A quick read on prep girls soccer around the area this spring:

FLASHBACK

2007 conference champions:

Northern Badger — Waunakee.
Southern Badger — Madison Edgewood.
Big Eight — Madison West.
Capitol Area — Evansville and Lake Mills.
Little Ten — Hartford.
Southern Lakes — Delavan-Darien.
SWC — Platteville.

Best area WIAA tournament showings:

Division 1 — Middleton lost to eventual state champion Mequon Homestead 1-0 in the state semifinals.

Division 2 — McFarland lost to Waukesha Catholic Memorial 4-1 in the state championship game.

Division 3 — Lake Mills lost to La Crosse Aquinas 3-1 in a shootout after a 2-2 tie in a sectional championship game.

FAST FORWARD

WSJ PRESEASON ALL-AREA

First team

GK Lauren Gunderson, sr., Middleton
D Sarah Gugel, sr., Waunakee
D Ashley Alonso, jr., McFarland
D Beth Schramka, jr., Madison Edgewood
D Julia Eagleburger, jr., Madison West
M Kara Dahmen, so., Waunakee
M Taylor Madigan, so., Waunakee
M Lindsay Richardson, sr., Madison Edgewood
F Alex Melin, so., Verona
F Elaine Gerry, sr., Sauk Prairie
F Sammy Vovos, sr., Middleton

Second team

GK Adrienne Rust, sr., McFarland
D Carlene Schleisman, sr., Middleton
D Kristin Brown, sr., Madison La Follette
D Kelsey Strohm, so., Madison Memorial
D Abby Meitzen, sr., Middleton
M Renee Weeks, sr., Sauk Prairie
M Lana Fox, sr., McFarland
M Hillary Wilson, jr., Waunakee
F Sara Stern, so., McFarland
F Kayla Conrad, sr., Mount Horeb
F Izzie Speer, so., Madison West

Honorable mention

GK: Laura Atkinson, jr., Oregon; Sagan Pizzingrilli, sr., Madison West; Chelsey Eley, jr., Waunakee.

D: Sarah Niemi, sr., Waunakee; Simran Brar, jr., Waunakee; Emily Nowka, so., Mount Horeb; Jamie Wiepz, sr., Stoughton; Jessica Garvey, sr., McFarland; Angel Garcia, sr., Madison East; Kimmy Trapp, jr., DeForest; Kendelle Heid, jr., Lodi.

M: Amber Fiene, sr., Sauk Prairie; Jessie Frain, sr., Evansville; Haley Petterson, jr., Evansville; Jenny Donahue, sr., Sugar River; Kelly Peterson, sr., Monona Grove; Kelsey Beck, sr., McFarland; Nicole Strieker, jr., Janesville Parker; Catie O'Leary, jr., Janesville Parker; McKenzie Genin, jr., Madison Memorial; Anna Guilfoil, sr., Madison West; Taryn Latour, jr., Poynette-Portage; Katy Matystrand, so., Madison East; Sarah Smith, jr., Middleton; Anna Strasser, jr., Lodi; Teighlor Tvedt, fr., Verona.

F: Melanie Meier, sr., Waunakee; Phoebe Herman, so., Waunakee; Crystal Sims, sr., Madison Memorial; Bethany Schultz, so., Watertown Luther Prep; Emily Berns, jr., Lake Mills; Allyson Connor, sr., Oregon; Sydney Temple, so., Madison La Follette; Kelsey Bysted, jr., Janesville Parker; Gina Williams, jr., Verona; Morgan LaPlant, fr., Madison La Follette.

BIG QUESTIONS

Can Middleton make it four straight trips to state? The early returns look good for the Cardinals, who came into the season needing to replace six key seniors from last year's team. Coach Ken Burghy's team has yet to concede a goal, and has quite possibly the state's top goalkeeper in senior Lauren Gunderson, a University of Wisconsin recruit.

Who's the Cardinals' biggest competition? Right now that appears to be Waunakee, which has a pretty solid case for being the best team in the area. The Warriors also have not yet allowed a goal, and lost only one player — starting goalkeeper Jessica Nagel — from last year's group that went 18-6-1 and lost to Middleton in a regional final. Waunakee has never been to the state tournament, and to do so it will need to survive a brutal bottom half of the Middleton sectional that includes the Cardinals, Madison Memorial, Madison West and Verona.

Will Ben Voss replicate his success with the Madison Memorial boys team? Voss, who led the Memorial boys to the 2006 Division 1 state title, took over the Spartans' girls program after Tim Patton left. Voss has Memorial off to a 4-1-1 start, and the Spartans look like they'll challenge Middleton for the Big Eight title. Other new coaches in the area include Greg Frosch (Sauk Prairie), Thales Blaso (Wisconsin Heights) and Greg Riddell (Baraboo).

What's the story with the Badger Conference tournament? Well, it will no longer play a role in deciding how the final standings look. Instead, the Northern and Southern Badger champions will be decided strictly by regular season conference record. Waunakee is the early favorite in the North, while McFarland, Madison Edgewood, Verona and Oregon figure to battle it out in the South.

Who's the team to beat in the Capitol Area? Evansville is looking to win its third straight title in its final season in the conference, and is led by its midfield tandem of senior Jessie Frain and junior Haley Petterson. But Sugar River is the only team without a loss in conference play.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Thursday: McFarland at Madison Edgewood; Sugar River at Evansville.

Friday-Saturday: Badger-Big Eight quad at Waunakee.

Tuesday: Madison West at Middleton.

May 5: Sauk Prairie at Waunakee; McFarland at Verona.

May 15: Sugar River at Lodi.

May 22, 24: WIAA regionals.

May 29, 31: WIAA sectionals.

June 5-7: WIAA state tournament (Uihlein Soccer Park, Milwaukee).