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 Senior midfielder Riley Weiner, who helped lead Muskego to its first WIAA Division 1 state championship, was named the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year.
Weiner, who had 18 goals and 10 assists, was one of eight seniors on the 11-team player first-team all-state team announced today.
At least five of those seniors have verbally committed to NCAA Division I programs — Brookfield East midfielder Luke Goodnetter and Hartland Arrowhead goalkeeper Max Jentsch (University of Wisconsin), Wauwatosa West midfielder Sam Krenzien (UW-Green Bay), Stevens Point midfielder Ryan Buda (Evansville) and Milwaukee Marquette defender Jack McDermott (Xavier).
The two juniors on the first team also are notable: Hartford forward James Weber scored 48 goals this season to boost his career total to 120, which is believed to be a state record, while Kenosha Tremper midfielder David Caban is ranked as the sixth-best recruit in the country for the 2011 class by Top Drawer Soccer.
Madison Memorial forward Lucas Cardona, who led Division 1 state runner-up Madison Memorial in scoring with 14 goals and 36 points, became the first sophomore selected to the first team in five years. Former Brookfield East standout Andy Adlard, now a starter for perennial national power Indiana, was the most recent sophomore to make the team, doing so in 2004.
Arrowhead senior midfielder Kyle Peterson and Whitefish Bay senior forward Robert Courtney also made the top squad, which didn't include any repeat performers. Goodnetter, McDermott and Weber were all second-team picks last season, while Krenzien and Peterson were honorable mention in 2008.
The second team included Whitefish Bay senior midfielder Charlie Hoover, a Marquette recruit; Brookfield Central midfielder Kevin Ferron, a first-team pick last year; and the high-scoring trio of Racine St. Catherine's senior forward Connor Brehm (23 goals), Kettle Moraine Lutheran junior forward Dustin Page (36 goals, 115 for career) and Madison La Follette junior Jesus Miranda (25-12-62).
There was only one defender chosen for each of the first two teams, while nine were honorable mention. Arrowhead had the most all-state honorees with five, while Muskego and Milwaukee Marquette each had four.
Seven Madison-area players earned honorable mention: Madison West defender Ben Bauch and midfielder Paul Lund; Oregon defender Mathias Thoma and midfielder Masees Mesdjian; Madison Memorial midfielder Robin Forslund; Sugar River midfielder Jon Fox; and DeForest midfielder Sam Ramirez. Fox is a junior, while the others are seniors.
First team
Goalkeeper: Max Jentsch, sr., Hartland Arrowhead.
Defender: Jack McDermott, sr., Milwaukee Marquette.
Midfielders: Riley Weiner, sr., Muskego; Ryan Buda, sr., Stevens Point; David Caban, jr., Kenosha Tremper; Luke Goodnetter, sr., Brookfield East; Sam Krenzien, sr., Wauwatosa West; Kyle Peterson, sr., Hartland Arrowhead.
Forwards: Lucas Cardona, so., Madison Memorial; Robert Courtney, sr., Whitefish Bay; James Weber, jr., Hartford.
Player of the Year: Riley Weiner, Muskego.
Second team
Goalkeeper: Brandon Roesch, jr., Muskego.
Defender: Daryl Grable, sr., Neenah.
Midfielders: Jordan Dai, sr., Hartland Arrowhead; Kevin Ferron, sr., Brookfield Central; Charlie Hoover, sr., Whitefish Bay; Justin Laird, jr., Hartford.
Forwards: Connor Brehm, sr., Racine St. Catherine's; Zak Degrave, jr., Muskego; Jesus Miranda, jr., Madison La Follette; Dustin Page, jr., Kettle Moraine Lutheran; AJ Patterson, sr., Menomonee Falls.
Honorable mention
Goalkeepers: Jacob Bye, sr., Whitnall; Brian Carr, jr., Milwaukee Marquette; Josh Rhode, sr., Waukesha West; Blake Theilman, sr., Bay Port.
Defenders: Ben Bauch, sr., Madison West; Luke Davey, sr., Whitefish Bay; Cole Dunn, sr., Brookfield Central; Mark Haas, sr., Milwaukee Marquette; Sam Long, sr., Brookfield East; Eric Schoendorf, jr., Waukesha Catholic Memorial; Mike Skarie, sr., Hartland Arrowhead; Jacob Smith, sr., Racine St. Catherine’s; Mathias Thoma, sr., Oregon.
