Wisconsin Soccer Central

Teams from SC Waukesha and North Shore United became the first state sides to earn spots in next summer's U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships, claiming one-goal victories in Wisconsin State Championship girls finals last Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

SC Waukesha got past the Elm Grove Blues 2-1 in the Under-15 final on a cold, rainy night at Uihlein Soccer Park's Time Warner Cable Stadium, while North Shore United outlasted Rush Wisconsin 1-0 after extra time in the Under-17 final played in similar conditions at UW-Milwaukee's Engelmann Stadium.

The other two fall girls finals were scheduled for last Thursday, but were rescheduled for this week at Uihlein.

Strike FC Wisconsin has teams in both remaining championships – their Under-16 team will play SC Waukesha Blue on Tuesday, while their Under-18 side faces FC Green Bay on Thursday. Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.

The four girls divisions in the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association tournament, which is commonly referred to as the State Cup, are played in the fall to avoid conflicts with the WIAA season in the spring, when the other Wisconsin State Championships are held. State champions earn berths in the 2015 U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships, which are June 20 to 24 in Appleton and De Pere.

In the Under-15 match, forward Jelena Sever gave SC Waukesha the lead in the first half and midfielder Samantha Nickell doubled the advantage 20 minutes after halftime. Elm Grove pulled within one later after a scramble following a corner kick, but SC Waukesha saw out the remaining minutes to secure the state title.

Adriana Henry (Franklin) scored the lone goal in the Under-17 final, finishing off a feed from Nikki Albrecht (Cedarburg) in the first minute of the second half of extra time for North Shore United. It was the only goal allowed by Rush Wisconsin in five State Cup matches.

• Seven state players were selected for Region II rosters for upcoming U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program events, while two others were named alternates. Haddie Carlson (Lake County Lutheran/SC Waukesha) is on the 1999 team and Katie Koker (Racine/SC Waukesha) is on the 2000 squad for the girls Thanksgiving Interregional, which is Nov. 21 to 27 in Boca Raton, Fla. Evan Donini (Waukesha West/Milwaukee Bavarians), Jack Longville (Eau Claire Memorial/Sporting St. Croix) and Ricky Perez (Eau Claire/PCYS) are on the 2000 team for the Boys Thanksgiving Interregional from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 in Casa Grande, Ariz. And Joe Schauer (Whitnall/Croatian Eagles) and Noah Heim (Cambridge-Deerfield) made the 1997 team for the IMG Interregional from Dec. 18 to 21 in Sarasota, Fla. – Dominic Mesdijan (Madison Memorial/Madison 56ers) and K'Gnausa Yodkerepauprai (Madison East/Madison 56ers) are alternates.