Madison Soccer Central

Substitute Adam Schultz scored in extra time as Milwaukee's Bavarian SC outlasted Nebraska's 402 3-2 in the final of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II Open Cup on Saturday in Oak Forest, Ill.

Kyle Zenoni opened the scoring and later tied the score at 2 for Bavarian SC, which advances to a matchup with the Sonoma County Sol in the national semifinals July 24 in Orlando, Fla. The California side, a member of the National Premier Soccer League, won the Region IV championship in May.

It's the first time since 2003 that Bavarian SC has advanced to nationals. The other semifinal pits Massachusetts' Emigrantes Das Ilhas against Lynch's FC of Florida, with the winners to meet in the final on July 26.

The University of Wisconsin men's soccer team has secured verbal commitments from two more top players in the Midwest, midfielder Trevor Wheeler of Arlington Heights, Ill., and goalkeeper Taylor Reeves of Omaha, Neb.

Wheeler was invited to the tryout for the U.S. Under-17 national team residency program last summer, but didn't make the team. He went on to score 14 goals and distribute 13 assists for St. Viator High School as a junior in the fall, making several all-area teams in the Chicago area and earning special mention on the Chicago Tribune all-state team.

Waunakee junior midfielder Taylor Madigan added two more awards to her resume this week, claiming area player of the years honors from the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times.

Madigan, a Marquette recruit for 2010, also was named state player year by the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association and Gatorade and was a first-team, all-state selection by the WSCA. She had 28 goals and 20 assists for the Warriors (21-5-1) this season.

The WSJ All-Area team is available here, or click here for a PDF of the newspaper's All-Area page. The Capital Times' story on Madigan, which also includes a brief video interview, is here.

When the dust settled Saturday at the U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II Amateur Cup in Oak Forest, Ill., the Madison 56ers found out just how close they were to pulling off an amazing feat.

After losing their first match in Group A play on Friday, the 56ers stormed back with a 3-1 victory over FC Indiana and a 5-3 win over Illinois' AAC Eagles to forge a three-way tie atop the standings. But in the end, Madison was one goal short, with the AAC Eagles advancing to Sunday's final thanks to a better goal differential.

“It was close. At the end of the day, we made a run at it,” said 56ers coach Jim Launder, who disagreed with the calls that gave AAC Eagles penalty kicks in the 72nd and 78th minutes.

There was no middle ground for Madison 56ers coach Jim Launder when it came to his team's match against Croatia Cleveland in Friday's opener at the U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II Amateur Cup.

A midfield, yes. But just not enough quality on offense or defense.

Failures to convert chances on one end and allowing runs in behind the backline at the other led to a 3-0 loss at Chicago Gaelic Park in Oak Forest, Ill., leaving the 56ers all but eliminated from contention for Sunday's championship game.

"We played pretty good soccer," Launder said. "But we're not good enough up front, we're not good enough in the back. We're good enough in the midfield."

The U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II Championships kick off today, with nine state teams set to take the field this weekend at Chicago Gaelic Park in Oak Forest, Ill.

The Madison 56ers NPSL team opens play in Group A of the Men's Amateur competition against Croatia Cleveland, while the Croatian Eagles — with several former local and UW players — play the Cincinnati Freedom in a Group B opener. Both matches kick off at 4 p.m.

The 56ers take on NPSL rival FC Indiana and Illinois' AAC Eagles on Saturday, and Croatian Eagles will play Michigan's Carpathia Kickers and Missouri's American Futbol Acadmy. Also on Saturday, Milwaukee's Bavarian SC faces Nebraska's 402 in the Men's Open final.

Additionally, Wisconsin has teams in the Men's Over-30, Under-23 and Under-20 brackets and in the Women's Open and Under-23 fields.

Follow all the state teams' results here.

The Madison Area Soccer Hall of Fame announced its inaugural induction class, with seven men and one woman to be enshrined later this year.

Not surprisingly, six of the individuals are being inducted in part as builders of soccer in the area: Jose Asturias, Keith Binns, Peter Bostanescu and Klaus Feller were selected as players and builders, with Graham "Gray" Perrett and Alma Taeuber as builders, too. Jim Launder will be inducted in the coach category, while Bill Reddan was chosen as a player and coach.

Thanks to their stunning run to the Confederations Cup final in South Africa, Jay DeMerit (Green Bay) and the rest of the starters for the U.S. men's national team won't be involved in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

DeMerit was part of the preliminary roster for the regional championship tournament, which starts July 3. But the U.S. Soccer Federation announced the final team today and DeMerit wasn't included. Only four players on the Americans' Confederations Cup squad are part of the Gold Cup team.