Wisconsin Soccer Central

The 260 teams that make up the WIAA boys soccer tournament learned the paths they'll need to take to reach the state semifinals at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

The 32nd annual tournament – the first one to include four divisions – kicks off Oct. 12 with three regional play-in games in Divisions 3 and 4, but the vast majority of teams will start Oct. 15 with regional semifinals. Regional finals are Oct. 17, with sectional semifinals Oct. 24 and sectional finals on Oct. 26.

Here's a quick look at each division as teams try to make their way to the new-look state tournament, which is Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.

Division 1

Bracket (pdf)

Unbeaten Milwaukee Marquette, ranked first in the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association state poll all season, is undoubtedly the favorite in the 64-team field.

The Hilltoppers are unbeaten in their past 56 games against state teams and are shooting for their fourth straight Division 1 title – they're the only program to have won four consecutive WIAA championships, having done so from 2000 to '03.

Marquette's biggest competition in the Kenosha Tremper sectional might be fifth-ranked Muskego, which is seeded second behind the Hilltoppers in the top half of the bracket. Kenosha Tremper and Oak Creek are the top two seeds in the lower bracket.

No. 3 Hartland Arrowhead is the top seed in the bottom half of the Germantown sectional, ahead of Menomonee Falls. One-loss Sheboygan North and sectional host Germantown are the top two seeds in the top bracket.

Green Bay Preble is ranked fourth in the state, but coaches in the lower bracket of the Stevens Point sectional seeded the Hornets second behind Neenah. Eau Claire Memorial and Chippewa Falls grabbed the top seeds in the upper part of the sectional.

The Lake Geneva Badger sectional features teams from the Madison area along a handful of sides from the greater Milwaukee area, including Kettle Moraine. The Lasers lost to Marquette in each of the past two state finals and have won 11 straight games since their lone tie and lone loss, which came on the final two days of August. Sun Prairie is seeded second behind Kettle Moraine in the lower bracket, while fellow Big Eight Conference rivals Madison Memorial and Middleton lead the upper bracket.

Division 2

Bracket (pdf)

With 63 teams in the field, third-ranked Cedarburg ended up with the only regional semifinal bye in the state. The Bulldogs are the only ranked team in the Ashwaubenon sectional, but No. 2 seed De Pere, No. 3 seed Watertown and No. 4 seed West De Pere all were honorable mention in the most recent state poll.

The Brookfield East sectional is loaded: top-ranked Brookfield East and fifth-ranked Waukesha West are the top two seeds in the upper bracket, while the lower bracket featured second-ranked Whitefish Bay as the No. 1 seed. Wauwatosa East, the No. 2 seed in the bottom bracket, upset Brookfield East 1-0 earlier this week.

Fourth-ranked Oregon, a Division 1 state qualifier last year, tops the upper bracket of the Waunakee sectional ahead of Sauk Prairie, which was honorable mention in this week's state poll. Elkhorn is the No. 1 seed in the lower bracket with Fort Atkinson second – the Blackhawks tied Oregon 1-1 last week, ending the Panthers' 29-game winning streak in Southern Badger Conference play.

Host Marshfield is one of the two No. 1 seeds in its sectional, getting the nod over Pulaski in the lower bracket. New Richmond and Onalaska claimed those honors in the upper bracket of the expansive sectional.

Division 3

Bracket (pdf)

Even though Pewaukee is unbeaten, seeded first in its bracket, ranked first in the state and will play host to the sectional final, the Pirates' road to state still looks incredibly challenging.

The No. 2 seed in the upper bracket is third-ranked Grafton and two teams that are honorable mention in the state poll – Sheboygan Falls and Plymouth – are seeded third and fourth. And the top seeds in the lower bracket are second-ranked Waukesha Catholic Memorial and one-loss Milwaukee Thomas More, which also earned honorable mention in this week's poll.

The Wrightstown sectional also packs a punch, with fourth-ranked Green Bay Notre Dame and fifth-ranked Appleton Xavier – last year's Division 2 state champion – seeded first in their respective brackets. New Holstein-Elkhart Lake is seeded second in the lower bracket behind Notre Dame, while Winneconne is the No. 2 seed in the upper half.

The winners of those sectionals will meet in the state semifinals of the 66-team division.

West Salem is honorable mention in the state poll and seeded first in the upper bracket of Sectional 1 (site TBA) ahead of Somerset, while high-scoring Ashland and Northland Pines claimed the top seeds in the lower bracket.

The bottom bracket of the Mount Horeb sectional features top-seeded Sugar River and second-seeded Delavan-Darien, which both were honorable mention in this week's state rankings. Host Mount Horeb, last year's Division 2 state runner-up, and Madison Edgewood head up the seedings in the top bracket.

Division 4

Bracket (pdf)

There's plenty of intrigue in the inaugural Division 4 competition, which includes 67 teams.

Top-ranked Green Bay NEW Lutheran and Packerland Conference rival Sturgeon Bay are the top two seeds in the top half of the Waupun Central Wisconsin Christian sectional, while the host and fifth-ranked Crusaders and Winnebago Lutheran lead the bottom bracket. Winnebago Lutheran beat NEW Lutheran in a sectional final last year, ended up as the Division 3 state runner-up and are honorable mention in the state poll.

The Sheboygan Christian sectional includes two state-ranked teams in No. 2 Milwaukee University School and No. 4 Sheboygan Christian-Lutheran. Those teams claimed top seeds, but Oostburg (honorable mention) is second behind unbeaten and untied Sheboygan Christian in the top bracket and Milwaukee St. Anthony – last year's Division 3 champion – is the No. 2 seed behind one-loss University School.

In Sectional 3 (site TBA), third-ranked Racine Prairie School and Racine St. Catherine's are seeded first and second in the bottom bracket, with one-loss Lakeside Lutheran and Watertown Luther Prep collecting the top seeds in the upper bracket.

WIAA STATE TOURNAMENT

At Uihlein Soccer Park, Milwaukee
Thursday, Oct. 31
Division 4 semifinals
Waupun Central Wisconsin Christian sectional vs. Sheboygan Christian sectional, noon
Sectional 1 vs. Sectional 3, 2 p.m.
Division 3 semifinals
Wrightstown sectional vs. Pewaukee sectional, 5 p.m.
Sectional 1 vs. Mount Horeb sectional, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 1
Division 2 semifinals
Ashwaubenon sectional vs. Brookfield East sectional, noon
Marshfield sectional vs. Waunakee sectional, 2 p.m.
Division 1 semifinals
Germantown sectional vs. Kenosha Tremper sectional, 5 p.m.
Stevens Point sectional vs. Lake Geneva Badger sectional, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 2
Championship games
Division 4, 10 a.m.
Division 3, noon
Division 2, 3 p.m.
Division 1, 5 p.m.