(WIAA) – Four champions were crowned at the 45th annual WIAA boys soccer championships on November 7 at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee.
All four champions hailed from the Milwaukee area with Marquette winning the Division 1 crown, Whitefish Bay taking the Division 2 title, St. Thomas More claiming Division 3 and Cristo Rey Jesuit emerging with the Division 4 championship.
Marquette is back on top of Division 1 for the first time since 2021 and the tournament-record 17th time with a 3-1 win over Hudson. The Hilltoppers were last year’s state runner-up and have now won 31 total state titles, including 14 WISAA championships.
Hudson scored just 1:16 into the match on a goal by Sam Olson, but it took Marquette just over a minute to level the match on a tally by Alex Ulrich at the 2:25 mark. Kevin Brennan put the Hilltoppers ahead at the 14:57 mark and Liam Mayo added the clinching goal with just over four minutes remaining at 75:44. Marquette finished the season 15-4-3, while Hudson finished 19-2-3 and was runner-up for the second time, having also done so in 2021.
In Division 2, Whitefish Bay went back-to-back and captured its ninth championship all-time with a 2-1 victory over Wauwatosa East. The Blue Dukes avenged a loss earlier in the season to the Red Raiders by scoring the first two goals of the match and hanging on for the win. Reid Muderlak scored Whitefish Bay’s first goal at the 9:16 mark and Liam Richards headed in a corner kick by Joe Sarnowski just 1:41 into the second half. Wauwatosa East cut the lead on a goal by Luke Gendrich at 53:48, but the Red Raiders were unable to get the equalizer.
Whitefish Bay goalie Roman Grunbaum made three saves as the Blue Dukes owned a 10-7 advantage in shots. Whitefish Bay concluded the season at 15-4-2, while Wauwatosa East finished 19-3-1 in its first state tournament appearance since 1998.
St. Thomas More was the only top seed to win a state title, taking the Division 3 crown with a 3-1 win over Edgerton. It was St. Thomas More’s second state title in three appearances, having also won Division 3 in 2006 and finishing as Division 4 runner-up in 2014. The Cavaliers scored twice before halftime with Aiden Knitter scoring at the 32:24 mark and Jeramani Denton converting at the 35:56 mark. Edgerton got on the board just 54 seconds into the second half on a free kick by Jose Diaz Flores, but St. Thomas More countered less than three minutes later when Carter Anzalone drilled a free kick at the 43:33 mark to regain its two-goal margin.
The Cavaliers peppered 27 shots with Edgerton goalkeeper Guillermo Diaz making nine saves. St. Thomas More ended the season on an 11-match winning streak and posted an 18-3-2 record. Edgerton’s defeat was its first of the season as the Tide finished 14-1-5 in their first state tournament appearance.
In Division 4, Cristo Rey Jesuit won its second state championship with a 2-1 triumph over Lake Country Lutheran. The Trailblazers also won the title in their only other state tournament appearance in 2022.
Kevin Gomez scored the first goal of the match on a nifty chip shot over the goalie following a long pass from Dayron Ramirez Mares at the 38:58 mark. The Trailblazers extended their lead on a blast by Mares from 25 yards out at the 54:34 mark. Lake Country Lutheran answered quickly with a header goal from Kellen Naumann at the 57:44 mark. The Lightning had eight shots and seven corner kicks in the second half, but Cristo Rey Jesuit goalie Alexis Quintana had five saves to preserve the victory.
Cristo Rey Jesuit finished the season 17-2-3. Lake Country Lutheran wrapped up the year at 16-2-3 and made its second appearance in the finals, winning the Division 4 title in 2024.
The tournament featured four penalty kick shootouts among the eight semifinal matches. Whitefish Bay, Edgerton, Cristo Rey Jesuit and Lake Country Lutheran all reached the finals with the shootout victories
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