State Boys Soccer Tournament Preview
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State Boys Soccer Tournament Preview

Monday, November 4, 2019

State Boys Soccer Tournament Preview

THE TOURNAMENT: The 38th Annual Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Soccer State Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 7-9 at KOHLER Engines Stadium at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee, Wis. Ticket prices for the tournament are $10.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: The single-elimination tournament features four divisions. Four teams will compete for the State title in each of the divisions. The coaches of the qualifying teams in Divisions 1 and 2 seed those two divisions, and the coaches of the qualifying teams in Divisions 3 and 4 seed those two brackets. Below are the pairings and time schedule of games.

Division 1

Friday, Nov. 8
#1 Verona (19-1-2) vs. #4 Kenosha Tremper (11-7-2) - 4:30 p.m.
#2 Eau Claire Memorial (19-1-3) vs. #3 Neenah  (17-1-3) - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9
Championship Game - 7 p.m.

Division 2

Friday, Nov. 8
#1 Brookfield East (16-2-2) vs. #4 New Richmond (21-2-1) - 11 a.m.
#2 Elkhorn (21-1) vs. #3 Brookfield Central (13-6-1) - 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9
Championship Game - 4:30 p.m.

Division 3

Thursday, Nov. 7
#1 McFarland (16-2-4) vs. #4 Rice Lake (17-4-1) - 4:30 p.m.
#2 Shorewood (18-3-3) vs. #3 Seymour (20-1) - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9
Championship Game - 1:30 p.m.

Division 4

Thursday, Nov. 7

#1 The Prairie School (16-1-5) vs. #4 Lake Mills (14-8-3) - 11 a.m.
#2 Sturgeon Bay (20-4-1) vs. #3 Northland Pines (15-3-4) - 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9
Championship Game - 11 a.m.

PRE-FINAL MATCHES LIVE ON THE WEB:  The quarterfinals and semifinals of the WIAA State Boys Soccer Tournament will be streamed live on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network on a consumer subscription basis for $10.99 per month. To purchase a subscription to the live programming, visit https://bit.ly/2BWR1ZQ and click on the subscription graphic on the page. Archived streams of the games will be available on demand on the NFHS Network 72 hours after the tournament without requirement of a subscription.

FINALS ON FS WISCONSINNETWORKS:  Watch the broadcast of the WIAA Boys Soccer State finals Saturday on FS Wisconsin. Check local cable listings for the channels in your area. The finals will be streamed live on FoxSportsGo.com with cable system authentication.

LAST YEAR:  Marquette captured the crown in Division 1 for the fifth straight season with a 3-0 blanking of Hamilton in the final. In Division 2, 2017 runner-up Oregon captured the crown with a 3-1 win over New Berlin Eisenhower. In Division 3, Pius XI Catholic posted a 3-1 victory over McFarland, and University School of Milwaukee edged Amery 2-1 in the championship game to earn the Division 4 title.

THE DIVISION 1 FIELD:  The #1 seed was granted to Verona, which makes its first-ever State appearance following a 1-0 blanking of Madison West in the Madison Sectional final. They are the champions of the Big Eight Conference this season. Eau Claire Memorial, the second seed, returns to the State Tournament for the 11th time and for the first time since 2017. The Old Abes best outcome in the tournament was a runner-up finish in 2002. They shut out Appleton North 3-0 in the sectional final held at North to reach the State semifinals. The Old Abes are the champions of the Big Rivers Conference this season. Third-seeded Neenah is making its 17th State appearance and its first since 2012. The Rockets won back-to-back titles in 1985 and 1986, and added another in 2007. They placed runner-up in 1983 and 1991. The Rockets advance to the State Tournament field following a 2-1 overtime triumph against Homestead in the final of the Arrowhead Sectional following a first-place finish in the Fox Valley Conference this season. Fourth-seeded Kenosha Tremper is appearing in its eighth State Tournament and its first since 2009. The furthest advance by the Trojans in any of its previous experiences at State was to the semifinals in 1984. They are the representative out of the West Allis Hale Sectional with a 1-0 overtime victory versus Kenosha Bradford/Reuther in the final.  The Trojans finished the regular season fourth in the Southeast Conference standings.

