Sports

The challenges keep coming.

And Middleton’s boys soccer team keeps knocking them out of the park.

The Cardinals, who have won two straight WIAA Division 1 state championships, posted three quality wins last week and improved to 6-0 on the season.

Middleton defeated Madison Memorial, 2-0, on Sept. 9 and downed Sun Prairie East, 3-1, on Sept. 11. The Cardinals then edged Geneva (Ill.), 1-0, on Sept. 13.

“A tough week, but three gritty wins,” Middleton coach Kevin Pauls said. “I told the team this week, we're getting wins and we're still learning who we are and still haven't played our best soccer.” 

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

• Middleton 2, Madison Memorial 0 — Cormac Carlson had a pair of goals and the Cardinals posted a hard fought win.

“As always, Memorial played us tough,” Pauls said. “They have a couple guys that seem like they have been there five or six years and are very good.”

Week by week, meet by meet, Middleton’s boys cross country team gets better and better.

And that was the case again on Sept. 13.

The Cardinals finished in second place at the 20-team Spring Green Invite, highlighted by a sixth-place individual finish by junior Zach Tang.

DeForest won the meet with 42 points, while Middleton was second with 64. Madison West (97), Richland Center (147) and Madison La Follette (151) rounded out the top five.

“I was really excited about our performance, and the team was thrilled to come away with second place at the invite,” Middleton coach Brian Finnel said. “Even with Madison West sitting out their top runner, I believe we still would have edged them out.

“It was a solid step forward from last weekend at Verona. With most of the team feeling better after battling illness and some minor aches, we looked much sharper.”

The girls state swimming and diving meet is nearly two months away.

But a mini-state meet was held at Brookfield East High School last Saturday.

Many of the state’s elite teams competed at the Brookfield East Invite. And Middleton — the two-time defending state champion — showed it will be hard to dethrone.

The Cardinals finished with 520 points to outdistance runner-up Minnetonka (Minn.), which had 481.5 points. Verona was third with 347 and was the closest team from Wisconsin to Middleton, while Muskego (229) and Brookfield East (185) rounded out the top five at the 12-team invite.

“Our team did an amazing job of swimming fast and supporting one another,” Cardinals first-year coach Andrew Cotton said. “The energy and enthusiasm they have at each meet is bringing out the best in one another and I am excited for another great week. They continue to impress me both in and out of the pool.”

Middleton’s girls volleyball team enjoyed an outstandingweek, winning a pair of Big Eight Conference matches and faring well at the Kettle Moraine Invitational.

Here’s a recap of the Cardinals’ week.

BIG EIGHT CONFERENCE

• Middleton 3, Madison Memorial 0 — The Cardinals rolled to a 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 win over the Spartans on Sept. 9. Middleton hit at an impressive .214 clip.

The Cardinals finished the first set on a 4-0 run to take early control of the match. Middleton then rallied from a 12-7 deficit to win the second set, and was in control of the third set throughout.

“Big win for us early in the conference season,” Middleton coach Ben White said. “I was impressed with how the girls handled the match.”

Sadie Newcomb led the Cardinals with 18 kills and 13 digs, while Andrea Wipperfurth had 32 assists, four aces, three kills and nine digs.

The postseason is just around the corner for girls golf teams across the state.

And Middleton, ranked No. 3 in the latest Golf Coaches Association of Wisconsin poll, is playing awfully well at the perfect time.

Middleton finished in a second place tie at the 20-team Franklin Invite held at Tuckaway Country Club on Sept. 8. The Cardinals then won the 18-team Janesville Parker Invite held at Riverside Golf Course on Sept. 13.

“I feel good about where we’re at,” Middleton coach Becky Halverson said. “The girls are confident, they’re competing hard, and each week we’re tightening up the little things.”

No. 1 ranked Division Savior Holy Angels won the Franklin Invite with a 310, while the Cardinals tied for second with Brookfield East with a 330. Bay Port (342), Waukesha’s combined team (358) and Sussex Hamilton (362) rounded out the top six at the 20-team event.

