Wisconsin Soccer Central

There were a lot of Wisconsin soccer players in Nevada last weekend, as 17 state teams took part in the City of Las Vegas Mayor's Cup International Showcase – and two sides claimed championships in their respective brackets.

The SC Waukesha Blue Under-15 boys posted shutouts in all six of their matches en route to winning the Chapman Auto Group title, blanking California's San Juan Lightning Blue 1-0 in Monday's final.

And the United Soccer of Allouez Stride Under-17 girls came back strong after dropping their adidas Group 1 opener 1-0 to Utah's Joga Futebole DD, winning their final three matches via shutout to claim the title. They then topped Alaska's Fairbanks Eclipse 2-0 in the division championship game.

Eight Wisconsin Fire teams (Under-13 through Under-17 boys and Under-13, Under-14 and Under-15 girls) went a combined 11-11-10 at the tournament. The Under-16 boys team went 2-0-1 to win its group before falling to German club Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in the Generation adidas quarterfinals, while the Under-17 boys (2-0-2) and Under-14 girls (1-0-3) were unbeaten at the event.

The Wisconsin Fire program includes players from 10 state clubs – Appleton SC, Bavarian SC, Brookfield SA, Croatian Eagles, Madison 56ers, Milwaukee Kickers, North Shore United, Racine United, Rush Wisconsin and SC Waukesha – and is part of the Chicago Fire's Emerging Talent Program.

The Milwaukee Kickers had five teams in the tournament, with their Under-16 boys and Under-16 girls teams each advancing to the quarterfinals. The North Shore United Under-17 boys also won their group and dropped a 2-1 decision to Canadian side Bay City 2-1 in the adidas-East semifinals.

• Elyse Bennett (De Pere) had a pair of goals on the weekend as the FC Wisconsin Eclipse Under-16 team won two of three matches at the Elite Clubs National League Houston event. Bennett had the lone goal and Lexi Bullis (Slinger) posted the clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Georgia's Gol SA on Saturday, then Bennett joined Sierra Koch (Kettle Moraine) on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win over Maryland's Bethesda SC on Monday. The team dropped its other game, 3-0 to North Carolina's CASL. Maddie Tabor scored as the club's Under-15 side earned a 1-1 draw against Texas' Lonestar SC in its finale at the event, after opening with losses to Real Colorado (3-0) and Texas' D'Feeters (2-0). FC Wisconsin teams resume their ECNL Midwest Conference schedule in April. FC Wisconsin Eclipse results, schedules, rosters
• Goalkeeper Andre Wangard (Brookfield) and midfielder Sam Zelazny (Franklin), who play for the Shattuck-St. Mary's (Minn.) Under-15/16 team in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, participated in a U.S. national team training center earlier this month in Minneapolis.
• Wauwatosa's Alvaro Garcia-Velez, executive director of Milwaukee Kickers SC, was appointed vice president of the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association earlier this month. Garcia-Velez succeeds Terry Donini, who moved up to president when Peter Mariahazy was elected to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Board of Directors.
• Group play for the Wisconsin State Championships, commonly referred to as the State Cup, is scheduled for May 28 to 30 at Scheels USA Youth Soccer Complex in Appleton. Some Under-18 boys matches could be played May 27 to avoid conflicts with high school graduations. Semifinals and finals for the 10 divisions – Under-13 through Under-19 boys and Under-13, Under-14 and Under-19 girls – are set for June 4 and 5, also at Scheels. State champions advance to the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships, which are June 25 to 29 in Westfield, Ind. Competition in the other four girls age groups, Under-15 through Under-18, was held last fall.