ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys soccer team continues to roll in honors after their historic 17-5-2 season.  The team was named Academic All-State on Friday afternoon. Individually, Seniors Ivo Arvidsson Ullberg, Kyle Barbeau, Hunter Canute, Kolton Goebel, Wenton Harrison, Jake Schiller and Caleb Zaborney were named Academic All-State. Arvidsson -Ullberg, Barbeau, Goebel, Harrison, Schiller, and Craig Tagliareni were named to the All-District team. Additionally, Arvidsson- Ullberg was named to the All-Region team and the All-State team. 

The season was full of accomplishments as the Wildcats set new program records in goals scored (94), wins in a season (17), shutouts in a season (16), the highest finish in the BNC (3rd), the program’s first playoff win since 2004, and first district final appearance since 1997.  Individually, Ivo Ardvisson-Ullberg set new single-season records for goals (27), assists (18) and points (45).  Wenton Harrison set a new program record with 23 career shutouts.

GAYLORD, MI - Alpena got a late goal from Craig Tagliareni but could not find the equalizer as Gaylord earned their school's first-ever district championship in their 2-1 win over the Wildcats at Gaylord Community Field on Saturday.  The Wildcats and Blue Devils played a tight defensive battle for the majority of the 1st Half as they both struggled to find offensive opportunities.  Gaylord's Jack Holscher was awarded a penalty kick in the 20th minute after a handball was called in the box.  Holscher blasted the ball to his right as Wenton Harrison dove to his right to give Gaylord the 1-0 lead.  The Blue Devils held the one-goal lead into the halftime locker room and into the 2nd half.  Gaylord's Ian Busch found a loose ball in front of the Alpena net and beat Harrison to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead with 24:00 to go.  Alpena appeared to get on the board with less then 6 minutes to play but the goal was waved off due to the Gaylord goalkeeper being obstructed on the corner kick. Tagliareni was able to finally get the ball into the Blue Devil net with 4:57 to play.  Alpena pushed the play in the final minutes attempting to find the equalizer but could not crack the net as Gaylord escaped with the win.

Alpena finishes the season 17-5-2, which is a new school record for wins in a season.  Gaylord advances to play Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (19-0-1) in the Regional round at Cedar Springs on Wednesday.

ALPENA, MI - Three different school records fell in Wednesday night's 7-0 District Semi-Final win over Bay City John Glenn at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg broke the school record for goals in a season (17) and assists in a season (16), and the Wildcats set a new school record for wins in a season with their 17th.  Kyle Barbeau opened the scoring just 8-minutes into the game when he converted on a beautifully executed scissor kick.  Kolton Goebel increased the lead to 2-0 when he headed in a corner kick midway through the first half.  Arvidsson-Ullberg tied Gabe Miller's 1996 record with his 16th goal of the season late in the opening half when he broke free of the Bobcat defense and beat Glenn's netminder Brendan Brill with a solid shot.  

The Wildcats heeded Coach Storch's halftime speech and went after the Bobcats to increase their lead.  Goebel scored his second goal of the night early in the half when he redirected Arvidsson-Ullberg's corner kick, which broke the single-season assist record that was set in 2016.  Arvidsson-Ullberg added to his assist total when he found a wide-open Kyle Barbeau to increase the Alpena lead to 5-0.  Arvidsson-Ullberg finished off the historic night with a perfect fake and fired the ball past Brill to set the new school record and give the Wildcats the 6-0 lead.  Austin Townsend finished the scoring with his first career Varsity goal with 5:37 left to play as the rain began to come down.  Wenton Harrison and Matt Diamond split time in net to record the shut-out.

Alpena (17-4-2) travel to Gaylord on Saturday at 5pm for the District 32 Championship Game.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team opened up MHSAA Tournament play with a 5-0 victory over Mt Pleasant on Thursday at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  The Oiler had the first opportunity to get on the board on Zachary Haggart-Madison shot that was pushed just over the upper board by Wenton Harrison.  Building off their defensive momentum, the Wildcats began to pressure the Oilers on the offensive end following the Harrison save.  The Wildcats got on the board 19-minutes into the game when Mike Clark sailed a pass across the field to Grant Botha who bicycle kicked the ball into the open net to give Alpena the 1-0 lead.  Later in the half, Botha found a wide-open Caleb Zaborney who raced past the Oiler defense and buried the ball into the net to increase the Wildcat lead to 2-0 lead.  Early in the second half, a Craig Tagliareni pass to Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg was too far but snuck in the net when the Oiler netminder misplayed the ball.  Arvidsson-Ullberg finished the scoring a few moments later for his 25th goal of the year, which is one goal short of tying the Wildcat single-season record of 26 set by Gabe Miller in 1996.

