Wisconsin Soccer Central

A trio of Marquette women's soccer recruits won a national championship Sunday.

Ashley Handwork, Heather Handwork and Katie Ciesiulka were part of the Team Chicago Academy-Botafogo side that got past Virginia's VSA Heat Blue 2-1 after extra time in the Under-18 girls final Sunday morning at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Overland Park, Kan.

The older Handwork will be a freshman for the Golden Eagles this fall, while her younger sister and Ciesiulka have verbally committed to join the Marquette program in 2014. Six of Sunday's seven finals went to extra time or penalty kicks.

• University of Wisconsin midfielder Drew Conner and the Chicago Fire Under-19 boys fell to Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley United 1-0 on Saturday night, with Shane Campbell scoring the lone goal on a header in the 34th minute. A crowd of 8,000 watched LVU claim the 78th annual James P. McGuire Cup, the oldest trophy in U.S. youth sports. Conner, heading into his sophomore year for the Badgers, was named to the Best 11 for the Under-18 competition.
• Incoming Marquette freshman Jack Alberts and Raiders FC Premier were national runners-up for the second straight year, falling to California's West Coast FC 3-2 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw in the Under-18 boys final Sunday morning. The Illinois side, which lost in the Under-17 final last year, scored the equalizer in second-half stoppage time.
• SC Waukesha Blue midfielder Brody Kraussel (Muskego) was named to the Best 11 for the Under-17 boys tournament. Ohio's Cincinnati United Premier Crew Juniors Gold, which ended SC Waukesha's run with a 2-0 victory on Friday night, lost to West Coast FC 1-0 after extra time in Sunday's championship game.
• Madison's Chris Ruska, a UW student from Grafton officiating at nationals for the first time, was selected as referee for the Under-14 girls final. He oversaw Washington's Eastside FC Red's 2-1 win over Pennsylvania's YMS Xplosion Saturday.