DeForest girls soccer reaches state for first time

DeForest secured its first WIAA girls soccer state tournament berth with a 2–0 win over Edgewood in the Division 2 sectional final.

DeForest qualified to the 2026 Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 2 state soccer tournament on Saturday, June 13, striking early to silence fifth-seeded Edgewood 2-0 and secure their trip to Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee this week.

“It feels amazing, it’s so crazy, it’s unreal,” Norski senior captain midfielder/forward Marissa Titel said, who scored DeForest’s first goal — less than 70 seconds into the game — during DeForest's sectional final win over Edgewood.

The DeForest girls’ soccer team is heading to state for the first time in program history.

Titel isn’t a stranger to postseason success. The previous season as a junior, she was part of a team that ended its season one game shy of a state tournament berth. DeForest fell in overtime.

Sectional final recap

Then, they graduated 10 seniors, per MaxPreps.

In many ways, the 2026 soccer campaign for DeForest was meant to be a rebuilding year. DeForest has just four seniors in the program this year, according to DeForest Athletics.

To end regular-season play, DeForest lost four of their final six games. While three of those six games were against state-ranked foes, the mini slide moved DeForest down to fifth place in the Badger-Large Conference, where they entered the postseason at 10-6-2.

DeForest received the No. 7 seed in the Division 2 state tournament. While no path to state is ever easy, DeForest’s path can best be described as one word: daunting.

Then, something clicked.

DeForest started their postseason run with a 5-0 shutout victory over No. 10 seed Burlington before upsetting second-seeded Waukesha West 1-0 to claim a regional title. Onto sectionals, DeForest scored a dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over Monona Grove before shutting down Edgewood by two goals to hoist the sectional title.

In three of their four postseason matchups, DeForest was the underseeded team. They’re embracing that “Cinderella” role.

“I feel like we worked together and pushed through to show that we’re not the seven seed that we were placed in,” DeForest freshman midfielder/forward Violet Colwin said. “For the postseason, it’s kind of like a fresh start. And that’s what we used it as: a fresh start.”

Second-year coach Josh Howard said the playoff reset button helped his group believe and trust each other more. He said they’ve embraced the underdog mentality, playing each game with a chip on their shoulder throughout its tournament run.

Equally important in DeForest's historic postseason run has been their backline. In its four tournament games, DeForest’s defense engineered three shutouts. This year, DeForest has shut out its opponent 13 times.

That’s nearly 60 percent of its games.

“That’s a testament to how well our team defends, especially when you’re playing a team like Waukesha West, a very aggressive Monona Grove team, and then a team that finds itself scoring a lot in Edgewood,” Coach Howard said.

Among the anchors in DeForest's backline is its sophomore defender, Alyssa Annen.

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Annen said chemistry and communication helped strengthen their back line, adding that the group stayed positive and worked together throughout their games this year.

While only a sophomore, Annen has stepped into a leadership role with DeForest's youthful backline after another one of its anchors, sophomore captain Olivia Osborne, suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Annen has seamlessly filled into that leadership role.

“I’ve tried to step into a position like she has, using her (Osborne) as a role model for myself,” Annen said. “Communicating with the other players and being loud and telling them what to do, and just trying to guide the team back there.”

DeForest will open the state tournament in the semifinals on Thursday, June 18. They received the No. 3 seed. They will face No. 2 seed Wauwatosa East (13-4-1) at the Uihlein Soccer Park at 1:30 p.m.

While the lights will be bright on the state’s biggest stage, DeForest aren’t going to change their approach.

Marissa Titel knows there will be distractions. After all, that’s the nature of punching one’s ticket to state. But DeForest is going to keep the main thing the main thing: Compete for the gold ball.

“It’s really important to stay focused, keep coming to practice every day, practicing like we’ve done all season, and just keeping it like the same,” Titel said. “It’s just another game. We’re trying to just keep that mindset.”

If DeForest wins its semifinal matchup, DeForest will compete for a state title on Saturday, June 20, against the winner of No. 1 seed Brookfield Central/No. 4 seed Holmen at 11 a.m.