Alpena (16-4-2) will host Bay City John Glenn on Thursday, October 15 at 6pm in the District 32 Semi-Finals.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Grant Botha scored the event game-winning goal with 15-minutes to play as the Alpena Boys Soccer team ended the regular season with a 2-1 victory over TC Central on Monday night.  Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg got the Wildcats on the board just two minutes into the game off a fed from Mike Clark.  The Trojans would tie the game late in the 1st half setting up the drama in the 2nd half.  Botha's goal came off of an assist from Tagliareni, and Wildcat netminder Wenton Harrison made the lead stick. 

Alpena finishes the regular season 15-4-2 overall and 5-4-1 in the BNC, marking the school's first-ever winning conference record.  Alpena will host Mt Pleasant at 5pm on Thursday to open up District play.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI - The Alpena Soccer team struggled to keep pace with #4 ranked TC West Titans in their 5-1 loss on Thursday night.  West's Caleb Kinney opened the scoring just three minutes into the game to give the Titans the 1-0 lead.  Josh Hirschenberger made it 2-0 midway through the 1st half, and Tony Gallegos made it 3-0 at the half.  Alpena finally got on the board on a Penalty Kick goal by Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg.  The Titans quickly responded about a minute later to re-establish the three-goal lead.  The Titans would put the game away on a Penalty Kick by Grant Holfels.  Alpena (14-4-2, 4-4-1 BNC) travel to TC Central on October 7 to wrap-up the regular season.  The win clinches the 18th conference title in 21 years and the 10th BNC title in a row for the Titans.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team pulled into a 2nd place tie with Gaylord after a 5-2 victory over Petoskey on Tuesday night at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  The Northmen got on the board early when Dylan Aldridge scored just six minutes into the game.  Alpena tied the game with 17:42 left in the half when Kyle Barbeau out-raced Petoskey GoalKeeper Michael Iverson to the ball and placed it in the open net.  About six minutes later, Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg buried a penalty kick to give the Wildcats the lead for good.  Grant Botha added his first of three goals on the night to give Alpena the 3-1 lead at the half.  Botha scored two more times in the 2nd half; the first on a rebound and the second on a perfect pass from Arvidsson-Ullberg.  Petoskey's Matt Muller finished the scoring late in the game.  Alpena (14-2-1, 4-2-0 BNC) pulled into a 2nd place tie with Gaylord in the BNC after Gaylord's 2-0 loss to Traverse City Central.  The Wildcats and Blue Devils clash on Friday in Gaylord.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team set a new school record with their 13th shut-out of the season in their 5-0 Senior Night victory over Alcona on Monday night at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  The Wildcats held a 2-0 halftime lead behind goals from Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg and Caleb Eaton.  Arvidsson-Ullberg added a second goal in the second half, as well as single tallies from Kyle Barbeau and Grant Botha.  The Wildcats outshot Alcona 19-0 on the night.  Alpena (13-2-1) host Petoskey on Tuesday night for their final home game of the season.

ALPENA, MI - The #14 Alpena Boys Soccer team outscored their opponents 15-0 in three games to win the Huron Shores Invitational on Saturday.  In game 1, the Wildcats overwhelmed Cheboygan early taking a 3-0 halftime lead on goals by Grant Botha, Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg, and Caleb Zaborney.  Zaborney added a goal in the 2nd half and Kyle Barbeau scored twice in the 6-0 win.  In the second game, the Wildcats faced a tough draw against a very strong Traverse City Christian team.  Alpena got timely defense and goals by Arvidsson-Ullberg and Craig Tagliareni in their 2-0 win.  The Wildcats finished the day with a commanding 7-0 win over Pinconning in the Championship game.  Caleb Eaton, Kyle Barbeau, and Kolton Goebel each had a goal while Arvidsson-Ullberg and Zaborney each scored twice.  Zaborney finished the day with four goals in the three Wildcat victories.

