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WISCONSIN SOCCER COACHES ASSOCIATION STATE POLLS
Records through Sunday, followed by previous ranking
Division 1
1, Brookfield East (8-1-3) 3
2, Waunakee (13-0) 2
3, Milwaukee DSHA (10-1-1) 1
4, Middleton (9-0-2) 5
5, Mequon Homestead (9-1-1) 4
6, Germantown (8-0-3) 6
7, Waukesha West (11-1-2) 10
8, Verona (7-2-1) 7
9, Whitefish Bay (6-5-2) 8
10, Appleton North (9-1-1) 9
Honorable mention: Muskego (11-2-1), DePere (8-2-2), Madison Memorial (6-4-1), Neenah (8-3-1), Bay Port (8-1-2).

Division 2
1, Waukesha Catholic Memorial (15-1-1) 1
2, Green Bay Notre Dame (10-3-3) 2
3, Appleton Xavier (9-1-2) 3
4, New Berlin West (8-1-1) 5
5, McFarland (5-1-2) 4
Honorable mention: New Berlin Eisenhower (8-2), Shorewood (3-2), Waupaca (9-1-3), Sugar River (9-2-2), Madison Edgewood (7-7-1).

Division 3
1, Neenah St. Mary Central (12-3) 1
2, La Crosse Aquinas (9-1) 2
3, Racine St. Catherine’s (7-1-2) 3
4, Wrightstown (10-0-1) 4
5, Racine Prairie School (4-4) 5
Honorable mention: Fond du Lac Springs (10-1), Milwaukee University School (6-0), Oostburg (9-2), Ozaukee (5-5-2).

Madison native Lindsay Tarpley scored her 24th and 25th career goals as the U.S. women’s national team posted its second straight narrow victory over Australia, winning 5-4 on Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.

Leslie Osborne (Brookfield/Waukesha Catholic Memorial) was an unused sub for the U.S., which is 12-0-1 in 2008 heading into Saturday’s match against Canada in Washington, D.C.

• Notre Dame defender Elise Weber, a former University of Wisconsin athlete, and Marquette forward Allison Mallams were named to the U.S. Under-23 women’s national team for a trip to Germany May 16-24. Madison native and former UW coach Dean Duerst is an assistant for the U.S. team, which is scheduled to play women’s Bundesliga club TSV Crailsheim and the German Under-23 national team.

• Former Cedarburg forward Casey Nogueira was invited to the U.S. Under-20 women’s national team training camp May 12-27 in Clemson, S.C., as the team gears up for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying June 17-28 in Puebla, Mexico.

• Defender David Caban (Kenosha) is headed to Spain with the U.S. Under-15 national team for an 11-day trip that starts Friday. The side is slated to play youth teams from Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano and Rayo Majadahonda—the former club of current UW midfielder Pablo Delgado.

• The U.S. national futsal team, which includes Milwaukee Wave goalkeeper Nick Vorberg and is coached by the Wave’s Keith Tozer, is training and playing matches in Brazil to prepare for CONCACAF World Cup qualifying June 3-8 in Guatemala.

Jay DeMerit and Watford had a nerve-wracking final day of the Coca-Cola Championship season Sunday in England. But when the dust settled, the Hornets were still in the hunt for promotion back to the Premier League—just barely.

Watford fell behind relegation-threatened Blackpool in the second minute, then had leading scorer Darius Henderson sent off for his second yellow card in the 59th minute. But Tommy Smith got the equalizer three minutes later as Watford pulled out a 1-1 draw, then waited to see if that one point would be enough to earn a spot in the promotion playoffs.

Wins by Crystal Palace and Sheffield United would keep Watford from finishing in the top six, and both teams took 2-0 leads in their respective matches. Palace went on to a 5-0 rout of Burnley, but Southampton rallied to beat Sheffield United 3-2, keeping the Saints from being relegated to League One and sending the final spot to a tiebreaker.