Midfielders: Henrik Egly, sr., Kenosha Tremper; Robin Forslund, sr., Madison Memorial; Jon Fox, jr., Sugar River; Gabe Genovesi, sr., Mequon Homestead; John Gottwald, sr., South Milwaukee; Aaron Hernandez, sr., Appleton West; Danny Karrels, jr., Port Washington; Neil Klingensmith, sr., Eau Claire Memorial; Paul Lund, sr., Madison West; John Mau, sr., Kettle Moraine; Masees Mesdjian, sr., Oregon; Ryan Munger, sr., Appleton West; Dorian O’Lochlayne, sr., Milwaukee Marquette; Sam Ramirez, sr., DeForest; Jesse Saldana, sr., New London; Chris Solberg, sr., Brookfield East; Matt Veleke, sr., Luxemburg-Casco; Erik White, sr., Somers Shoreland Lutheran.
Forwards: Trent Allison, jr., Appleton Fox Valley Lutheran; Josh Baker, jr., Milwaukee University School; Connor Brush, jr., Neenah; Nate Felhofer, sr., Sturgeon Bay; Andy Fox, sr., Hartland Arrowhead; Miguel Guiterrez, sr., Oak Creek; Peter Horner, sr., Brookfield East; Aaron Horvat, jr., Waukesha Catholic Memorial; Kelmed Islami, jr., South Milwaukee; Matt Merz, sr., Brookfield Central; David Nettleton, sr., Hudson; Zach Palma, sr., Washburn; Jacob Pope, sr., Muskego; Anthony Santaga, sr., Green Bay Notre Dame; Jacob Wolf, sr., Wausau Newman; Nico Zabala, jr., Wauwatosa West.
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How does a kid make 1st team all-state when his team only plays other teams in his weak conference, ODP bias perhaps?
To me, all-conference and all-state teams should be able to take the field, and I don't know any teams that play 1-6-3.
I realize that the 10 field players on the first team are very good, and you probably could drop some of them back on the backline (for example, Caban is a defender for his club team, Peterson was an HM all-state defender last year).
I also appreciate how hard it is to name such teams, having been involved with the football all-state team and picking other honor teams during my time in newspapers. So I don't want to come down too hard on the selectors.
The selection team looks at those nominations as part of the process, but that is not the only criteria. Pieces like ODP, Club, etc..are NOT part of the HS All-State process.
All HS coaches are invited to be part of the process - many do not take this invitation.
The idea is to put together the best 11 soccer players on teams 1/2 - not by position.
The process is not perfect, but I feel the selection team spends a lot of time discussing players and they put forth the best team based on the information available.
I would rather see people discuss, argue, complain than not - because to me that shows that there are passionate soccer fans growing in WI!
The idea shouldn't be to put the best 11 players on team 1/2. There should be an equitable mix of positions--at least 3 players per field position. Why even list position then. Why have 11 players on the first team if it shouldn't be indicative of a team that can take the field. It sounds like the process is a bit of a crock when only two defenders make the first 2 teams. That tells me the selection team didn't spend enough time discussing players. Just call it the all offensive team. Last time I checked, defense wins games.
How many of the offensive wizards scored decisive game winning goals against tough opponents? Were their multiple goal games against weak oponents discounted? Were players who played in weak conferences discounted? The official form for candidates stated that the players are to be considered best in the state, not just in their conference. Players from weak conferences who didn't show well in strong non-conference games or state tournament games should not be considered.
Picking an all-state team with only one defender, for the second year in a row by the way, is akin to picking a football team with five running backs, three quarterbacks, two receivers, and a guard.
My son is a great case in point. Played club in Illinois and his club team rarely played in Wisconsin so he didn't get exposure to the Milwaukee and Madison club teams that make up the bulk of the all-state voters. His club team regularly played the Chicago Magic and other elite teams (pre-Developmental Academy) and he was always matched up with national team players, top D1 prospects and completely shut them down.
Last year he was 2nd leading scorer on the Milton team that went to state last year and he scored the winning goal in the GB Preble win at state. Yet, not even honorable mention all-state.
All state voters are completely swayed by the glamourous goals scored stats and the press accorded to top scorers. Having watched very high level club teams the past 9 years, then watched high school the past 4 years, you can't tell me that there were 40 or so better soccer players in Wisconsin last year than my son, but because he didn't score a boat-load of goals he was left off the team.