Alpena (12-2-1, 3-2-0 BNC) host Alcona on Monday night at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team bounced back from a tough defeat on Tuesday with a 3-0 Big North Conference victory over Traverse City Central on Thursday night at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  The Wildcats controlled the play for the majority of the opening half but could not solve Central Goalkeeper Colton Warren.  Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg finally solved Warren as he got the Wildcats on the board with 4:04 remaining in the half.  Grant Botha converted on a rebound opportunity early in the 2nd half to extend the lead to 2-0.  Craig Tagliareni added an insurance marker late in the game for the Wildcats and Wenton Harrison made the shut-out stick in net.  Alpena (9-2-1, 3-2-0 BNC) will host the Huron Shores Tournament on Saturday with games against Cheboygan (11:30am), TC Christian (2:15pm), and Pinconning (5pm).

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team struggled in all aspects of the game and fell to the TC West Titans, 7-0, on Tuesday night at park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  The Wildcats had the first opportunity of the game when Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg had a free kick less than five minutes into the game.  Arvidsson-Ullberg was unable to convert and the Titans took the momentum for the rest of the night.  TC West's Grant Holfels netted his first of two goals on the night in the 8' and after that it was all Titans.  Dune Jung and Finn Durbin also had a pair of goals on the night.  Alpena (8-2-1, 2-2-0 BNC) host TC Central on Thursday night.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team controlled the play for most of the night and converted on their offense chances to earn a 3-0 Big North Conference victory over Cadillac on Thursday night.  Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg opened the scoring early when he outraced the Cadillac defense and easily found the back of the net to give the Wildcats the lead.  Arvidsson-Ullberg again found the back of the net with a perfectly placed left-foot shot to give Alpena the 2-0 lead with 3-minutes to play in the 1st half.  Craig Tagliareni added to the lead with 26:14 left when he executed a perfect bicycle kick to increase the lead to 3-0.  Alpena (8-1-1, 2-1-0 BNC) host Traverse City West on September 17.

ALPENA, MI - The Alpena Soccer team was unable to capitalize on their opportunities in their 2-0 defeat to #12 Gaylord Tuesday night at park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.  The two teams fought evenly during the majority of the opening half until Kyler McKenzie redirected a corner kick past Wenton Harrison with 1:44 left.  Ian Busch added to the Gaylord lead with 13:00 left when he outraced the Wildcat defense and redirected the ball past Harrison.  Alpena (7-1-1, 1-1-0 BNC) host Cadillac on Thursday night.

HARBOR SPRINGS, MI - The Alpena Boys Soccer team exploded for eight 2nd Half goals in a 8-0 victory over Harbor Springs on Monday night.  Matt Diamond, Kyle Barbeau, and Ivo Ardisson-Ullberg each had a pair of goals in the victory.  The #13 Wildcats (7-0-1, 1-0-0 BNC) host #12 Gaylord on Tuesday night in a big-time Big North Conference match-up.

PETOSKEY, MI - The #13 ranked Alpena Boys Soccer team opened the Big North Conference schedule with a 2-0 win over Petoskey on Thursday night at Northmen Stadium.  Kyle Barbeau opened the scoring for the Wildcats 20-minutes into the opening half, and Craig Tagliareni added an insurance goal in the 2nd half.  Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg assisted on both goals, while Wenton Harrison recorded the shut-out in net.  The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 37-0 over their current six-game winning streak.  Alpena (6-0-1, 1-0-0 BNC) travel to Harbor Springs on Monday.

TAWAS, MI - The #13 Wildcats wasted no time in an 8-0 rout of the Tawas Area Braves on Wednesday night.  Alpena jumped out to a 6-0 halftime lead, and finished off the mercy with 2 more goals in the early 2nd Half.  Ivo Arvidsson-Ullberg and Craig Tagliareni each had a hat trick in the win.  Alpena (5-0-1) travel to Petoskey on Thursday night to open BNC play.

ALPENA, MI - For the first time since the early 1990s, the Alpena Boys Soccer team is ranked in the Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association rankings.  Alpena (4-0-1) enters the season's first rankings at #13 in Division 2, joining fellow BNC rival Gaylord (#7).

Michigan High School Soccer Coaches Association Rankings