Wisconsin Soccer Central

The 2016 Wisconsin State Championships opened last weekend with the first two rounds of group play in four girls age groups at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.

And early a third of the 64 teams in the Under-15 through Under-18 competition at what is commonly referred to as the State Cup won both games on the weekend.

The teams will return to Uihlein again next weekend, as pool play wraps up Saturday and group champions advance to Sunday's semifinals. The finals are scheduled next week at the newly renamed Kohler Engines Stadium at Uihlein, with two games Oct. 28 and the other two Oct. 29.

State champions of the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association event earn berths in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships, which are June 25 to 29 in Westfield, Ind. These four divisions of the girls State Cup are played in the fall to avoid conflicts with the WIAA season; the other girls age groups and all boys competition is held in the spring, with group play over Memorial Day weekend.

Fall State Cup schedules, results and standings

• Twenty-two state players – 13 boys and nine girls – were named to the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Region II pools for the 2015-16 season.

BOYS
1998: Evan Dujardin, Neenah/Appleton SC; Taylor Durall, Plover/Portage County YS; Nathan  Feiner, Amery/Sporting St. Croix (Minn.).
1999: Noah Mesdjian, Madison 56ers; Andrew Schweinert, Brookfield/Bavarian SC; Manuel Valenzuela, New Holstein/North Shore United.
2000: Evan Donini, Waukesha/Bavarian SC; Jack Longville, Eau Claire/Sporting St. Croix (Minn.); Brian Lopez, Verona/Madison 56ers.
2001: Tyler Silber, Salem/ACE SC; Will Taylor, Madison 56ers
2002: Thomas Priest, Neenah/Appleton SC; Matthew Roou, Milwaukee/Bavarian SC.
GIRLS
1998: Nicole Albrecht, Cedarburg/North Shore United; Justice Menge, Stevens Point/Portage County YS; Kylie Sprecher, Menomonee Falls/SC Waukesha.
1999: Kylie Gierach, Sheboygan Falls/Lakeshore United.
2000: Haley Johnson, Kenosha/SC Waukesha; McKayla Kertscher, Sheboygan/Lakeshore United; Katie Koker, Racine/SC Waukesha; Elaina LaMacchia, Mequon/SC Waukesha.
2002: Dara Andringa, Madison/FC Wisconsin Eclipse.

• Seven Wisconsin boys were invited to play for Region II teams in events against the other three regional ODP teams. Taylor and Roou were offered spots on the rosters for the 2001 and 2002 age groups for the Thanksgiving Interregional from Nov. 26 to 30 in Casa Grande, Ariz. Dujardin, Feiner and Valenzuela are among the players invited to the Florida Interregional, which is Dec. 3 to 7 in Bradenton, Fla. Donini and Longville, meanwhile, were invited to take part in the IMG Interregional from Dec. 16 to 20 in Sarasota, Fla. Eighteen players were invited for each of those Region II teams; rosters are expected to be finalized later this month.
• Goalkeeper Andre Wangard (Brookfield), a sophomore at Shattuck-St. Mary High School in Faribault, Minn., was part of a U.S. Soccer Training Center last month in St. Paul, Minn. The U.S. Soccer Federation holds approximately 250 training centers each year across the country to improve talent identification and evaluation, player development and coaching development. Wangard also was part of two previous training centers in the Chicago area when he played for FC Wisconsin Nationals.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original version to correct information about the State Cup finals.