Wisconsin Soccer Central

Twenty teams had perfect weekends of group play at the Wisconsin State Championships, winning games Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Scheels USA Youth Complex in Appleton.

The other 12 teams that will be returning to the facility for next Saturday's semifinals also were unbeaten in their pool matches, going 2-0-1. That includes three teams that advanced on tiebreakers to stay alive in the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association tournament, which kicked off Saturday with 132 teams.

SC Waukesha leads the way with five semifinalists out of the 34 remaining sides, and the club also has a finalist in the Under-19 boys division – there were only four entries for that age group, with the top two finishers after round-robin play advancing to next Sunday's final.

Bavarian SC also has five teams in the State Cup semifinals, followed by North Shore United with four and the Madison 56ers with three. Appleton SC, Brookfield SA, Elm Grove SC and Rush Wisconsin have two semifinalists apiece – Appleton SC also has the other Under-19 boys finalist – while seven other clubs have one representative apiece.

All four remaining teams in the Under-15 boys and Under-14 girls brackets head into the semifinals unbeaten and untied, while three of four teams in the Under-14 and Under-17 boys divisions were 3-0-0 on the weekend.

Group play was particularly competitive in the boys Under-16 division, as tiebreakers were needed to determine two of the four group winners.

Croatian Eagles Red and Milwaukee Kickers Academy each finished 2-0-1 and tied 1-1 on Saturday, with the Croatians earning the semifinal berth thanks a better goal differential: Plus-7 to plus-6. Meanwhile, SC Waukesha Blue and Bavarian Blue also both were 2-0-1 and tied 1-1 Sunday, with SC Waukesha's plus-8 goal differential better than the Bavarians' plus-5 (Tournament rules limit goal differential to a maximum of plus-4 per game.)

The other tiebreaker was in boys Under-18 play, where a fourth tiebreaker had to be used to select the group winner between FC Wisconsin-Lataille and SC Waukesha Blue.

After playing to a 1-1 draw Sunday, they had the same record and identical plus-8 goal differentials, but FC Wisconsin allowed only one goal compared to two for SC Waukesha. That was one of the weekend's bigger upsets, as the SC Waukesha side qualified for the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships last summer and played in the organization's National League this season.

The nine state champions that will be crowned next Sunday in Appleton will join that four high school-aged girls teams that won titles last fall – SC Waukesha (Under-15), Fusion (Under-16), Strike FC Wisconsin (Under-17) and North Shore United (Under-18) – in earning berths in the Region II Championships, which are June 21 to 25 in Beavercreek, Ohio. Regional champions qualify for the national championships from July 22 to 27 in Germantown, Md.

BOYS

Under-13
Saturday's semifinals: SC Waukesha Blue (3-0-0) vs. North Shore United (3-0-0), 1:15 p.m.; Bavarian Blue (2-0-1) vs. Madison 56ers Red (2-0-1), 1:15 p.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 1:15 p.m.

Under-14
Saturday's semifinals: ACE North (3-0-0) vs. Madison FC Gold (2-0-1), 3:30 p.m.; Rush Wisconsin (3-0-0) vs. Bavarian Blue (3-0-0), 3:30 p.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 3:15 p.m.

Under-15
Saturday's semifinals: Bavarian Blue (3-0-0) vs. SC Waukesha Blue Devils (3-0-0), 11 a.m.; SC United Crushers (3-0-0) vs. Rush Wisconsin (3-0-0), 11 a.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 11 a.m.

Under-16
Saturday's semifinals: North Shore United (3-0-0) vs. Croatian Eagles Red (2-0-1), 3:30 p.m.; Appleton SC Blue (2-0-1) vs. SC Waukesha Blue (2-0-1), 3:30 p.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 3:15 p.m. 

Under-17
Saturday's semifinals: Brookfield Red (3-0-0) vs. Bavarian Blue (2-0-1), 1:15 p.m.; Parkland (3-0-0) vs. Elm Grove Blues (3-0-0), 1:15 p.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 1:15 p.m.

Under-18
Saturday's semifinals: FC Wisconsin-Lataille (2-0-1) vs. North Shore United (2-0-1), 11 a.m.; Bavarian Blue (3-0-0) vs. Madison 56ers Red (3-0-0), 11 a.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 11 a.m.

Under-19
Sunday's final: Appleton SC (2-0-1) vs. SC Waukesha Pumas (2-1-0), 3:15 p.m.

GIRLS

Under-13
Saturday's semifinals: SC Waukesha Blue (3-0-0) vs. Strike FC Wisconsin Premier 1 (2-0-1), 11 a.m.; North Shore United (2-0-1) vs. Madison 56ers Red (2-0-1), 11 a.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 11 a.m.

Under-14
Saturday's semifinals: SC Waukesha Blue (3-0-0) vs. Appleton SC Blast (3-0-0), 1:15 p.m.; Elm Grove Blues (3-0-0) vs. Brookfield Red (3-0-0), 1:15 p.m.
Sunday's final: Semifinal winners, 1:15 p.m.

Complete schedule, results, standings