Wisconsin Soccer Central

The largest President's Cup in the 19-year history of Madison United's annual indoor soccer tournament wrapped up Sunday night.

And when the small, rubber pellets settled at Keva Sports Center, a few hours after the final games of the weekend at BreakAway Sports Center in Madison, there was a little bit of everything:

A first-time champion, a repeat winner, teams setting and tying President's Cup records for titles in their respective divisions and a Cinderella story, with plenty of close games, close calls and drama to boot.

The tournament drew a record 88 teams, but only four sides left wearing the blue shirts awarded to the champions.

Men's Open

As usual, the Madison Fire left it late. Repeatedly.

Sunday morning during their final group match, they had to check the scoreboard on another field to make sure they had just barely squeezed into the playoffs. They got a late goal to win their quarterfinal match, then rallied from a two-goal deficit to win their semifinal in overtime.

So when the defending champions gave up an early goal to upstart Fox in the Box in the final and trailed throughout, were they worried?

"Super worried," the Fire's Brett Ogorzalek admitted. "They had all the confidence in the world, all the momentum in the world. People were calling them the Cinderella story for the tournament, they upset The Dinos and they upset the Arsenal team. ... And I'm sure a lot of the crowd was cheering for them, because they were the underdog."

But Royston Ngwayah found an equalizer with 6 minutes left, Ogorzalek gave them the lead with a header a minute later, Trevor Banks scored in the next minute and David Kommavang added a last-minute goal as the Fire surged to a 4-1 victory to win their record fourth Men's Open title.

Fox in the Box went ahead less than 3 minutes in when manager Carl Refsell picked up a loose ball and fired into an empty net after a misplayed ball by Fire goalkeeper Ryan Germann.

"When you're down like that for a good part of the game, you start to panic a little bit because these games are so short – they're only 25 minutes," said Ogorzalek, who started the comeback win over three-time champion Croatian Eagles in the semifinals before Banks netted the final two goals. "If you get down early, like we did, your back's really up against the wall."

Ngwayah finally got the Fire on the board, tracking down the rebound of a header by Hunter Martin that was wide of the mark and hammering a shot past Fox in the Box keeper Aaron Watling. Ogorzalek's header came off a cross-field ball from Kommavang, who scored the late winner in the Fire's 2-1 win over UIU Alumni in the quarterfinals with a rocket from the right side.

"I think after that second goal, they started slowing down a bit, they were kind of hanging their heads at that point. We might have taken the wind out of their sails," said Ogorzalek, whose team finished one point ahead of Bottom Line in pool play – had Bottom Line scored one more goal in their 3-1 loss to the Platteville Monsters on Sunday morning, the Fire wouldn't have even made the 16-team playoffs.

"We weren't generating enough offense," Watling said. "I think our legs kind of went a little bit ... and the Fire are so good technically that when people's legs start to go, they'll kill you."

Fox in the Box came into the tournament unheralded. Last year, the team was called Da Ginga Ninja and went 0-2-1 in pool play – tying the Fire 1-1, coincidentally enough – with most of the same roster. But they were quite impressive this weekend.

Against 2008 champion The Dinos, they led 3-1 heading into the final 90 seconds, but gave up a goal and were whistled for a handball in the box that led to a penalty kick that ended up being the final kick of regulation. Watling got a hand to it, but it went in to force overtime. Paul Sikinger, though, ran onto a pass from Refsell and finished just 30 seconds into the extra session to win it.

They fell behind Arsenal United in the semifinals, but tied it up 2 minutes into the second half and won it on a free kick with 2:50 left.

"They did a great job, they were a really good team," Ogorzalek said of Fox in the Box. "Really fast, really hard working, great on defense."

"We probably exceeded expectations – you don't think you'll make it to the final," Watling said. "It's disappointing to lose in the final, but we did well. We played our asses off, and that's all you can do."

Championship: Madison Fire 4, Fox in the Box 1.

Semifinals: Madison Fire 3, Croatian Eagles 2 (OT); Fox in the Box 2, Arsenal United 1.

