The Kickoff: Thursday, Sept. 12
Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond
Top of the box
For the first time in its six-year history, Forward Madison will play for a title.
The Flamingos got past the Charlotte Independence 2-1 in a USL Jägermeister Cup semifinal Wednesday night at Breese Stevens Field, with Christian Chaney’s 47th-minute goal the difference.
Forward will play at the Northern Colorado Hailstorm in the inaugural Jägermeister Cup final on Sept. 28 in Windsor, Colo. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.
Center back and captain Mitch Osmond gave the home side the lead in the 34th minute. Devin Boyce’s corner kick from the left side wasn’t cleared and eventually Boyce raced in to pick up the loose ball. His shot from just outside the box was blocked and the ball deflected to Osmond on the right side about 9 yards out. His left-footed finish was his second goal in his three seasons with FMFC.
Charlotte equalized through Luis Alvarez in first-half stoppage time, as he got the ball on the right side of the box, faked a shot to freeze Forward’s Wolfgang Prentice, cut in to create some space and shot with the outside of his right foot to the far post past goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann and midfielder John Murphy Jr. on the line.
Early in the second half, the Flamingos were back in front thanks to their leading scorer. Boyce played Stephen Payne down the right side, and his cross into the middle of the box eluded Derek Gebhard, but Chaney followed it up and struck it with his left foot and past diving Independence keeper Austin Pack from 13 yards out.
Schipmann and Pack — two of the league’s top keepers — played very well and both finished with seven saves, including highlight-reel stops on both ends.
The game finished 10 on 10, as each team had players sent off in a 15-minute span in the final half hour: Chaney for FMFC for a second yellow card in the 67th, and Charlotte’s Bachir Ndiaye on a straight red for a tackle in the 82nd. Chaney, however, will be available for the final as suspensions are applied to the next league match, which means he will miss the League One game against Spokane on Sept. 21.
Professional
Ethan Hoard (Racine Case/UW-Green Bay) and Bruno Rendon, the two leading goal-scorers in the Jägermeister Cup, scored in a 16-minute span in the second half to power the Hailstorm past nine-man Union Omaha 2-0 in Windsor.
Hoard scored his sixth goal of the tournament in the 56th minute and Rendon extended his lead atop the cup scoring chart with his eighth in the 72nd.
Omaha, which hasn’t beaten Northern Colorado in four tries in all competitions this season (0W-3L-1D), saw Mechack Jérôme sent off in the 26th and finished with nine after Max Schneider’s red card in the 75th just 12 minutes after entering the game.
Follow all the players with state ties playing professionally in the U.S. and around the world on our Wisconsin Players in the Pros chart. If we've missed anyone, email us at wisconsinsoccercentral@gmail.com or let us know on social media.
College men
Wednesday’s highlights
Senior midfielder Alex Wano scored his second goal of the season with 14 seconds left to lift visiting UW-Platteville (3-0-1) to a 1-1 draw with 10-man Luther in Decorah, Iowa. Senior goalkeeper Jack Bell (Madison Memorial) made six saves for the Norse, who had Jose Gimenez sent off in the 62nd minute after his second yellow card.
Senior forward Titus Kostrzewa (Wisconsin Lutheran) had a hand in every goal as Wisconsin Lutheran blanked Beloit 4-0. Kostrzewa finished with two goals and two assists in 64 minutes — matching his totals in each category through his first 1,312 minutes in 36 career matches heading into the day.
Conference players of the week
Big Ten
Offensive: M Noah Glorioso, sr., Wisconsin
Assisted Dean Boltz’s 86th-minute, game-winner in last Monday’s 2-1 win over Marquette, then scored in the 79th minute in a 1-0 road win over No. 16 Kentucky on Friday. It was his first goal for the Badgers and the second in his college career, the first coming during his freshman year at Coastal Carolina in 2020.Goalkeeper: Matisse Hébert, Wisconsin
Posted his third shutout in five collegiate starts, making one save in the win over Kentucky, to claim this honor for the second time in the season’s three weeks. The Canadian has allowed just two goals on the season, both on penalties.
WIAC
Offense: F Ethan Dietrich, jr., UW-Platteville (Kimberly)
Played a role in four goals on the week, recording a goal and an assist in each match as the Pioneers beat St. Scholastica (Minn.) 4-0 and UW-Superior 2-1 in a pair of road games.Defense: D Dominic Mudlaff, jr., UW-Whitewater (Waukesha Catholic Memorial)
Anchored the backline as the Warhawks allowed four goals in a season-opening stretch that saw them play four games (3-0-1) in six days, and added two goals.
NACC
Defense: GK Nathan Espinosa, jr., Marian
Espinosa stopped 17 of 20 shots on the week as the Sabres tied UW-Whitewater 1-1 and Lawrence 2-2. He made 10 saves in the draw against Whitewater, which marked just the third time in 18 all-time meetings between the teams that Marian hasn’t lost to the Warhawks (1-15-2).