Don’t let an underdog hang around.

That was the mentality of Middleton’s football team on Sept. 12, when the Cardinals hosted upstart Janesville Craig.

The Cougars had started the year 2-1, highlighted by a 47-0 shellacking of Madison La Follette in Week 3. And the last thing Middleton wanted to do was allow Craig to have any hope of pulling an upset.

Mission accomplished.

Middleton raced to a 21-0 first quarter lead, kept the Cougars at bay throughout and rolled to a 31-0 win.

The Cardinals improved to 3-1 overall and are tied with Verona atop the Big Eight Conference at 2-0. Those teams meet Sept. 27 in Middleton.

Craig fell to 2-2, 1-1.

“That was huge,” Middleton co-coach Joe Poehls said of the Cardinals’ fast start. “And a lot of the credit goes to (offensive coordinator) Zach Rast and his style.

“He has a certain expectation of what he wants the offense to be. And I always say, ‘That’s why we give you the big bucks.’ ”

In an era of designated hitters and pitch counts, Drew Farrell is as old school as it gets.

Affectionately known as ‘the Bulldog’ by his teammates, coaches and fans, Farrell lived up to his nickname when it mattered the most.

Farrell tossed a complete-game, five-hitter, throwing 145 pitches, and Alden Cleary provided all the offense the Middleton 29ers would need in a thrilling 2-1 victory over three-time defending champion Verona in the Home Talent League championship game at Sorenson-Bakken Field on Sunday.

It had been more than a decade since Middleton was able to hoist a Sunday Home Talent League championship banner.

But the 29ers completed a perfect 18-0 season on a crisp fall-like afternoon before an appreciative crowd that included members of their last championship team.

MADISON — Twice Madison Memorial chased Middleton down and backed the Cardinals into a corner.

The Cardinals punched their way free both times.

The last of those times — midway through the fourth quarter — made it a two-score game and propelled the Cardinals to a 35-13, Big Eight Conference win over the Spartans on Sept. 5 at Mansfield Stadium.

Middleton’s offense knew it needed to step up.

“Let’s just punch it in,” quarterback Joey Passaglia said of the unit’s attitude after Memorial found paydirt with 10 minutes, 13 seconds remaining to get within 21-13. “They scored, now we have to come back and punch it in the end zone once again.

“We trusted each other, we relied on each other and we just had that attitude that we’re not losing. No one’s going to beat us.”

Passaglia and Co. turned to a play that had already worked once, a play action pass to running back Elijah Jackson on a wheel route out of the backfield.

Ben White probably doesn't want to be called Mr. 500.

Middleton’s girls volleyball coach doesn't much care for the spotlight. He’d rather the attention was on his team.

But White entered some rarified air on Sept. 6 when he posted the 500^th win of his illustrious career during the Middleton Invite. The Cardinals went 3-2 overall at the 16-team tournament.

“I definitely kept this quiet and didn't tell anyone but my wife prior to the day, because the truth is it should never be about the head coach,” White said. “I've been lucky to coach with some great people and have had the opportunity to work with a lot of special student athletes.”

White’s been an awfully special coach, as well, during his time at MHS.

White coached Middleton’s boys for 19 years, going 448-172 record overall. White led Middleton’s boys to 11 state tournaments, two Final Fours and 13 Big Eight Conference championships.

Middleton’s boys volleyball team won a state championship in 2023. The Cardinals were state runners-up in 2024.

And Middleton has been to the state tournament 15 times since 2002.

By the looks of it, though, one day the 2025 Cardinals could be talked about as the best team in school history.

No. 1 ranked Middleton rolled through the star-studded Brookfield East Invite on Sept. 6. The Cardinals won all five of their matches — including two against ranked opponents — in straight sets on their way to the title.

“We played great throughout the entirety of the tournament,” Middleton coach Dylan Griffith said. “All the teams we played we have yet to see this season, so it was a great opportunity to test some things out against different competition.