Milwaukee-area high school girls soccer programs are poised to be well-represented again at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state girls soccer tournament June 18-20 at Uihlein Soccer Park.
The road to state begins with regional play June 2, continues with regional semifinals June 4 and crowns regional champions June 6. Sectional play begins with sectional semifinals June 11, and the field will whittle to 16 state qualifiers across four divisions after June 13 sectional finals.
The Milwaukee area sent six programs to state a season ago, led by eventual Division 1 state champion Muskego, which won the program’s fourth straight title. Brookfield Central also picked up the program’s seventh title since 2002 with a win over fellow area qualifier Pewaukee, and Catholic Memorial won the program’s 11th WIAA state title.
Muskego eked out a 1-0 victory over Arrowhead, another 2025 state qualifier, on May 26 in a matchup of two No. 1 seeds in the upcoming WIAA postseason. The win clinched the Classic 8 Conference title for Muskego in a meeting Warriors head coach Lance Matthews said he had been looking forward to as the regular season winds down.
“Arrowhead was a little beat up, but they still brought some great energy and some really tough players, and I thought we played a great game to navigate them and snuff them out, and then just play how we wanted to play,” Matthews said.
As a team with seniors that have played the three longest seasons possible over the past three seasons, Matthews said he is conscious of managing workloads while providing the opportunity for younger players to gain the type of experience that has helped sustain the run to this point.
“Whether it’s a couple minutes off the bench or a couple minutes per half, just really looking to reload, keep the energy high on the field and navigate our full team every game,” Matthews said.
For Arrowhead, coach Scott Asher remained steadfast in his team’s preparedness for the postseason despite consecutive 1-0 defeats to Madison West on May 21 followed by Muskego. The two-game slide against fellow No. 1 seeds in the WIAA bracket represented a tough stretch for an otherwise dominant Warhawks squad that won its first 13 games of the season.
“We hit an incredible level early in the season, and we’ve hit a bit of a roadblock,” Asher said. “We’ve taken a couple of hits, and we need to just regroup and figure some things out and get ourselves back on track. Nothing’s changed. Still the same group of players that did all that stuff in the beginning of the season, so we just need to regroup, refocus, get our heads together and get ourselves back on track.”
Asher added he would like to see an increase in intensity and creativity on the offensive end to recapture the momentum established earlier in the year. Arrowhead is also without starting senior goalkeeper Livia Guadagno, who recently sustained an ankle injury. Sophomore Rhea Diorio has been starting in her stead, including May 26 at Muskego. Guadagno’s rehab is ongoing, but Asher is not certain whether she will return for the postseason.
“Rhea’s a capable backup, she’s a fantastic goalkeeper,” Asher said. “[Livia] is undergoing treatment right now, and she’s hoping to repair. It’s nothing too dangerous, too bad. It’s gonna take time, so we’ll see.”
Other Milwaukee-area WIAA state girls soccer state title contenders
New Berlin Eisenhower: The Lions (10-2-2) dominated competition at the D3 level and had several competitive games playing up against higher division teams as well throughout the 2026 regular season. They defeated New Berlin West 6-3 on May 26 in a matchup against the upcoming No. 4 seed in D3, Sectional 4. Ike holds the No. 2 seed behind Grafton in the same sectional. Should it come down to those two to advance to state, Eisenhower has shown the greater track record for advancing with three state qualifications, including a 2022 state title win, since 2021.
Pewaukee: The Woodland West could send its top two programs this year to state if both Eisenhower and Pewaukee (9-3-3) continue the runs they have been on this year. The reigning D2 finalists have played a challenging 2026 schedule highlighted by narrow 1-0 losses to D1 opponents Muskego and Oregon, as well as an impressive 1-1 draw with Brookfield East. The No. 1 seed in D2, Sectional 4, recently beat No. 3 seed Greendale 3-0 on May 20 in what served as an early salvo to the rest of the sectional for what they are up against. Fresh off a program-first WIAA state appearance in 2025, the Pirates are hoping to continue to progress toward a title in 2026.
Whitefish Bay: The Blue Dukes (8-4-5) are in a similar position as Arrowhead, having lost a couple games to top statewide contenders Waunakee (2-0 on May 22) and Verona (3-2 on May 23) as their season winds down. As Muskego found out in a narrow 1-0 victory April 30, however, this is not a team to overlook. A run of four straight WIAA state tournament appearances came to an end last year, but Whitefish Bay has the track record to be counted in more often than counted out come postseason. It holds the No. 2 seed behind Muskego in D1, Sectional 4.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Arrowhead, Muskego among WIAA state girls soccer title contenders
Reporting by Zac Bellman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
