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Marquette hoists another soccer championship trophy after defeating Arrowhead for the Division 1 title. Also, Whitefish Bay won its third straight Division 2 crown Saturday.
Winning a state championship doesn't have to be pretty.
Marquette may not have played the way it wanted to in the WIAA Division 1 state championship but it did enough to collect a fourth straight gold ball.
The Hilltoppers were the benefactors of an own goal and Nicholas Cheung broke a tie with a goal on a penalty kick in the 64th minute to lift Marquette to a 2-1 victory over Arrowhead on Saturday at Uihlein Soccer Park.
It is the second four-peat in school history for Marquette, also accomplishing the feat from 2000-03. The Hilltoppers won their first WIAA title in 2000 and have collected 13 championships since.
"It wasn't maybe the way we drew up that game to be, but when you are playing in a state final it is going to be high-intensity and a dogfight," Marquette coach Steve Lawrence said. "Our guys were ready for it. Although maybe we would have liked to have played a little prettier or moved the ball a little better, in the end, we got the job done."
An Arrowhead (16-4-3) own goal allowed Marquette (20-3-1) to take a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
Osvaldo Sanchez-Arellano sent a free kick into the box that hit off the head of Luke Dubnicka and flew over the head of goalkeeper Sydney Marquardt.
"We thought we could drive some balls into the front six," Lawrence said. "With the size of their keeper, we thought we could get some of our bigger guys in there and if we put it in the mix we figured anything could happen. We got a lucky bounce off of them."
It was the first of what turned out to be two unfortunate breaks that went against the Warhawks.
"Dead balls are always important," Arrowhead coach Jeff Staus said. "We knew they were good on dead balls. It was just unfortunate. A ball bouncing around in the box can always be detrimental.
"I thought we were marked up. It was just a bad bounce."
Danny Durand tied the game for Arrowhead in the 51st minute on a strong shot to the inside of the far post from the left side.
In the 64th minute, Marquardt was whistled for a foul on Mikey Herrera in the box. Arrowhead felt Marquardt touched the ball before making contact with Herrera, but a penalty kick was awarded to the Hilltoppers.
Cheung converted, and Marquette went up 2-1 with just over 26 minutes to play.
"It was a bad call," Staus said. "It is unfortunate. Our guys battled. They battled all year They grind and play hard. I can agree to disagree with him, but I didn't think it was a penalty."
Arrowhead kept the pressure on but could not find the equalizer it needed.
On the same day Whitefish Bay took the Division 2 crown to join Marquette as the only programs to win three consecutive state titles, the Hilltoppers matched their own state record by winning a championship for the fourth year in a row.
"Being an alum, I think it means a lot to me to keep the standards at the high level," Lawrence said. "To be in the same category of some of those other (Marquette) teams, that's just an honor."