The Kickoff: Wednesday, Aug. 7
Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond
Top of the box
Three state teams are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches preseason college polls, which were released Tuesday.
NCAA Division I women: 19. Wisconsin (14-5-4 in 2023)
NCAA Division III women: 7. UW-La Crosse (20-1-2)
NCAA Division III men: 16. UW-Eau Claire (13-5-2)
Also receiving votes: UW-Platteville
High school
Brookfield East, which finished 20-0-2 last season and lost to Middleton on penalties after a tie in the WIAA Division 1 state final, is ranked 13th in the United Soccer Coaches Fall Boys national preseason poll. Middleton (17-4-3) is among other teams receiving votes.
The WIAA posted sectional assignments for its 2025 girls soccer tournament, the first for the sport using the new Tournament Performance Factor:
We’re tracking the coaching changes in varsity soccer programs across Wisconsin for the upcoming school year:
If you know of others that we’ve missed, drop us an email at wisconsinsoccercentral@gmail.com or connect with us on social media.
Youth clubs
With the start of the 2024-2025 club season upon us, there are a few pieces of news from U.S. Youth Soccer and the Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association about the National Championship Series, the Wisconsin State Championships — commonly known as the State Cup — and the Wisconsin Presidents Cup.
There will no longer be separate 18U and 19U divisions for the State Cup or the NCS, as they are being replaced by a combined 18U/19U division. The Presidents Cup, however, will still have 18U and 19U divisions.
The 2025 Midwest Region championships will once again be held in Olathe and Overland Park, Kan., the same locations as this year. However, that is expected to be the final year of teams qualifying for the USYS National Championships through four regional competitions across the country.
Starting in the 2025-2026 season, U.S. Youth Soccer’s goal is to have teams from each of its 54 state associations qualify for nationals directly from their State Cup competitions into one of three divisions. The USYS National League also would have a direct pathway. WYSA Executive Director Melissa Zielinski was part of the group that developed and will implement the new format. Learn more: An Open Letter from US Youth Soccer CEO Skip Gilbert
Here are the dates for the four divisions of the Wisconsin State Championships (15U through 18U/19U Girls) and the five divisions of the Wisconsin Presidents Cup (15U through 19U Girls) that are played in the fall to avoid conflicts with the WIAA girls season in the spring:
Group play: Oct. 5, 6 and 12 at USA Youth Sports Complex, Appleton
Semifinals: Sunday, Oct. 13 at USA Youth Sports Complex, Appleton
Finals: Saturday, Oct. 19 at Voigt Soccer Park, Brookfield
Olympics
Sophia Smith scored off a perfectly weighted pass from Mallory Swanson in the 95th minute, Alyssa Naeher made a huge save in the 119th and the U.S. women’s national team outlasted Germany 1-0 after extra time on Tuesday in Lyon, France, to advance to its sixth Olympic gold-medal match. The U.S. will face Brazil at 10 a.m. Saturday in Paris, seeking its record fifth gold medal — no other country has won more than one. This will be the 17th final of a Women’s World Cup or Olympic final; the U.S. has been involved in 11 of them. Rose Lavelle (UW) started Tuesday’s semifinal and went 60 minutes in her 106th cap. Watch the highlights on YouTube, because NBC doesn’t allow videos to be embedded on this site
Professional
Marisa Bova (Hartland Arrowhead) made three saves and Victoria Pickett (UW) played the full 90 as the North Carolina Courage lost to the host Kansas City Current 2-0 in an NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup semifinal Tuesday night. Kansas City will face Gotham FC in the final on Oct. 25 in San Antonio. The NWSL regular season resumes Aug. 23 following its six-week Olympic break.
NWSL x LIGA MX FEMENIL SUMMER CUP
Semifinals
At Kansas City
Gotham FC 1:0 Angel City FC
Kansas City Current 2:0 North Carolina Courage
Final 10/25
At San Antonio
Gotham FC vs. Kansas City CurrentFollow 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 connect with us on socials.