The Kickoff: Friday, Sept. 6
Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond
Today’s newsletter was delayed due to technical problems. Apologies!
Top of the box
Ethan Hoard (Racine Case/UW-Green Bay) keeps hitting new heights.
The Northern Colorado Hailstorm forward, in his first professional season after making the team as a preseason trialist, was named the USL League One Player of the Month for August on Thursday. Read more
The 23-year-old Hoard had two goals and one assist and drew a penalty to help the Hailstorm take seven of a possible nine points in league play last month.
“It's not just an individual performance — my teammates make me look good,” said Hoard, who has 11 goals and six assists in 24 appearances (17 starts) in all competitions this season. “I think I've grown a lot this season because coming in, training was really hard, but now I'm getting used to playing with better players.”
Hoard led all USL League One players in August with his 1.39 goals added, according to American Soccer Analysis. (Explanation: What are goals added?)
“It's not just his goal contributions,” Hailstorm coach Éamon Zayed of Hoard, who leads the USL Jägermeister Cup in goal contributions, with a combined nine goals and assists in Northern Colorado’s eight games. “First and foremost, you challenge a striker to get goals and assists, but it's the rest of it for me. He works his socks off for the team, he makes it really difficult for opposing defenders.”
College women
Thursday’s highlights
Western Illinois 0:5 UW-Green Bay
Senah Hanes (Neenah) scored the first two goals of her college career and fellow freshman Laney Stark had her first two assists as the Phoenix (1-3-1) dominated the host Leathernecks (0-4-0) in Monmouth, Ill., to put a convincing end to a 24-game winless streak. Junior Hanna Arvay and sophomore Rebecca Stoeckmann (Hartford) also scored and Green Bay added an own goal in its first win since a 1-0 victory over Cleveland State on Oct. 9, 2022 — the Phoenix had been 0-18-6 since then. The lopsided victory also snapped a 22-game road winless streak (0-18-4) that dated to a 1-0 win at Northern Kentucky on Oct. 23, 2021. The five goals were the most for Green Bay since an 8-0 rout of Alcorn State on Sept. 15, 2019.UW-Milwaukee 1:2 UW
Aryssa Mahrt (Wauwatosa) continued her great start to the season with her sixth goal, and freshman Anya Gulbrandsen’s first collegiate goal in the 79th minute was the winner as the Badgers (4-1-1) closed out their non-conference schedule with a victory over the host Panthers (1-5-0) at Engelmann Stadium. Senior Lainey Higgins (Appleton East) gave the home side the early lead as she took a backheel pass from junior Lola Wojcik (Mequon Homestead) near the midfield stripe and raced down the right side before scoring her third goal of the season in the 11th minute. But that was the Panthers’ only shot as they were outshot 10-1 in the opening 45 minutes. Mahrt got the equalizer off a corner kick by Ashley Martinez in the 25th, giving her goals in three straight games — she’s scored or assisted on seven of UW’s goals this season. The Badgers, who are unbeaten in their past nine matches against UWM (7-0-2), open the Big Ten Conference season next Thursday at home against Rutgers.
This week’s NCAA Division I schedule
Sunday’s games
No. 9 Notre Dame vs. Marquette, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+💲)
Central Michigan vs. UW-Green Bay, noon (Chippewas All-Access)
Recruiting updates
College men
Thursday’s highlights
Marquette 0:0 Purdue-Fort Wayne
Freshman keeper Marten Brink made five saves, none bigger than his stop of Marco Valencia’s penalty in the 17th minute, as the host Golden Eagles (3-1-1) and the Mastodons (1-2-1) played a goalless draw at Valley Fields in Milwaukee. Brink has three clean sheets through his first five collegiate appearances.
This week’s NCAA Division I schedule
Today's games
UW-Green Bay vs. Chicago State, 4 p.m.
No. 16 Kentucky vs. No. 10 UW, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+ 💲)
Recruiting updates
National Soccer Hall of Fame
Tony Sanneh (UW-Milwaukee) was announced Thursday as one of 10 finalists on the National Soccer Hall of Fame’s Veteran Ballot for the Class of 2025. Read more
Sanneh, who starred for the Panthers from 1990 to ‘93 and the Milwaukee Rampage in 1994, earned 43 caps for the U.S. men’s national team between 1997 and 2005 — including playing every minute of all five games at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea as the Americans advanced to the quarterfinals.
He played eight seasons in Major League Soccer between 1996 and 2009, winning the first two MLS Cup titles with D.C. United in 1996 and ‘97, and also playing with the Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy. Sanneh also won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup twice (D.C. United in 1996 and Chicago in 2006).
In between his stints in MLS, Sanneh spent six seasons in Germany, playing in the Champions League with Hertha Berlin and helping FC Nürnberg win the 2. Bundesliga in the 2003-2004 season and earn promotion back to the Bundesliga.
The person who receives the most votes on the Veteran Ballot will be elected to the Hall of Fame, provided they are named on more than 50% of the ballots. A second inductee also may be elected if they are named on at least 75% of the ballots.
Lindsay Tarpley (Madison) also was among the 21 semifinalists for the Veteran Ballot, but was not a finalist. The same is true for longtime Milwaukee Wave coach Keith Tozer, who was one of 25 semifinalists on the Builder Ballot.
The Class of 2025 induction ceremony is scheduled for May 3 at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas.
High school boys
By the numbers: WisSports.net links
State record: Longest winning streaks
37: Whitefish Bay, 2016-2018
30: Milwaukee Marquette, 2010-2011
29: Delavan-Darien, 2014-2015
State record: Longest unbeaten streaks
54: Milwaukee Marquette, 2010-2012
48: Delavan-Darien, 2016-2017
45: Whitefish Bay, 2016-2018
35: Brookfield East, 2022-current
28: Fond du Lac, 2004
Longest active unbeaten streaks
35: Brookfield East (30-0-5)
22: Hudson (19-0-3)
16: Middleton (13-0-3)
13: Milwaukee Marquette (10-0-3)
11: Union Grove (10-0-1)
Note: Games that go to penalty kicks are officially recorded as ties
Includes data from the WSCA High School Record Book
Linking play
San Marino win first match in 20 years as FIFA's lowest-ranked team edges Liechtenstein for historic feat (CBS Sports)
Jesse Marsch (Racine Case) leads Canada into USMNT, Mexico tests: "We belong now” (MLSsoccer.com)
USWNT's Hayes: Men's clubs not ready for woman head coach (ESPN)
Alex Morgan retires with a relentless record of victories on and off the pitch (The Guardian)