Watford and Wolverhampton finished tied for sixth place with 70 points and 18-12-16 records. The first tiebreaker is goal differential—the Hornets were plus-6; Wolves were plus-5.

DeMerit, a Green Bay native, wasn’t named to the team for the Blackpool match.

Watford, which is 1-4-9 since Feb. 12, faces third-place Hull City in a two-leg semifinal series. Saturday’s match is at Watford’s Vicarage Road, with the return leg next Wednesday at KC Stadium. The teams split their meetings this season, each winning at home—Watford 1-0 on Oct. 20 and Hull City 3-0 on March 29.

The winner of the series will play Crystal Palace or Bristol City for a spot in the Premier League.

With just more than two weeks left in the regular season, the title races in three area girls soccer conferences should come into focus this week.

Two teams in their final season in the Southern Badger meet at
5 p.m. today in Verona, and both control their own destiny.

McFarland (5-1-2 overall, 4-0-1 Southern Badger), which will join the new Rock Valley Conference next season, can win its first conference title since winning the last of six straight Capitol championships in 2000. The Wildcats (7-2-1, 3-0), meanwhile, can claim their fifth Southern Badger championship by winning their final three league matches before heading to the Big Eight in 2009.

Also tonight, the only teams to have the title of Northern Badger champions face off at 7 p.m. in Waunakee. The host Warriors (13-0, 4-0) have won or shared the championship all six years the conference has existed—their opponent tonight, Sauk Prairie (9-2-1, 4-0), shared the title in 2003.

Surprising Madison La Follette (8-3, 5-0) continues its quest for the program’s first Big Eight title. The Lancers play at Madison West at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, then at Middleton (9-0-2, 5-0) at
7 p.m. Thursday. In the history of the Big Eight—and before that the Metro Conference—West, Middleton and Madison Memorial have won or shared the championship all previous 29 years. Madison East, which shared a four-way title in 2001, is the only other team to win a championship.

Sugar River (9-2-2, 5-0) is in control in the Capitol Area. The Raiders close the conference season next week against two of the three teams currently tied for second—Lake Mills (May 13) and Lodi (May 15).

Green Bay native Jay DeMerit and Watford have won just once in their last 13 matches in England’s Coca-Cola Championship, but a win in Sunday’s season finale would make up for the late slide.

The Hornets can assure themselves a spot in the four-team promotion playoffs by winning at Blackpool. Two years ago, DeMerit scored the winning goal in the final as Watford won the playoffs and spent the 2006-07 season in the Premier League.

It likely won’t be an easy day for Watford, which is 1-4-8 since Feb. 12.

Blackpool, which drew 1-1 at Watford in September, needs at least one point to ensure that it won’t be relegated to League One. And Watford has won only once at Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road, that coming way back in 1922.

If the Hornets draw or lose, they would need help from other teams this weekend to make the playoffs, as Crystal Palace, Wolves, Ipswich Town and Sheffield United are all within three points of Watford.

There are two playoff berths available, as West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City, Hull City and Bristol City are all assured of finishing in the top six. The top two teams are automatically promoted to the Premier League, with the next four clubs making the playoffs.

The Championship playoff final is considered the richest soccer game in the world, as promotion to the Premier League is worth an estimated $118 million.

In its most recent Big Ten Conference regular-season game, the University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team tied Indiana 0-0 on Nov. 4, ending a 14-game losing streak to the Hoosiers.

The Badgers will get a chance to end their 13-year winless streak against Indiana right off the bat next fall.

UW opens Big Ten play Sept. 21 against the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind., according to the 2008 schedule released by the school on Friday.

The highlight of the schedule is that the Badgers will play host to the Big Ten Tournament for just the third time in the event’s 18-year history.

The conference’s seven teams will head to the McClimon Complex for the tournament Nov. 13, 14 and 16, with the champion awarded an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

UW has advanced to the Big Ten tournament final only twice—but one of those was at home in 1993, when the Badgers lost to Penn State 1-0 in the championship. UW most recently hosted the event in 2001, losing to Michigan 1-0 in the first round.

