The Kickoff: Friday, Aug. 30
Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond
Top of the box
Christian Chaney’s 85th-minute goal gave Forward Madison FC a 3-3 tie in an entertaining, back-and-forth match against rival Union Omaha watched by 3,676 on Thursday night at Breese Stevens Field and sent the Flamingos into the semifinals of the inaugural USL Jägermeister Cup.
Forward Madison won the ensuing shootout 5-4, but the tie in regulation time was enough for the home side to clinch the Central Group. The Flamingos will play host to a semifinal on Sept. 11 against either the Greenville Triumph or the Charlotte Independence — those teams meet tonight to determine the East Group champion.
Knowing that a win or draw in regulation would secure the group, Forward Madison led 2-0 after half an hour. Wolfgang Prentice opened the scoring in the 2nd minute and an own goal in the 23rd doubled the lead. The Owls pulled one back minutes later, and scored in the 71st and 73rd minutes to take a stunning 3-2 lead. But in the final 5 minutes of regulation, Chaney latched on to a long ball from Jimmie Villalobos, worked past a defender and got off a shot that Omaha goalkeeper Rashid Nuhu got a hand on but couldn’t keep out.
Both Nuhu and Forward Madison keeper Bernd Schipmann made several great saves on the night, and Schipmann made the only stop in the shootout to secure the additional point for the Flamingos. Union Omaha is in prime position to earn the wild card berth into the semifinals as the highest-scoring, non-group winner.
College men
Thursday’s highlights
UW-Green Bay 3:2 Southern Indiana
Junior Tommy Coughlin scored the second goal of his collegiate career on a volley off a cross from freshman Aidan Fong with 4 seconds left as the Phoenix (1-2-0) stunned the Screaming Eagles (0-3-0) in the 90th minute at Aldo Santaga Stadium for their first win under new coach John O’Reilly. It was a wild start: Green Bay fell behind in the opening 5 minutes, but led 2-1 less than 3 minutes later a goal by senior Andrew Paolucci in the 7th and an own goal in the 8th.UW 5:1 Illinois-Chicago
Sophomore midfielder Trip Fleming had a hat trick — the Badgers’ second in as many weeks this season after they went 11 years without one — and freshman forward Dean Boltz scored his fifth and sixth goals of the young season as UW (3-0-0) routed the Flames (1-2-0) at the McClimon Complex to continue their torrid start. The 22nd-ranked Badgers have 13 goals through three games; it’s just the fourth time in the program’s 48-year history that they’ve scored four goals or more in three consecutive games and the first time since 1994.
This week’s NCAA Division I schedule
Today's game
Yale vs. Marquette, 5 p.m.
Sunday's game
Northern Illinois vs. UW-Green Bay, 1 p.m. (NIU All-Access)
Monday's games
UW-Milwaukee vs. St. Thomas (Minn.), 5 p.m.
UW vs. Marquette, 7 p.m. (B1G+ 💲)
Recruiting updates
College women
Thursday’s highlights
UW 3:0 Loyola (Ill.)
Senior Aryssa Mahrt had her second brace of the season as the Badgers (3-1-0) broke open a scoreless match with three goals in a 6-minute span during the final quarter hour to pull away from the Ramblers (2-1-1) in front of 1,320 at the McClimon Complex. Senior Adee Boer scored UW’s final goal and junior keeper Drew Stover made three saves in her second straight clean sheet.Marquette 1:0 Illinois-Chicago
Sophomore midfielder Emily Fix scored in the 88th minute to lift the Golden Eagles (1-3-1) over the Flames (1-3-0) in a Challenge Cup match at Valley Fields, giving new coach Chris Allen his first victory with the program. Senior goalkeeper Chloe Olson made her season debut for Marquette and made five saves for her third career shutout.UW-Milwaukee 2:3 Minnesota
The host Panthers (0-4-0) scored equalizers in the 59th and 78th minutes, but junior Khyah Harper finished off her second straight hat trick in the 80th as the Golden Gophers (3-0-0) outlasted Milwaukee in a Challenge Cup game at Engelmann Stadium. Senior Lainey Higgins (Appleton East) drew and converted a penalty to pull the Panthers level at 1 and junior Senya Meurer (Waukesha West) made it 2-2, but UWM couldn’t reply after Harper’s third goal and continued their toughest start to a season since losing their first five games in 2013.
