Wisconsin Soccer Central

SC Waukesha Blue held highly regarded Cincinnati United Premier Crew Juniors Gold scoreless for the opening half hour Wednesday.

But the Ohio team scored twice in a 9-minute span late in the first half and added four second-half goals to cruise to a 6-0 victory in the Under-17 boys final at the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Trevor Thompson scored twice, opening the scoring in the 33rd minute and adding another in the 54th, sandwiched around Thomas Moore's 42nd-minute goal as CUP Crew Juniors Gold added the regional title to the USYS National League championship it won earlier this year.

Region II champions earn berths in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, which are July 23 to 28 in Overland Park, Kan. However, it is expected that SC Waukesha also will qualify for nationals, as CUP Crew Juniors Gold claimed a nationals spot thanks to their National League title.

It was the first loss in USYS National Championship Series play for SC Waukesha, which had won all nine of its Wisconsin State Championship and Region II Championship matches heading into Wednesday – in fact, CUP Crew Juniors Gold's six goals matched the total allowed by SC Waukesha over those nine games.

Josh Grant (65th), Jack Clark (81st) and Jacob Scheper (86th) finished off the scoring for CUP Crew Juniors Gold, which outscored opponents 22-2 in six regional matches.

• University of Wisconsin midfielder Drew Conner and the Chicago Fire Academy blanked Nebraska FC Blue 2-0 in the Under-19 boys final.
• Katie Ciesiulka, who has committed to Marquette for 2014, scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 41st minute as Team Chicago Academy Botafogo came back to beat fellow Illinois club FC United Select 2-1 to claim the Under-18 girls championship. Two more Marquette recruits, sisters Ashley and Heather Handwork, also play for Botafogo – Ashley Handwork will join the Golden Eagles this fall, while Heather Handwork is a 2014 recruit.
• The Iowa City Alliance Heatwave became the first Iowa team to earn a regional title, outlasting incoming UW-Parkside recruit Abigail Banks and Illinois' Academy United 3-1 after extra time in the Under-18 girls final.