Bitter dad? Possibly, but objectively, the selection process is fundamentally biased towards scorers as goals scored is quantifiable, stops aren't.
Historically, Division 3 players have been overlooked, perhaps because their coaches did not show up and support deserving players or perhaps because the perception is that Division 3 is weaker and quality soccer is not played at that level, or both. The selection team should be commended for recognizing two quality Division 3 players this year in Connor Brehm and Dustin Page by voting them to the second team. In Dustin Page's case, I do not think that he would have been selected but for his coach's support and appearance at the meeting.
If club and ODP had anything to do with the voting, Dustin Page would not have needed his coach's appearance to make his case. Dustin has started at center back for his club team for several years, most recently the FC Milwaukee U16 Academy team. I doubt any of the coaches who voted are aware of Dustin's club play, though, because he probably would have received all-state recognition last year. I don't think his coach at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School is fully aware of Dustin's club soccer achievements either and probably didn't mention it at the meeting. Why? Because Dustin was recognized as an all-state forward, not defender. Interestingly, Dustin is the State's second leading all-time goal scorer, but he played less than 50% of his time at forward this past year. In every critical game, Dustin started and played most of his time at the sweeper position. Many of Dustin's goals came off free kicks and headers on set pieces.
Dustin's coach went to the meeting so that coaches would understand Dustin, his accomplishments, his commitment to his team, and the importance of recognizing quality soccer players at the Division 3 level. When Dustin played against weaker teams, his coach would not let him run up goals. Even though his team won games by 7 or 8 goals, Dustin rarely had more than 2 or 3 goals in any game.
The point is that the selection team heard the case for Dustin and voted him to the second team. For those of us who were not at the meeting, it may appear that the vote was based solely on offensive statistics. I suspect it was not. I also suspect there was a lot of information presented about a lot of players that influenced voting decisions but may not be readily apparent from the list. I would like to commend the selection team for its efforts and especially for their consideration of the Division 3 players this year.
http://www.wisoccercoaches.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:2009-wsca-boys-all-state-&catid=42:all-state-boys&Itemid=63
Although, truth be told, had they not provided positions I would have looked them all up and put them in.
Two things pop into my head with your comments.
1) What if some season Wisconsin has three excellent goalkeepers, all of whom are top-level NCAA Division I recruits. Would the coaches have a problem putting them all on the first team? Because they clearly would be among the top 11/22 players.
2) The all-state football team (the AP one) goes by position. They don't just name only one offensive lineman and six running backs. The same is true with baseball, where each position is represented, just as it would be in a game.
The bottom line is that this comes down to what each of us thinks an all-state team (or any honor team) should consist of and how it should be selected. Again, I've been in charge of voting on and naming all-state/all-area teams and I know how hard it is, so I thank and respect the committee for doing that. And the WSCA certainly has every right to name its team however it chooses. I just disagree with part of it.
I also think it makes sense to field a "team" of players instead of having a first team with 9 or 10 strikers. There are many coaches out there who have a defender play that position because they know he is going to be a bigger asset to the team by keeping goals out of the back of the net. When you minimize the efforts of the defense by going only with the top gun scorers you are doing a disserive to half of the game of soccer.
One method would be to have coaches bring a list of potential all-state players from their conference to the conference meeting. Coaches would not be able to include their own players on their list. The list would be compiled and the top vote getters would be submitted to the WSCA for all-state consideration. The WSCA form had space for 2 conference coaches to be the contacts if there were any questions about the submitted players. I don't know why any coach who wants to attend the all-state meeting is allowed to attend and lobby for their players. That adds too much of a political aspect to the process. There should be a conference representative who could answer questions about their conferences nominees. The conference reps would rotate each year.
The coaches should get input from their players. Forwards know which defenders they don't want to go up against and vice versa. Looking at scoring stats is flawed. Did the forward who scored 30 goals only score against weaker opponents? What did they do against top teams? In the tournament? If they notched several hat tricks against teams with losing records but didn't score a goal in the state tournament or against top notch opponents does that make them all-state material? I don't think so. If these high scoring phenoms were held scoreless by conference opponents then maybe you should be looking at the players on those teams back lines as potential all-state players. If the list of forwards are great players, what does that make the players who shut them down?