Wisconsin Soccer Central

The Madison Area Soccer Hall of Fame inducted six new members and honored two other individuals for their contributions to the sport at a ceremony last Sunday night at Claddagh Irish Pub in Middleton.

The Hall's fifth induction class featured Agustin "Augie" Martinez, the late Chris Vasquez, David Jaworski, Haroot Mesdjian, Patty (Wirth) Mesdjian and Tim Alexander, taking the total number of Hall of Famers to 31. MASHOF members

Here's a look at each of the inductees:

Agustin "Augie" Martinez, builder

A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Martinez has coached in the area since 1981. He was the junior varsity coach at Oregon High School in 1982, led several youth teams over the next 13 years, was named director of coaching for Princeton SC (now Madison FC) in 1997 and has been with Rush Wisconsin (previously Middleton-Yahara SC) since 2006. As player, he spent time with Mexican cubs Club America and Monterrey, and played with Madison United and Dynamos SC in the Wisconsin Soccer Association's Major League after moving to Madison.

Chris Vasquez, coach

One of the deans of Madison prep soccer coaches, Vasquez passed away suddenly Feb. 2 following a stroke. He was the Madison West coach for 21 years, leading the Regents to a 352-112-56 record, eight Big Eight Conference titles and five WIAA state tournament appearances. Vasquez, who developed his passion for the game as a young boy in Colombia, also coached at Madison La Follette from 1993 to 2001 and with Oregon SC from 1996 to '99. He also played with Bavarian SC, Croatian Eagles, Milwaukee Serbians and Verdi SC in the WSA Major League. His nomination form for the Hall included this comment: "He was always fair to his players, treated them with respect, and he took a genuine interest in how they fared in life after soccer. He never yelled at refs and did not tolerate dissent or misbehavior from his players."

David Jaworski, referee

Jaworski, an Illinois native, had a solid career at the University of Wisconsin from 1984 to '86: He is tied for 10th in program history with 16 career assists and tied for 19th with 44 points and was the Badgers' captain in his final two seasons. But he is better known for his contributions to soccer following his playing days. Jaworski is considered by many to be the top official in the Madison area. A U.S. Soccer Federation Grade 5 and NISOA national referee, he has overseen NCAA Division I and Division III, National Premier Soccer League and WSL Major League matches.

Haroot Mesdjian, builder

Mesdjian started playing in the early 1970s with Shorewood, and turned out for the Madison 56ers, Madison United, Gino's, Dynamos, Amira and the Blackhawks during his lengthy playing career as a standout defender in state and local amateur leagues. He began coaching in 1998 with Princeton SC, now Madison FC, and also was one of the area's top referees from 1984 to 2005.

Patty (Wirth) Mesdjian, player and coach

When Wirth started at Middleton High School in fall 1981, the Cardinals' girls soccer program was still a year away from existing, so she played with the boys team as a freshman. She was part of the first three Middleton girls teams, serving as captain and being named team MVP twice. Wirth played at UW from 1984 to '88, and she was captain of the 1988 team that became the first state team to qualify for the NCAA Final Four – the Badgers lost to powerhouse North Carolina 3-0 in the national semifinals. Throughout her high school and college career, she also starred for the 56ers women's team, then played for Madison United from 1993 to 2008. After coaching youth and women's soccer classes and refereeing, she coached the Madison West girls from 1988 to '94 – the Regents won WIAA state titles in 1988 and '91 and were state runners-up in 1992. Mesdjian also coached with the Madison 56ers and Magic SC and was inducted into the WSA Hall of Fame in 2013.

Tim Alexander, coach

A native of St. Louis, Alexander was a junior college All-American at Forest Park Community College (Mo.) before transferring to UW-Green Bay in 1976. He remained in the area and coached the Green Bay Premontre High School boys team to nine conference titles and a 153-31-6 record in 11 seasons, finishing as Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association state runner-up five times. Alexander started the Edgewood College men's program in 1990 and the women's program three years later and remains the only coach for either Eagles team. He has a 234-195-36 record in 24 seasons as men's coach, with two regular-season conference titles, three postseason championships and three NCAA Division III tournament berths. On the women's side, Alexander has led Edgewood to a 287-116-24 mark in 21 years, featuring 10 conference titles and four NCAA appearances. He has been named conference coach of the year 13 times overall, and was the only coach in Lake Michigan Conference history to earn the men's and women's soccer honors in the same year – doing so in 1994, '96 and '99. Alexander,  one of only five coaches in NCAA history to record 200 career victories in both men's and women's soccer, also was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Hall of Fame committee also recognized Tony Digiovanni and Paul Korger with Distinguished Service Awards. Digiovanni was integral in establishing soccer in the Sauk Prairie area, while Korger started with the Spring Harbor Soccer Association in Madison in 1978, refereed for more than 12 years and worked with the 56ers and the Madison Area Youth Soccer Association for many years.

The Madison Area Soccer Hall of Fame is sponsored by Claddagh Irish Pub, BreakAway Sports Center, Keva Sports Center and Middleton Sports & Fitness.