The NPSL Midwest Region announced its 2008 schedule, and as expected, the Princeton-56ers will open their six-game league slate May 31 at the St. Paul Twin Stars.

PSC56 will play its first home game on June 22 against the Twin Stars. A site for that match hasn’t been announced.

The team is yet to release its schedule of friendlies.

2008 PRINCETON-56ERS SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 3: USASA Region II first round—at Bloomington (Ind.) Cutters, 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 31: at St. Paul Twin Stars, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 14: at Chicago Fire NPSL, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 22: St. Paul Twin Stars, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, June 25: at Milwaukee Bavarians, 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 28: Chicago Fire NPSL, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 12: Milwaukee Bavarians, 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 19: NPSL playoffs—Midwest Region champion vs. Southeast Region champion
Friday, Aug. 1 and Saturday, Aug. 2: NPSL finals at Northeast Region champion
More matches, home field TBA

The Princeton-56ers have announced their 18-man roster for Saturday’s USASA Region II U.S. Open Cup qualifying opener at the Bloomington (Ind.) Cutters:

M Zakim Abraham, F Andy Adlard, D William Bagayoko, GK Phil Boerger, M Luis Camacho, D-M Reed Cooper, M Brian Feyrer, F-M Gaelan Fraboni, F Jed Hohlbein, M Patrick Huffer, D Hunter Martin, M Brendan McKinlay, M Kyle Pateros, M Keenan Newallo, F Royston Ngwayah, GK Nick Powell, M-D Tenzin Rampa, M-D Josh Thiermann

Expecting the first round of USASA Region II U.S. Open Cup qualifying to be in late April once again, Princeton-56ers coach Jim Launder put together a team of local veterans and started preparing for his team’s first game of the season weeks ago.

But it turns out the regional tournament won’t start until May 3.

And since that’s after May 1, Launder is able to call upon the college players who will make up the majority of the Princeton-56ers’ roster this summer—college players aren’t available before that date due to NCAA rules.

So Launder reshuffled his roster for the Princeton-56ers’ qualifying opener May 3 at the Bloomington (Ind.) Cutters. Two wins in the regional tournament would send PSC56 into the first round of the U.S. Open Cup, the country’s oldest tournament and one that involves teams from every level in American soccer—including Major League Soccer.

Last season, none of the Princeton-56ers’ college players were available for the team’s Open Cup qualifying match, a 2-1 loss to Detroit United on April 21 at Breese Stevens Field.

Launder’s squad for this year’s opener will be a mix of young and old.

He said PSC56 veterans Reed Cooper, Tenzin Rampa, Jed Hohlbein, Keenan Newallo, Brian Feyrer, Brendan McKinlay and Hunter Martin are set to play, as are several current college players—including midfielder-defender Josh Thiermann (Stoughton/Notre Dame).

Midfielder Brad Ring (Indiana), the 2007 National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division MVP and a second-team All-American for the Hoosiers last fall, is on the roster for the match but most likely won’t play because of another personal commitment.

New players who could make their PSC56 debut against the Cutters include forward Andy Adlard (Brookfield East/Indiana); midfielder Kyle Pateros (Janesville Craig/Butler); goalkeeper Nick Powell (Madison Memorial/Butler); and goalkeeper Phil Boerger, a high school senior from Jamestown, N.D., who is headed to the University of Evansville in the fall.

Some of the new faces among the older players are: forward Issam Ismaili, a former UW-Parkside player who drew Launder’s attention during the President’s Cup indoor tournament in February; midfielder Luis Gonzalez, who played in the youth system for renowned Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara; and midfielder Patrick Huffer, a Colorado native and former NCAA Division III All-American at Williams College (Mass.) who will only be with PSC56 through May.

The Cutters, meanwhile, beat two former NPSL sides to qualify for the Region II finals, knocking off the Indianapolis Braves 3-1 and then ousting FC Indiana 3-2 in the Indiana state final on April 13.