Quarterfinals: Madison Fire 2, UIU Alumni 1; Croatian Eagles 5, Croatian Eagles U23 3; Arsenal United 2, Platteville Monsters 0; Fox in the Box 4, The Dinos 3 (OT).

Round of 16: Madison Fire 5, FC Magic 0; UIU Alumni 2, Milwaukee Kickers 1; Croatian Eagles U23 3, Racine 0; Croatian Eagles 4, Milwaukee Bavarians 2; Platteville Monsters 3, SNC Alumni 2; Arsenal United 1, Madison United Tigers 0; The Dinos 7, The Eagles 2; Fox in the Box 4, Platteville Tune Squad 2.

Adams Pool: Platteville Monsters (2-1-0) 19 points, Madison Fire (2-1-0) 18, Bottom Line (2-1-0) 17, Upper Iowa II (0-3-0) 4.

• Saturday: Bottom Line 1, Madison Fire 0; Platteville Monsters 6, Upper Iowa II 2; Madison Fire 6, Platteville Monsters 1; Bottom Line 7, Upper Iowa II 1.
• Sunday: Platteville Monsters 3, Bottom Line 1; Madison Fire 9, Upper Iowa II 1.

Jackson Pool: UIU Alumni (3-0-0) 27, Madison United Tigers (2-1-0) 21, Keliix (1-2-0) 12, Master Blaster (0-3-0) 1.

• Saturday: Madison United Tigers 3, Master Blaster 0; UIU Alumni 4, Keliix 1; UIU Alumni 8, Madison United Tigers 3; Keliix 3, Master Blaster 1; UIU Alumni 3, Master Blaster 0.
• Sunday: Madison United Tigers 4, Keliix 2.

Jefferson Pool: Arsenal United (2-0-1) 23, Milwaukee Kickers (1-1-1) 16, CKI Fire Red (0-1-2) 11, Titans (1-1-1) 10.

• Saturday: Arsenal United 3, Titans 1; CKI Fire Red 1, Milwaukee Kickers 1; Arsenal United 4, Milwaukee Kickers 3; Titans 4, CKI Fire Red 2.
• Sunday: CKI Fire Red 2, Arsenal United 2; Milwaukee Kickers 3, Titans 0.

Lincoln Pool: FC Magic (2-1-0) 20, SNC Alumni (2-1-0) 20, Madison United Lions (1-1-1) 15, Oshkosh Old Guys (0-2-1) 8.

• Saturday: Madison United Lions 1, Oshkosh Old Guys 1; FC Magic 3, SNC Alumni 2; SNC Alumni 4, Oshkosh Old Guys 3; Madison United Lions 6, FC Magic 4.
• Sunday: SNC Alumni 3, Madison United Lions 2; FC Magic 2, Oshkosh Old Guys 1.

Madison Pool: Croatian Eagles (3-0-0) 25, Platteville Tune Squad (2-1-0) 19, Planet Soccer All-Stars (1-2-0) 11, The Scots (0-3-0) 1.

• Saturday: Platteville Tune Squad 4, The Scots 0; Croatian Eagles 1, Planet Soccer All-Stars 0; Planet Soccer All-Stars 3, The Scots 0; Croatian Eagles 5, Platteville Tune Squad 1.
• Sunday: Croatian Eagles 4, The Scots 1; Platteville Tune Squad 4, Planet Soccer All-Stars 2.

Monroe Pool: The Dinos (2-0-1) 24, Racine (2-1-0) 18, Fraboni's (1-1-1) 15, United Juniors (0-3-0) 2.

• Saturday: The Dinos 3, Fraboni's 3; Racine 8, United Juniors 0; The Dinos 7, United Juniors 0; Racine 1, Fraboni's 0.
• Sunday: The Dinos 3, Racine 2; Fraboni's 3, United Juniors 2.

Tyler Pool: Croatian Eagles U23 (2-0-1) 24, The Eagles (2-1-0) 17, Hmong USA (1-1-1) 15, Upper Iowa I (0-3-0) 2.

• Saturday: The Eagles 4, Hmong USA 0; Croatian Eagles U23 3, Upper Iowa I 1; Croatian Eagles U23 2, The Eagles 0; Hmong USA 6, Upper Iowa I 0.
• Sunday: Croatian Eagles U23 3, Hmong USA 3; The Eagles 2, Upper Iowa I 1.

