Shawn Azcueta is Milwaukee Wave’s Hometown Kid

Posted on by

Shawn Azcueta looks to represent his native city as one of the newest players for the Milwaukee Wave.

On April 13, for the Wave’s first playoff game of 2023, people waited anxiously for the doors to open. Many sported scarves and jerseys with the Wave’s signature yellow and black. As fans entered the Panther Arena, home field for Milwaukee Wave, they are greeted by an intimidating all black turf field. In the center of the field is a large Milwaukee Wave logo. Surrounding the pitch are walls with plexiglass, with nets attached hanging from the ceiling. The indoor soccer game is different from the outdoor game, as it is almost a combination of hockey and soccer. There are four periods, rolling substitutions, and a penalty box.

Milwaukee Wave celebrate after scoring.

Before the game starts the goalies from the Wave are the first to come out on to the field. The rest of the team trickling in behind. They are wearing black-yellow striped socks, black and grey checkered shorts with yellow warmup tops. In the mix is Shawn Azcueta, or “Squid” as he has been creatively nicknamed. He begins to pass the ball around with his teammates preparing for his first playoff game.

Azcueta didn’t grow up in a soccer family. His mom played basketball and softball growing up in the Philippines. Azcueta took his own route picking soccer at a young age.

Azcueta said, “I didn’t grow up playing multiple sports, like some kids did. I just stuck with soccer since I was four. I started with my neighbor across the street. His dad was our coach here in Whitefish Bay.”

Former Bavarian, Whitefish Bay and UW-Milwaukee teammate Jackson Dryden said, “I always thought he would do something in soccer to whatever level. I still think he can play further, whether he wants to or not, but either way he’s doing well on The Wave now.”

After moving on from the youth ranks in Whitefish Bay, Azucena moved to the local team Bavarian, where he played all the way through high school and still plays to this day in the summers.

At Whitefish Bay, Azcueta was a part of one of the best high school soccer teams in Wisconsin history. From his sophomore year to his senior, they went on to win three state titles in a row.

After high school, he made his way to UW-Milwaukee where he played for five years. At UW-Milwaukee, he was a part of the team that won the Horizon League Conference Championship in 2020.

Azcueta said, “Getting a championship for your school that’s a big thing. But for me, I just wanted to play, I just love playing.”

After college, Azcueta didn’t know what he exactly wanted to do. Whether it was continuing to try and play soccer or start his profession life.

Azcueta said, “I didn’t know what I was going to do after college. It was either go tryout for teams or just work a normal job. Thankfully the Milwaukee Wave called me and asked me to come.”

In the Spring of 2022, Azcueta made his decision and moved to California to play for Central Valley Fuego’s. There he played for the second team to try and earn a first team spot in the USL Championship. The USL Championship being the second division in U.S. soccer.

Azcueta said, “I didn’t make it through, so I came back and took my COVID year. During that time when I left for California, I was already done with college soccer. I didn’t even want to think about going back for a graduate degree. But I had that COVID year, so it was an extra year for any athlete to go back.”

According to Azcueta, he was unable to train with the UW-Milwaukee team in the Spring because of the overlap with his time in California. Because of this, one of his coaches at UW-Milwaukee, who is a player on the Milwaukee Wave, invited him to their training sessions.

Azcueta said, “I just kept on going every day at twelve.”

According to Azcueta, the coaches of the Wave became familiar with him from these practices. However, they also knew him, as many of them coach in the surrounding area. But they didn’t know if he was interested in indoor soccer.

Azcueta said, “Fast forward to this past fall, my season ends, they ask me to come back and now I’m here.”

During his first season, Shawn Azcueta scored eight goals and had three assists. One goal being the winning goal, sending them into the second round of the playoffs.

This hasn’t come without its challenges, as Azcueta said, “It’s a big transition from the outdoor game. I had to adapt to the game quick.”

The Milwaukee Wave’s head coach, Giuliano Oliviero, said, “Coming in as a rookie in this organization, is just not easy to come into the lineup and get a regular shift in your rookie year. Because the Wave has had so much success and such a fantastic history. But he’s come in and he’s earned his spot. He’s a big part of our team.”

In the second round of the playoffs, The Wave were knock out by the Baltimore Blast. However, this is only the beginning according to the Milwaukee Wave announcer Van McNeil. With the introduction of young players like Azcueta, he thinks they can continue their tradition of competitiveness.

McNeil said, “When young guys like Shawn can really grab a hold of that and buy in to what we are doing. It’s only going to carry us further into the post season.”

Shawn Azcueta has now cemented himself into the team and is looking to continue to make an impact in Milwaukee.

Azcueta said, “To make a name for myself is just doing what I got to do in the city of Milwaukee. Do Wave camps, going out and meeting the fans, obviously win games, stay connected and stay humbled.”

When asked if he feels any pressure being someone who came through the entire Milwaukee soccer system he said, “100%, it is a lot of pressure for me because of my family, friends, coaches and obviously still got to win the hearts of the Wave fans. But my first year I feel like I gained some, but I want to gain a lot more.”