Their roster includes several former Indiana University players, including two-time, All-Big Ten Conference midfielder Phil Presser, who spent time with the Kansas City Comets and the Chicago Storm in the Major Indoor Soccer League; midfielder-forward Kevin Robson, who was with the Braves last season; and Lake Hubbard.Also on the Cutters’ roster is former Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne midfielder Jerod Cartmell, who played in the U.S. Open Cup with Indiana state champion Reggae Boyz in 2005, and defender Galen Cassady, a teammate of Pateros and Powell at Butler.

USASA REGION II U.S. OPEN CUP QUALIFYING
Quarterfinals: May 3
Princeton-56ers at Bloomington (Ind.) Cutters, 1 p.m.
RWB Adria (Ill.) at Carpathia Kickers (Mich.), 1 p.m.
AAC Eagles (Ill.) at Milwaukee Bavarians, 2 p.m.
WC Arsenal (Mo.) at Des Moines Menace Reserves, 2 p.m.
Semifinals: May 17
Winners advance to U.S. Open Cup
Pairings TBA
Championship: June 27, 28 or 29
At Bowling Green, Kent.
Semifinal winners

• Among the other players who won’t play in the U.S. Open Cup qualifier but are expected to return to PSC56 this year are midfielders Trevor Banks (Madison Memorial/Old Dominion) and Zack Lambo (UW), forwards Eric Conklin (UW) and Henry Aiyenero and defenders Ray Hibbler (Janesville Craig/UW-Green Bay).

• Other newcomers include defenders Cale Cooper (Madison West/UW), Taylor Waspi (UW), Chris Schuler (Creighton) and Kellington Boddie (Missouri State) and midfielder Eric Meier (Madison Memorial/Yale). Launder said midfielder Ethan Finlay, a regional team player from Marshfield who got an early start on his career at Creighton this spring, also could end up with the team. “A couple things happened last year where we got really popular,” Launder said of the talented group of new faces.

• Boerger, Powell and former Monona Grove athlete Travis Meikle—a UW-Green Bay recruit—are expected to be the team’s keepers this season. Launder said Ryan Germann (Madison West/UW-Milwaukee), last year’s starter, opted to play with the Panama City (Fla.) Pirates in the USL Premier Development League this summer.

• The Midwest Division schedule hasn’t been finalized, but the Princeton-56ers will open the league season May 31 at the St. Paul Twin Stars, and their home opener will be June 22 against the Twin Stars. Venues for those matches haven’t been determined.

• Enzo Fuschino, the men’s and women’s coach at UW-Platteville, is the Princeton-56ers’ new assistant coach. Fuschino, who played semi-professionally in his native Italy and also has coached at Stoughton and Madison La Follette high schools, succeeds Danny van Mol, who was Launder’s assistant for the team’s first three seasons.

• Launder said he’s working on scheduling friendlies, including home-and-home matches with the Chicago Sockers and Milwaukee Kickers. Other potential opponents include the Croatian Eagles from the Milwaukee area and Appleton’s FC Magic.

The MYSC Lady Blues’ inaugural roster continues to grow.

The Women’s Premier Soccer League expansion team announced the addition of 13 players today—all of them current, future or former University of Wisconsin players.

Current UW midfielders Sheri Ferron and Krista Liskevych, forward Stephanie Krombach and defender Whitney Owusu are set to play for the Lady Blues, along with Middleton High School goalkeeper Lauren Gunderson, who will join the Badgers in the fall.

They’ll be joined by eight former UW players: Sarah Capel, Megan Dobesh, Allison Downing, Emily Kintzer (Madison East), Jenny Kundert (Madison West), Erin Main, Erica Strey and Megan Strohm (Madison Memorial).

Strey, a former assistant coach at Northwestern, San Diego and Southern Methodist, has WPSL experience with San Diego WFC. The former Women’s United Soccer Association draftee ranks fourth in career goals and points at UW—Downing is second in both categories, while Kundert is third in assists and seventh in points.

Already named to the Lady Blues’ roster was former U.S. national team player Nancy Rohrman, who will be a player-coach. Rohrman, Gunderson, Main and Strohm played for MYSC’s team in the Women’s Premier League last summer.

For the second straight year, a Princeton-56ers player was recognized as the National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division MVP.

