Wisconsin Soccer Central

For many soccer players in Wisconsin, Memorial Day weekend means one thing: the State Cup.

That was the original name of the event now officially called the Wisconsin State Championships, the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association tournament that kicked off this morning at the Scheels USA Youth Complex in Appleton.

The event, which has been held since at least 1986, started out as a single-elimination competition.

The 2005 tournament – actually starting in 2004, because the four high school-aged girls divisions play in the fall to avoid conflicts with the WIAA season – was the first to use the current set-up of group play, semifinals and finals. That's the same format used in the U.S. Youth Soccer regional and national tournaments.

The official name change from the State Cup to the State Championships – either name is acceptable in general use, according to WYSA president Peter Mariahazy – also was made to follow the lead set by U.S. Youth Soccer.

While many club tournaments throughout the year include the word "Cup," the use of "Championships" is to identify these events as part of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series and as official state, regional and national championships.

The field for this spring's State Championships includes 132 teams in seven boys divisions and two girls divisions.

Eight of those brackets – Under-13 to Under-18 boys and Under-13 and Under-14 girls – feature 16 teams split into four four-team groups, while the Under-19 boys division has four teams. Group play is today, Sunday and Monday, with the semifinals May 31 and the finals June 1, also at Scheels USA Youth Complex.

The state champions earn berths in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships, which are June 21 to 25 in Beavercreek, Ohio, and regional champions advance to the national championships from July 22 to 27 in Germantown, Md.

Schedule, results, standings