the ensuing penalty kick but Milkent made the save.

Milkent and Pioneers junior keeper Ian Christensen (Oregon) each finished with three saves.

• Berkowitz scored his eighth goal of the year on a header in the 68th, and that proved to be the difference as Loras (23-1-1) held off No. 15 Wheaton (Ill.) 2-1 in a quarterfinal Saturday to earn their first national semifinal appearance since 2008. The Duhawks will play top-ranked Messiah, Pa. (21-0-2) on Nov. 30 in San Antonio – the Falcons have won a record eight national titles, including six of the past eight. Berkowitz's goal gave Loras a 2-0 lead and the home side saw out its 16th consecutive win despite the Thunder (18-4-3) pulling one back in the 88th. Senior defender Malcolm Calbert (Stoughton) joined Berkowitz in the starting XI and freshman midfielder Jorge Simon (Kimberly) saw action off the bench for the Duhawks, who have outscored opponents 48-6 in their winning streak.
• Dominican senior keeper Max Gutbrod (Slinger) made six saves, but Wheaton scored in the 50th minute and held on for a 1-0 victory over the eighth-ranked Stars (18-4-1) on Friday.

NAIA

Cardinal Stritch went toe-to-toe with host and 10th-ranked Columbia (Mo.) in its national tournament debut, but fell 8-7 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw Saturday.

Sophomore keeper Jim Jones (Kenosha Tremper) made two saves over regulation and two 10-minute overtimes as he extended his shutout streak to 640 minutes for the Wolves (13-4-3), who were outshot 11-2.

Neither team converted in the first round of the shootout, as Cougars keeper Matt McKenna stopped Stritch sophomore defender Curtis Hunter and Rafael Ramos hit the left post on Columbia's opener.

Each side then made their next seven attempts until Wolves junior striker Gustavo Esquivel (Milwaukee Marquette) hit the crossbar to start the ninth round. Antonio Ayresthen slotted a shot past Jones to send the Cougars (14-1-6) to the second round – the rest of the tournament will be played in Montgomery, Ala.

• No. 24 Jamestown (N.D.), with a trio of Englishmen who played for the Madison 56ers in the National Premier Soccer League last summer, tipped host and No. 20 Rocky Mountain 1-0 in its tournament debut in Billings, Mont. Junior defender Matt Balshaw, junior midfielder Dominic O'Connor and sophomore midfielder Jack Keeling all started for the Jimmies (16-4-1), who avenged two regular-season losses to the Bears (13-3-2) and advanced to a second-round matchup with sixth-ranked Auburn Montgomery, Ala. (17-3-2) on Nov. 26 in Montgomery.
• Junior defender Matt Hanus (Middleton) and No. 21 Embry-Riddle, Ariz. (12-3-3) dropped a 3-1 road decision to No. 13 Concordia (Ore.) in a first-round match Saturday.