Wisconsin Soccer Central

A quartet of state boys teams are headed to Missouri for the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Presidents Cup, which kicks off Thursday in St. Charles.

MC United Galacticos (Under-13), Racine United (Under-14), Elm Grove Blues (Under-16) and Central FC-Respect (Under-17) are among the 80 sides that will compete at regionals.

The tournament will feature round-robin group matches on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the divisional finals on Sunday. Region II winners will earn spots in the National Presidents Cup, which is July 9 to 12 in Overland Park, Kan.

The Presidents Cup, which is a separate tournament from the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series, provides teams with "a progressive, competitive experience that highlights competition, camaraderie and community."

U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Presidents Cup schedules/results

• The Elm Grove Blues and Central FC-Respect advanced to regionals by winning state titles last Saturday in Neenah – the competition was scheduled for May 30 and 31 at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee, but was rescheduled due to inclement weather. The Blues knocked off EFC West Ham 4-0 and Price SC 3-1 after extra time in the Under-16 competition, while Central FC-Respect blanked Racine United 5-0 and the Neenah Fire 1-0 to claim the Under-17 championship. Those were the only two age groups in which state matches were played.
• U.S. Youth Soccer announced that it will provide free live streams of the Under-15 through Under-19 finals June 24 at the Region II Championships at Scheels USA Youth Sports Complex in Appleton. The broadcasts on USYouthSoccer.org will be in high-definition and will include announcers. The organization also will provide live streams of selected Presidents Cup finals on July 12 and will stream more than 80 games from its National Championships from July 21 to 26 in Tulsa, Okla.
• The Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association announced this year's six recipients of its annual Mike Kabanica Scholarship awards. The graduating high school seniors were selected to receive $500 scholarships for college for their efforts in promoting and participating in soccer. Tyler Grisar (Port Washington), Jack Hop (New Richmond) and Massaquoi Thames (Wisconsin Rapids) are the boys recipients, while Haley Lange (Waukesha Catholic Memorial), Ellen Reber (Kimberly) and Morgan Tyler (Ashland) are the girls winners. The scholarships are awarded in memory of Kabanica, who was a standout player and the WYSA president for nearly two decades before he passed away in 1996.