Midfielder Brad Ring, who helped lead the team to its second consecutive division title, was honored in a vote by league officials. Former PSC56 goalkeeper Eric Mickschl was the division MVP in 2006.

Ring, who had two goals and four assists, was joined by four teammates on the Midwest All-Star team, which was announced this week.

Princeton-56ers forward Jed Hohlbein (Middleton/UW) made the team once again—he is the only player who’s been named to the squad each of its three years. Hohlbein led the team in scoring for the third straight season, racking up 13 goals and adding three assists.

Defender Reed Cooper (Madison West) was honored for the second straight year, while goalkeeper Ryan Germann (Madison West) and midfielder Tenzin Rampa (Madison West) were NPSL All-Stars for the first time.

All-Star teams for the other three divisions were not immediately available.

2007 MIDWEST DIVISION ALL-STAR TEAM

Goalkeeper: Ryan Germann, Princeton-56ers.

Defenders: Steve Bode, Milwaukee Bavarians; Reed Cooper, Princeton-56ers; Juan Fiz, St. Paul Twin Stars; Austin Nyquist, Rockford Raptors.

Midfielders: Dan Addis, Milwaukee Bavarians; David Peplinski, Milwaukee Bavarians; Tenzin Rampa, Princeton-56ers; Brad Ring, Princeton-56ers; Igor Stosic, St. Paul Twin Stars.

Forwards: Moussa Dagnogo, Indianapolis Braves; Jed Hohlbein, Princeton-56ers; Vedran Illic, Rockford Raptors; Mike Klein, Milwaukee Bavarians.

MVP: Brad Ring, Princeton-56ers.

The Princeton-56ers will play in U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II U.S. Open Cup qualifying for the second straight year, and will travel to Indiana for their first-round game May 3.

PSC56 made its U.S. Open Cup qualifying debut last year, falling to Detroit United 2-1 on an 89th-minute goal in a quarterfinal match at Breese Stevens Field.

Their opponent for this year’s opening match hasn’t yet been determined—Lafayette Veracruz has been the Indiana representative the past two years, after losing to Indianapolis side Reggae Boyz in the state finals in 2004 and ‘05. The

Princeton-56ers qualify as the National Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference champion.

The two finalists in the eight-team tournament earn berths in the U.S. Open Cup, which includes teams from every level of soccer in the country, from amateur to professional.

USASA REGION II U.S. OPEN CUP QUALIFYING
Games at 2 p.m. local time
Quarterfinals: May 3
Illinois 1 at Michigan
Missouri at Des Moines Menace Reserves
Illinois 2 at Milwaukee Bavarians
Princeton-56ers at Indiana
Semifinals: May 17
(Winners advance to U.S. Open Cup)
Pairings TBA
Championship
TBA

The National Premier Soccer League’s Midwest Conference will consist of just four teams this year, down from six in each of its first three seasons.

The Princeton-56ers, the Milwaukee Bavarians and the St. Paul Twin Stars—all charter members—return, along with the Rockford Raptors. The Indianapolis Braves and FC Indiana withdrew after joining the league with the Raptors last year.

A schedule is expected to be finalized shortly.

• PSC56 general manager and NPSL Midwest commissioner Charles Billings said nine groups inquired about joining the division. Appleton’s FC Magic and three Minnesota clubs—Wings SC from Plymouth, Carioca FC of St. Paul and the Rochester Soccer Association—showed the most interest and could be potential members in the future.

• The NPSL lineup for 2008 includes 26 teams, up from 22 last year. The league now has a three-team Southeast Conference, while the Northeast Conference has doubled to 10 teams and will have two divisions. Eight teams that played last season have departed, including the SoCal Fusion, the 2007 NPSL champion. Billings said there is significant interest from teams in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida about joining the league.

