Pair of Pirates earn final prep soccer props

Libby Holmes and Mia Blum left their high school soccer careers on top, and Kamryn Knaub made an award-winning guest appearance in a club tournament this month.

The Port Washington High School trio helped lead the Lakeshore United U19 girls’ team to the U.S. Youth Soccer President’s Cup championship in Wichita, Kan.

“It was a good way to end my soccer career. It’s the last time ever playing soccer. Good way to go out,” Blum said.

“It was really fun to do it together with (Holmes) and have Kam right behind us. We obviously can trust Kamryn since we played with her through the high school season.”

Fellow 2026 grad Holmes will be playing soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, but she enjoyed one last hurrah with a couple of fellow Pirates.

“It was great playing with them again because that’s the very last time I’ll play with them,” she said.

Both played midfield well for Port — Holmes was named to the Glacier Trails Conference first team and Blum to the second team — but on their club they played defense. Holmes was usually at midfield for the club team but was moved to center back to fill a hole. Blum was at outside back.

They played in front of their all-state and GTC first-team keeper. Knaub allowed three goals in five games and earned three clean sheets, including the semifinal and title matches.

She played so well she earned the Golden Glove for the most outstanding goalkeeper in the tournament.

“It was a huge honor,” Knaub said.

She also loved playing with her teammates again.

“It was really fun playing with them again,” she said. “We knew what to do and how to do it, so it was pretty easy with them.”

The team played five games in five days, including two against a recently formed rival from Chicago.

Lakeshore United went 1-0-2 in group play. It beat Team Chicago SC, 3-1; tied Ignite FC Rebel Elite from St. George, Utah, in a scoreless game; and tied Bayou Soccer Club from Houma, La., at 2.

The team won the semifinal, 2-0, over KC Athletics Academy, then faced Chicago again in the title match.

Lakeshore United jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals in the eighth and 22nd minutes.

“That definitely helped get the momentum on our side. From there it was just a mental game,” Blum said.

“It was a nice comfort, but we knew we still had a lot of work to do,” Knaub said.

Those two goals were all that were scored in the game, and Knaub wasn’t kept too busy.

“The defensive line was very good and they stopped them,” she said.

Despite teams coming from across the country to play, this match-up came with some intensity beyond the typical Wisconsin-Illinois contests.

Chicago beat Lakeshore 7-1, and 3-1, in previous games in the club season. Lakeshore got revenge in Kansas.

“It was funny because we said, ‘We drove all the way here just to play Chicago?’” Blum said.

Lakeshore United didn’t win regionals to qualify for the national tournament, but another team dropped out and it had to scramble to gather enough players.

That led to a call to Knaub, who plays for North Shore United. Part of her summer was spent at a soccer showcase in California. She was one of a few guest players on the team.

Other players are from other area high schools north of Port Washington. The offense was largely led by Kiel star Taavi Saeger, among the state’s leaders in goals, and Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian’s leading scorer Keeryn Blattner.

“As long as you get them the ball, they’re pretty much guaranteed to put the ball in the back of the net,” Blum said.

Players bonded like they were cramming for exams. Team outings included pickle ball — Knaub said Holmes is “definitely” the best player — bowling at Wichita State and Top Golf.

“All of us girls clicked pretty instantly,” Blum said. “There was no drama. We were there to play some good soccer.”

“We make it more than just the soccer games. We all got really close as a team,” Holmes said. “People are friends outside of it after the tournament, which I think is really cool.”

Holmes may make two more friends from Illinois. Two of the Chicago players are also headed to UW-Platteville to play soccer.

Temperatures were in the 80s and 90s and the players kept downing sports drinks, but the team got a break since it played one game indoors.

The title comes four years after Port Washington’s Meghan Zwicker helped Lakeshore United win the cup in Greensboro, N.C.

Those are the only girls’ or boys’ teams from Wisconsin to win the tournament since it started in 2008.

Blum will study kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and might play intramural soccer.

“Now that I played again I’m not ready to be done,” she said.

Holmes will study mechanical engineering while playing soccer for the Pioneers.