Wisconsin Soccer Central

The 33rd season of WIAA prep girls soccer came to a close Saturday with the four state championship matches at Uihlein Soccer Complex in Milwaukee.

Three first-time champions were crowned at Time Warner Cable Stadium – Schofield D.C. Everest in Division 1, Oregon in Division 2 and La Crosse Aquinas in Division 4 – while Waukesha Catholic Memorial became just the second team to capture WIAA state girls titles in four consecutive seasons.

Carly Delforge and Nicole Piette scored as the Crusaders (23-3-2) held off Green Bay Notre Dame 2-1 to win their second straight Division 3 championship after claiming Division 2 titles in 2012 and '13. They matched the feat accomplished by Brookfield Central, which won Division 1 championships from 2002 through '05.

It also gave Catholic Memorial more state titles than any team in state girls soccer history.

The Crusaders have won eight WIAA championships (2004, '06, '07, '10, '12, '13, '14 and '15), one more than Whitefish Bay has won, and it was the program's 11th state title overall – they also won Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association crowns in 1996, '99 and 2000. Milwaukee Pius is now second on the list with 10 overall titles (nine in WISAA and one in WIAA).

• The Crusaders are unbeaten in their past 24 postseason matches, going 23-0-1 since a 1-0 overtime loss to Madison Edgewood in a Division 2 state semifinal back in 2011. Catholic Memorial has outscored opponents 125-7 with 17 shutouts during that run – the Crusaders scored 44 goals and allowed only three in winning their final eight games this season after a 3-0 loss to D.C. Everest on May 30.
• It was the fourth consecutive year Catholic Memorial faced Mount Horeb at the state tournament. The Crusaders won 4-1 in a Division 3 semifinal this year, after winning 2-0 in the state final last season and posting 3-0 and 2-0 victories in the Division 2 championship game in 2013 and '12, respectively.
• Crusaders standout Emily Cervantes wrapped up her junior season with 32 goals and nine assists in 21 appearances. The forward, who has verbally committed to Tennessee for 2016, ranks third in state history with 148 career goals and 332 points, according to the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association record book.
• Catholic Memorial coach John Burke, who has won more games than any girls soccer coach in state history, has led the Crusaders to a 453-50-34 record in his 21 seasons. Burke's .875 winning percentage also is tops in the state coaching record books.
• Senior Jordyn Ostrowski scored her 20th goal of the season, finishing off a through ball from Kendra Wolfgram in the 104th minute, as D.C. Everest edged Kettle Moraine 1-0 in double overtime in the Division 1 final. The Evergreens (27-1-2) closed out the season on a 22-game winning streak after a 2-1 loss to Milwaukee DSHA on April 24 in a rematch of last year's state final, and outscored foes 103-13 with 14 clean sheets in that stretch. The Lasers had shots hit the crossbar and the post in the first half, while D.C. Everest had an apparent goal by UW recruit Maddie Mittelsteadt ruled out due to an offside call in the 73rd minute.
• The Evergreens finished the year with 142 goals, the third-highest scoring season in state history behind Catholic Memorial's 146 last year and Ashland's 145 in 2009, according to the WSCA record book. 
• Oregon became the ninth girls team to win a championship in its state debut, cruising past Green Bay Southwest 3-0 in the Division 2 final. The Panthers (23-0-1) were the first undefeated state champions since Catholic Memorial had the same record in winning the Division 2 title in 2013, and outscored opponents 31-2 in six postseason matches – DeForest was the only team to score against Oregon in the playoffs, netting two goals in a 6-minute span in a sectional semifinal June 11.
• Oregon junior forward Jen Brien scored two goals in each game at state to set the Division 2 record for goals in a tournament – seven players previously had scored three goals. The Panthers also were the 10th Division 2 team to record two shutouts at state.
• Brien, who recently gave a verbal commitment to Southeast Missouri State, scored in five of the Panthers' six postseason matches and had 10 of her 23 goals this season in the playoffs. Freshman midfielder Emma Krause, meanwhile, had a goal and three assists this season – all of them in the sectional final or at state.
• La Crosse Aquinas won its first title in its fifth state appearance, outlasting Lake Country Lutheran-University Lake School 3-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw in the Division 4 final. Sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Ion was the hero for the Blugolds (18-2-4), making a shot from the spot and saving one to clinch the shootout victory. Ion was the team's starting keeper last season, but missed much of this season after having shoulder surgery this year and was a backup to freshman Akyah Steiner when she returned. But Ion got the start in the championship game, stepping in after Steiner was sidelined because of a hand injury.
• Annie Mathy and Meghan Mazzola joined Ion in converting penalties for Aquinas in the shootout, which was the first in a girls state final since Milwaukee University School topped New Holstein 2-1 following a 1-1 tie in the 2008 Division 3 championship game.
• While the three Division 4 state games saw just one goal scored in 310 minutes of play, D.C. Everest and Menomonee Falls combined for four in the final 10 minutes of their Division 1 semifinal Friday night in the weekend's wildest match. Bri Widmer followed two goals by Mittelsteadt and boosted the Evergreens' lead to 3-1 in the 82nd, but Falls pulled one back through Kylie Sprecher in the 84th and Maggie Greifenkamp equalized in the 86th. Widmer, though, was the hero for D.C. Everest in the 89th, sending a 30-yard free kick into the top left corner of the goal to send the Evergreens back to the state final.
• Everest checked in at No. 43 in the season's final Top Drawer Soccer Fab 50, while Oregon made its debut in the national rankings at No. 49. The Evergreens were fourth in the website's Great Lakes Region rankings, just ahead of the Panthers, and the teams were first and second in the state rankings with Kettle Moraine third.
• D.C. Everest also received votes in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 of the season. The Evergreens were fifth in the Region III rankings, which also included Oregon at No. 9.
• Rhinelander senior Gabrielle Millot and Superior senior Malley O'Brien, a UW recruit, shared the state lead with 50 goals apiece – that's the third-best total in a season in state history, according to the WSCA record book. East Troy junior Brianna Probst had a state-best 28 assists this spring, which ranks fourth in the WSCA record book. Here are the state leaders in goals and assists this season, as reported to our partners at the Wisconsin Sports Network. WSN statistics page

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original version to reflect information that became available after posting. Waukesha Catholic Memorial's season record and John Burke's career record were incorrect.