2008 NPSL
Midwest Conference
Princeton-56ers
Milwaukee Bavarians
Rockford Raptors
St. Paul Twin Stars
Northeast Conference
North Division
Boston Aztec
Maine Sting
Morris County (Pa.) Colonials
Pennsylvania Stoners
Queen City FC (Buffalo)
Mid-Atlantic Division
AC Diablos (Atlantic City, N.J.)
Lancaster (Pa.) Inferno
Long Island Academy
Maryland United FC
New York Athletic Club
Southeast Conference
Atlanta FC
Performance FC Phoenix (Greenville, S.C.)
Rocket City United (Huntsville, Ala.)
Southwest Conference
Albuquerque Asylum
Arizona Sahuaros (Phoenix)
Colorado ISL Predators (Denver)
San Diego United
Northwest Conference
Real San Jose
Sacramento Knights
Salinas Valley Samba
Santa Cruz County Breakers
Sonoma County Sol

The MYSC Lady Blues are scheduled to play their inaugural Women’s Premier Soccer League game Sunday, June 8 at home against FC St. Louis, according to the WPSL schedule.

The Lady Blues, coached by Ben John, will be busy the next weekend, with three games scheduled: a home-and-home series against the Chicago United Breeze June 13-14 followed by a home match June 15 against FC Twente3 Illinois.

The team’s final WPSL home game is set for Saturday, June 28, with three road games to close out the eight-game league schedule. The Lady Blues, who haven’t announced where they will play their home matches, also are expected to also play some friendlies.

MYSC LADY BLUES 2008 WPSL SCHEDULE
Sunday, June 8: FC St. Louis
Friday, June 13: at Chicago United Breeze
Saturday, June 14: Chicago United Breeze
Sunday, June 15: FC Twente3 Illinois
Saturday, June 28: Ohio Premier
Saturday, July 5: at Ohio Premier
Saturday, July 12: at FC St. Louis, 2 p.m.
Sunday, July 13: at FC Twente3 Illinois
Subject to change
Other times, sites TBA

Former University of Wisconsin teammates Marisa Brown and Taylor Walsh will play together again this summer in Madison.

Madison, N.J., that is.

Brown and Walsh signed 2008 contracts with the Jersey Sky Blue on Monday. The USL W-League club plays its home games at Ranger Stadium on the campus of Drew University in Madison, N.J.

Brown, an Evanston, Ill., native who completed her UW career in 2005, has played in the W-League for five seasons, with the Windy City Bluez from 2001-04 and with the Boston Renegades in 2005. She signed with FC Indiana of the Women’s Premier Soccer League in 2006, and scored seven goals for Danmarks IF in Sweden’s second division last year.

A former Madison East athlete, Walsh will be a senior at UW in the fall—it will be her fifth season with the Badgers, as she received a medical redshirt after suffering a season-ending knee injury three games into her freshman year.

Last fall, she started all 17 matches for UW and tied for the team lead with four goals, and has career totals of 14-12-40 in 63 games (54 starts).

The Sky Blue open their second season in the W-League on May 10 at the Boston Renegades. Jersey finished second in the Northeast Division in 2007 and lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

• Forward-midfielder Lauren Sesselmann (Green Bay Notre Dame), Purdue’s career leading scorer, is set to play her second season with FC Indiana—after winning the last two WPSL championships, the team is now in the W-League.

Former local standouts Leah Tapscott and Kara Kabellis officially signed with the Pali Blues of the USL W-League earlier this month.

Both players had played in tournaments or friendlies with the expansion club, which has signed several players from the U.S. and Australian national teams.

Tapscott (Madison Memorial) played at Stanford, recording 10 goals and 10 assists for 30 points in her college career, which ended in 2006.

“Leah is a workhorse, and I was very pleased with her performance at the Silver Mug Tournament,? Pali Blues coach Charlie Naimo said in a news release. “She is versatile and will contribute to the team in many areas. Her experience with the U.S. Amateur National Team will certainly play a factor in her being an impact player.”

Kabellis was a first-team, All-Big Ten Conference pick in 2005-06 for the University of Wisconsin and was the Badgers’ MVP as a senior in 2006.

“Kara’s experience the U-23 national team last year will certainly help push her into an important place on our team,” Naimo said. “She is very comfortable on the ball in the back as well as being a sound one-on-one defender, both of which are great qualities.”

The Pali Blues are in their preseason, and open the W-League regular season on the road against the Ventura County Fusion on May 10.

• UW freshman defender Taryn Francel will play for newcomer San Diego United in the WPSL this summer.