As usual, the Badgers open their season with three tournaments.

First is the Dayton Flyer Classic, where UW opens the season Wright State on Aug. 29 and also faces Denver.

Next up is the Middleton Sports & Fitness Invitational, which includes the home opener against Santa Clara on Sept. 5 and a match against Dayton.

The following weekend, the Badgers return to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Classic for games against Cal State Northridge and Binghamton.

The rest of UW’s non-conference schedule includes its annual matches against state rivals Marquette, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay—the latter two at home—along with home games against Western Illinois and Drake and a match at Northern Illinois.

Four of the Badgers’ opponents finished the 2007 season ranked: NCAA runner-up Ohio State, Big Ten champion Indiana, Northwestern and Santa Clara.

2008 UW MEN’S SCHEDULE
Sunday, Aug. 17: UW-Parkside, 1 p.m. (exh)
Friday, Aug. 22: Edgewood College, 7 p.m. (exh)
Friday, Aug. 29: Dayton Flyer Classic—Wright State, 4 p.m. (nc)
Sunday, Aug. 31: Dayton Flyer Classic—Denver, 10:30 a.m. (nc)
Friday, Sept. 5: Middleton Sports & Fitness Invitational—Santa Clara, 7:30 p.m. (nc)
Sunday, Sept. 7: Middleton Sports & Fitness Invitational—Dayton, 2:30 p.m. (nc)
Friday, Sept. 12: UW-Milwaukee Panther Classic—Cal State Northridge, 5 p.m. (nc)
Sunday, Sept. 14: UW-Milwaukee Panther Classic—Binghamton, noon (nc)
Sunday, Sept. 21: at Indiana, 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 24: at Marquette, 7:05 p.m. (nc)
Saturday, Sept. 27: Michigan, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 1: Western Illinois, 7 p.m. (nc)
Sunday Oct. 5: at Michigan State, time TBA
Wednesday, Oct. 8: UW-Milwaukee, 7 p.m. (nc)
Sunday, Oct. 12: Northwestern, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 15: UW-Green Bay, 7 p.m. (nc)
Saturday, Oct. 18: at Ohio State, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 26: Penn State, 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 29: at Northern Illinois, 7 p.m. (nc)
Wednesday, Nov. 5: Drake, 7 p.m. (nc)
Thursday, Nov. 13: Big Ten Tournament at McClimon Complex—Quarterfinals.
Friday, Nov. 14: Big Ten Tournament at McClimon Complex—Semifinals.
Sunday, Nov. 16: Big Ten Tournament at McClimon Complex—Championship.
All times Central
Home matches at McClimon Complex
Subject to change

The NPSL Midwest Region announced its 2008 schedule, and as expected, the Princeton-56ers will open their six-game league slate May 31 at the St. Paul Twin Stars.

PSC56 will play its first home game on June 22 against the Twin Stars. A site for that match hasn’t been announced.

The team is yet to release its schedule of friendlies.

2008 PRINCETON-56ERS SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 3: USASA Region II first round—at Bloomington (Ind.) Cutters, 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 31: at St. Paul Twin Stars, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 14: at Chicago Fire NPSL, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 22: St. Paul Twin Stars, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, June 25: at Milwaukee Bavarians, 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 28: Chicago Fire NPSL, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 12: Milwaukee Bavarians, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 19: NPSL playoffs—Midwest Region champion vs. Southeast Region champion
Friday, Aug. 1 and Saturday, Aug. 2: NPSL finals at Northeast Region champion
More matches, home field TBA

Verona beat Oregon 2-0 Thursday night to push its winning streak to four games and remain unbeaten in the Southern Badger Conference (3-0).

After the match, we caught up with coach Matt Heilman to discuss the Wildcats (6-2-1 overall) and the way the weather has affected the season.