This week’s NCAA Division I schedule
Today's game
Marquette vs. Edgewood, 7:30 p.m. (FloFC💲)
Friday's game
Maryland vs. No. 8 UW, 6:30 p.m. (B1G+💲)
Saturday's games
UW-Green Bay vs. Detroit Mercy, 1 p.m. (ESPN+💲)
UW-Milwaukee vs. Wright State, 1 p.m.
Sunday's game
Illinois-Chicago vs. Marquette, 7 p.m.
Recruiting updates
College women
Wednesday’s highlights
Senior Abby Thompson scored in the 65th minute and senior Lilly Collins and sophomore Taylor Wilson (Glendale Nicolet) made seven saves in the combined shutout as St. Norbert blanked host UW-Stevens Point 1-0 for its first win of the season. Wilson played the second half in her collegiate debut.
Greta Blau (McFarland) was involved on all three goals, including two assists, and fellow junior Rylee Brotz (Sheboygan South) also had a pair of assists as Edgewood held off Central (Iowa) 3-2 in its home opener in Verona. The Eagles (3-0-1) have won three in a row and are off to their best start to a season since winning their first four matches in 2011.
Senior defender Maya Alberts (Madison Edgewood) opened the scoring with her first collegiate goal, Kylie Melonis doubled the lead on the hour mark and junior goalkeeper Ella Lysne (La Crosse Central) made two saves in the clean sheet as Lawrence posted a 2-0 victory over host Marian in Fond du Lac.
Conference players of the week
WIAC
Offense: F Gabby Dunn, sr., UW-Stevens Point
Scored her first goal of the season in the Pointers’ 2-2 draw against Dubuque (Iowa), then scored the opener in what turned out to be a 2-1 win over Carroll.Defense: D Addie Pauling, sr., UW-La Crosse (Appleton West)
Led a backline that posted clean sheets in matching 2-0 wins over Dominican (Ill.) and Illinois Wesleyan, and scored her first career goal to open the scoring in the latter match. The No. 7 Eagles allowed just nine shots on goal on the weekend.
NACC
Offense: F Baylee Alvarado, sr., Marian
Recorded the game-winning goal in victories over UW-Oshkosh (2-0) and Ripon (2-1). Her opener against Oshkosh sparked the Sabres to their first victory over the Titans since 1994, ending their 13-match winless streak in the series.
UMAC
Offensive: Katie Schoeneck, so., Martin Luther, Minn. (Watertown Luther Prep)
Netted a hat trick and added an assist as the Knights beat Maranatha Baptist 5-0 for their first win of the season, and also scored the lone goal in a 4-1 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran.
This week’s NCAA Division I schedule
Today's games
Drake vs. UW-Green Bay, 1 p.m. (ESPN+💲)
Marquette vs. Mercyhurst, 5 p.m. (FloFC💲)
UW vs. Rutgers, 7 p.m. (B1G+💲)
UW-Milwaukee vs. Harvard, 7 p.m. (ESPN+💲)
Sunday's game
Marquette vs. UW-Milwaukee, 4 p.m. (FloFC💲)
Recruiting updates
High school boys
By the numbers: WisSports.net links
Longest active unbeaten streaks
23: Hudson (20-0-3)
18: Middleton (15-0-3)
14: Milwaukee Marquette (11-0-3)
Note: Games that go to penalty kicks are officially recorded as ties
International
UW sophomore Ella Ottey played all 90 minutes at left back as Canada fell to defending champion Spain 2-1 in the Round of 16 at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup on Wednesday in Cali, Colombia.
Badgers freshman defender Jadea Collin was an unused sub for Canada, which went ahead in the 63rd minute but yielded goals in the 65th and 81st as it was eliminated.
Indoor
Mark Litton (Racine St. Catherine's/UW-Parkside) was named the Major Arena Soccer League Women Co-Commissioner on Wednesday, joining Chris Economides in the role. MASL was created when the Premier Arena Soccer League and Major Arena Soccer League 3 announced its unification earlier this month.
Litton, who holds a U.S Soccer Federation ‘B’ coaching license, has more than 20 years of experience coaching indoor soccer, futsal and outdoor soccer on the professional, college and amateur levels.
“Mark's experience both here and internationally will be invaluable as we continue to grow the sport in a responsible, professional, sustainable manner for the many great women players looking for an outlet to showcase their talents,” Economides said in a news release. “He's all about quality and responsibility, as his resume shows. He gets the sport and what we can achieve with the MASL's stamp of approval.”
The MASL W lineup of teams for the 2024-205 season will be announced in the coming weeks. Play will start in late fall and teams will play a 12-game regular season.
Linking play
Thousands reserve season tickets for Portland's new pro soccer team (WCSH News Center Maine)
Enjoy Illinois Announced as the Official Destination Partner of Crystal Palace Football Club (Illinois Office of Tourism)