Kansas State 6:1 UW-Green Bay
The Wildcats (2-2-0) scored three goals in each half to tie their program record for goals in a game as they overwhelmed the Phoenix (0-2-1) in Manhattan, Kan. Freshman Sydney Bollis (Franklin) scored her first career goal for UWGB, while sophomore keeper Mallorie Benhart stopped a penalty among her five saves.
Sunday's NCAA Division I games
UW-Green Bay vs. South Dakota State, noon (ESPN+ 💲)
UW vs. Western Michigan, 1 p.m. (B1G+ 💲)
Challenge Cup — Marquette vs. Minnesota, 1 p.m. (FloFC 💲)
Challenge Cup — UW-Milwaukee vs. Illinois-Chicago, 6 p.m.
Recruiting updates
High school boys
The inaugural Madison Soccer Showcase kicks off today with four matches at Goodman Athletic Complex on the Madison College campus.
Follow: Website ⚽ Live streams (💲) ⚽ Instagram ⚽ X / Twitter
MADISON SOCCER SHOWCASE
At Goodman Athletic Complex, Madison College
Today’s games
Madison West vs. Oregon, 1 p.m.
Madison East vs. Pewaukee, 3 p.m.
Madison Memorial vs. De Pere, 5 p.m.
Madison La Follette vs. Lodi, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Madison La Follette vs. Pewaukee, 9 a.m.
Madison West vs. De Pere, 11 a.m.
Madison Memorial vs. Lodi, 1 p.m.
Madison East vs. Oregon, 3 p.m.
Thursday’s highlights
The Car Ferry Cup is staying in Ludington, Mich.
Keen Patterson scored the opener in the second half and Steele Stowe added a late insurance goal as the host Orioles kept control of the Badger Cup silverware with a 2-0 victory over Manitowoc on Thursday in the teams’ unique rivalry.
It was the closest game so far between the teams, which are separated by Lake Michigan but connected by the S.S. Badger car ferry — it takes roughly 4 hours one way to traverse the 61 miles between the port cities. The route is actually part of U.S. Highway 10, one of only two U.S. highways that includes a ferry connection.
The Orioles (5-1-2) are yet to allow a goal to Manitowoc (0-3-0) in their annual meetings, which started in 2021. Manitowoc also lost to Manistee 3-1 earlier Thursday while in Michigan, and the Ships’ JV team played two matches as part of the trip.
CAR FERRY CUP
2021: Manitowoc 0:3 Ludington; Luxemburg-Casco 0:5 Ludington.
2022: Manitowoc 0:8 Ludington.
2023: Manitowoc 0:4 Ludington; Manitowoc Roncalli 0:1 Ludington.
2024: Ludington 2:0 Manitowoc; Manistee 3:1 Manitowoc.
Visiting Fort Atkinson blanked defending WIAA Division 3 state champion Sugar River 2-0 in a season opener in Belleville, ending the Raiders’ eight-game winning streak and nine-game unbeaten streak.
Reigning Division 2 state champion Union Grove extended the state’s longest active winning streak to nine with a 3-1 victory over host Green Bay Notre Dame.
By the numbers: WisSports.net links
Longest active unbeaten streaks
33: Brookfield East (28-0-5)
20: Edgerton (16-0-4)
20: Hudson (17-0-3)
14: Middleton (11-0-3)
10: Milwaukee Marquette (8-0-2)
Longest active winning streak: 9, Union Grove
Note: Games that go to penalty kicks are officially recorded as ties
Youth clubs
The 2024-25 MLS NEXT season starts Sept. 7 with 753 boys teams from 151 clubs, including Wisconsin clubs Bavarian United and SC Wave. They will field teams in all age groups in the Mid-America West Division from U13 through U17 and U19.
In U13 play, MLS NEXT will use shorter fields, mandating field lengths of between 86 and 96 yards to “enhance long-term development by introducing players to tighter space and creating situations that prioritize technical ability over physical attributes.” More information about the field length change
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