Two ties—and four big saves—equaled a win for the University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team Sunday at Valley Fields in Milwaukee.

The Badgers played scoreless draws with UW-Green Bay and Marquette, but goalkeepers Alex Horwath and Ryan Vint each made two saves in penalty kick shootouts as UW wrapped up its spring season by claiming the inaugural Chancellor’s Cup.

“All in all, it was a great way to finish up, winning this Chancellor’s Cup,” said Badgers assistant Nick Pasquarello, who added that the state’s four NCAA Division I teams hope to make the tournament a spring tradition.

“We feel really good about the spring. It answered a lot of questions for us. I still think that there certainly are some areas we need to work on—we’re not going to be satisfied, certainly with the tough and demanding schedule that we have.”

The Badgers’ 2008 schedule is scheduled to be released this week.

UW 0, UW-Green Bay 0, tie
(Badgers advance 4-2 on penalty kicks)

The Phoenix—most notably Canadian Under-23 international Tossaint Ricketts—had the better of the play in the first half, and the Badgers claimed the same in the second half, but neither team could find the back of the net in the 70-minute match.

The match went right to penalty kicks, and Horwath saved the first two UWGB attempts. Andy Miller, Scott Lorenz, Victor Diaz and Eric Conklin converted to send UW on to the final.

GK: Alex Horwath
D: Aaron Nichols-Cale Cooper-Eric Conklin-Andy Miller
Holding M: Taylor Waspi
M: Kenny Dix-Pablo Delgado-Brandon Miller
F: Victor Diaz-Scott Lorenz

UW 0, Marquette 0, tie
(Badgers win 4-2 on penalty kicks)

Once again neither team could dent the scoreboard, and once again UW’s goalkeeper delivered in the shootout.

Vint saved the Golden Eagles’ second and third PKs, while Jon Rzepka, Max Wilson, Bryan Gerster and Miles Marmo made theirs to give the Badgers (3-4-4) the championship.

First half
GK: Ryan Vint
D: Colin Mani-Taylor Waspi-Andy Miller
Holding M: Max Wilson-Jon Rzepka
M: Aaron Nichols-Tyler Crawford-Brandon Miller
F: Bryan Gerster-Brian Bultman
Second half
GK: Ryan Vint
D: Nate Gangler-Colin Mani-Devin Maier
Holding M: Max Wilson-Jon Rzepka
M: Miles Marmo-Tyler Crawford-Austin Spohn-Brian Bultman (Bryan Gerster 55)
F: Bryan Gerster (Wes Braga 55)

UW SPRING SCHEDULE
March 8: College/Pro Friendlies indoors at McClain Center — UW 1, Minnesota Thunder (USL First Division) 0. Goal: Lorenz.
March 8: College/Pro Friendlies indoors at McClain Center — UW-Green Bay 1, UW 0
March 8: College/Pro Friendlies indoors at McClain Center — UW 2, UW-Milwaukee 1. Goals: Lorenz 2.
March 15: At Naples, Fla. — UW 2, Florida International 0. Goals: Dix, Nichols.
March 15: At Naples, Fla. — Palm Beach Atlantic 2, UW 1. Goal: Conklin.
March 19: At Bradenton, Fla. — UW 2, U.S. Under-17 national team 2, tie. Goals: Gerster, own goal.
April 5: Alumni game.
April 12: At Chicago — UW 0, Michigan 0, tie
April 12: At Chicago — Loyola (Ill.) 2, UW 0
April 19: At Macomb, Ill. — Western Illinois 3, UW 1. Goal: B. Miller.
April 27: Wisconsin Chancellor’s Cup, Milwaukee — Semifinal: UW 0, UW-Green Bay 0, tie (UW advances 4-2 on penalty kicks).
April 27: Wisconsin Chancellor’s Cup, Milwaukee — Championship: UW 0, Marquette 0, tie (UW wins 4-2 on penalty kicks).