DIVISION 2 FIELD:  Brookfield East was rewarded with the top seed. The Spartans are making their 18th appearance at State, which ties them with Marquette for the most of any member school. They qualify for the first time since winning the title in 2014. They also won State titles in 1995 and 1997 and have finished runner-up seven times (1982, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1999, 2003 and 2006). They posted a 1-0 shutout over Whitefish Bay in the Shorewood Sectional final to advance to the tourney field. They placed second in the Greater Metro Conference during the regular season. Second-seeded Elkhorn returns to State for the third time and for the first time since 2016. The Elks fell in the semifinals that season and in the Division 1 quarterfinals in 2011. This season, they notched a 2-0 win over former defending champion Oregon to advance from the sectional hosted by the Elks. They are the champions of the Southern Lakes Conference this year. Brookfield Central, the third seed, returns to the State Tournament for the first time since 2016 and for the ninth time overall. The Lancers won the championship in 1992 after they recorded a runner-up finish in the program’s first-ever appearance in 1984. This season, they defeated Wauwatosa East 2-1 in overtime to win the West Allis Central Sectional and advance to the State semifinals. The Lancers finished third in the Greater Metro Conference. Fourth-seeded New Richmond advances to the State Tournament field for the third time and for the first time since back-to-back appearances in 2016 and 2017. They fell in the semifinals in each of those prior experiences. They rolled to a 4-0 victory over Hortonville in the sectional final hosted by the Tigers. They were crowned champions of the Middle Border Conference this season.

THE DIVISION 3 FIELD:  Last year’s runner-up McFarland was awarded the top seed in the bracket. The Spartans have now qualified for the State tournament three times. Their first experience in 2013 resulted with a loss in the semifinals. The Spartans  are the champions of the Rock Valley Conference this fall, and their return to State comes by virtue of a 3-1 victory over Mount Horeb in the  sectional final held at McFarland. Second-seeded Shorewood returns to the State tournament for the third time and for the first time since 2004. The Greyhounds have advanced to the championship game in Division 2 in each of their previous State experiences. They won the championship in their first appearance in 1997, and finished runner-up in 2004.  They are the champions of the Shorewood Sectional following a 2-1 victory over New Berlin West. The Greyhounds finished runners-up in the Woodland Conference during the regular season. Third-seeded Seymour returns to the State Tournament field for the first time since its only other appearance in 2016 when the Thunder fell in its semifinal match-up. Their return trip to Uihlein  comes following a 2-1 overtime triumph over Notre Dame in the Kaukauna Sectional final. The Thunder placed first in the standings of the Bay Conference this season. Rice Lake, the fourth seed, is making its fourth appearance at State and its first since a string of three experiences from 2014-16. That run of appearances produced a runner-up finish in 2015. They qualify this year after shutting out Waupaca 3-0 in the sectional final played at Waupaca. They finished third in the Big Rivers Conference this fall.

THE DIVISION 4 FIELD:   The Prairie School was issued the top seed in the bracket. The Hawks return to the tournament field for the ninth time overall and for the first time since 2017. In their previous eight experiences at State, they have advanced to the title game in each of the appearances, including six championships. The Hawks won back-to-back titles on two different occasions. They captured Division 3 titles in 2004-05 and then duplicated that feat in  2010-11. They won Division 4 crowns in 2014 and 2017. Their other two experiences resulted in runner-up finishes in Division 3 in 2003 and in Division 4 in 2014. Prior to joining the WIAA as a former member of WISAA, the Hawks finished runner-up four times­–in 1985, 1993, 1995 and 1996. Last weekend, they defeated Brookfield Academy 3-0 in the sectional final hosted by the Hawks to continue their pursuit of a seventh title. They finished first in the Metro Classic Conference this season. Second-seeded Sturgeon Bay qualifies for the third year in a row and for the eighth time overall. It is also the Clippers’ sixth State appearance in the last seven seasons. They won the program’s only championship in 2015 and finished runner-up in 2017. This season, they advance to the semifinals by outlasting Oostburg, 2-1, in overtime, in the final of the Kohler Sectional. They are the champions of the Packerland Conference this year. Third-seeded Northland Pines qualifies for the State Tournament for the eighth time and for the first time since 2007. Each of the Eagles’ previous experiences came in Division 2. They are attempting to advance beyond the semifinals for the first time. The Eagles cruised past Columbus Catholic 8-2 in the Nekoosa Sectional final played at Wisconsin Rapids to earn their berth in the tournament field. They tied for first place in the Great Northern Conference this season with Medford. Fourth-seeded Lake Mills is celebrating its first trip to the State Tournament, advancing via a 3-2 shootout after a 2-2 tie with Lake Country Lutheran in the Madison Country Day Sectional final. The L-Cats finished tied for third place in the Capitol Conference this season.

SELECT IS THE OFFICIAL BALL:  The Select “Royale” soccer ball is again the official ball of the 2019 Boys Soccer State Tournament. For more on Select soccer items, access the Select website at www.selectamerica.com.

NEED THE QUALIFIERS?:  Team information and rosters for qualifying teams in the State Tournament are available in the restricted area of the Media Center on the WIAA website.

NEED RESULTS?:  Results of the State Boys Soccer  Tournament are available on the WIAA website at www.wiaawi.org by accessing the appropriate links on the boys soccer tournament home page.

FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Boys Soccer Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaasoccer. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram at wiaawi, and add us on Snapchat at wiaawis.

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