Washington Pool: Fox in the Box (3-0-0) 25, Milwaukee Bavarians (1-1-1) 12, Met Life (0-1-2) 9, CKI Fire Black (0-2-1) 7.

• Saturday: Fox in the Box 2, Met Life 0; Milwaukee Bavarians 2, CKI Fire Black 0; Fox in the Box 4, Milwaukee Bavarians 1; CKI Fire Black 3, Met Life 3; Fox in the Box 2, CKI Fire Black 1.
• Sunday: Met Life 0, Milwaukee Bavarians 0.

Women's Open

In a rematch of last year's final, Megna Financial turned the tables on perennial power Chichitas.

Kenzie Gillaspie and Keara Thompson scored second-half goals as Megna Financial, with a roster made up almost exclusively of former UW-Milwaukee players, claimed its first President's Cup title with a 2-1 victory. It was a far cry from last year's meeting, which Chichitas won 5-1 to win their eighth championship in nine years.

"We played a lot better," manager Kate Megna said. "I think last year, we were tired (in the final). ... I think we had a little bit different team and we just pressured and we just took the ball from them, double-team, triple-team, it worked really well."

Megna set up the first goal about a minute into the second half, cutting in from the right side to the middle of the box, then playing the ball back to the right for Gillaspie to finish. Thompson doubled the lead with 5:36 left, hitting a shot off the wall, then following up and converting the rebound for Megna Financial's 33rd goal of the weekend. The two goals were the goals scored against Chichitas in the tournament.

Chichitas pulled one back through Allison Downing with 2:12 to play, but Megna Financial closed out the championship. Megna pointed out that the team had one fewer match on Sunday this year – last year, they had to play in the wild card round.

"And I think the competition wasn't as good up until the semifinals – that semifinal was the first game that we didn't win by (six or) seven," Megna said of the 2-1 comeback win over Peanut Gallery, the team she plays with during league play. "So we weren't really tired going into the final."

Old P'Cocks, a team of former Upper Iowa players, were one of the most discussed teams during the weekend.

They had only six players on their roster, meaning all of them played every minute – tournament organizers couldn't remember a team ever playing in the event without substitutes. Somewhat amazingly, they finished 1-1-1 in group play and advanced to the wild card round.

Championship: Megna Financial 2, Chichitas 1.

Semifinals: Chichitas 2, Assured Mortgage 0; Megna Financial 2, Peanut Gallery 1.

Quarterfinals: Chichitas 4, Valley Magic 0; Assured Mortgage 3, FC Barrington 1; Megna Financial 7, La Crosse 0; Peanut Gallery 3, WSC Majors United 2.

Wild card playoffs: Valley Magic 9, Upper Iowa II 3; Assured Mortgage 2, Old P'Cocks 0; FC Barrington 3, CKI Fire 2; La Crosse 2, Bamboozlers 1 (OT); Peanut Gallery 2, 99 Problems 0; WSC Majors United 3, Madison United 2.

Eleanor Pool: CKI Fire (2-0-1) 22, 99 Problems (1-1-1) 14, UWSP Purple (1-1-1) 12, DuHawks (0-2-1) 8.

• Saturday: UWSP Purple 2, DuHawks 1; CKI Fire 5, 99 Problems 1; DuHawks 1, 99 Problems 1; CKI Fire 1, DuHawks 1.
• Sunday: 99 Problems 4, DuHawk 3; CKI Fire 6, UWSP Purple 0.

Hillary Pool: Chichitas (3-0-0) 27, WSC Majors United (2-1-0) 18, Upper Iowa I (1-2-0) 12, LFC Women's Soccer (0-3-0) 2.

• Saturday: Chichitas 4, WSC Majors United 0; Upper Iowa I 5, LFC Women's Soccer 2; Chichitas 4, Upper Iowa I 0; WSC Majors United 4, LFC Women's Soccer 0.
• Sunday: WSC Majors United 6, Upper Iowa I 3; Chichitas 11, LFC Women's Soccer 0.

Jackie Pool: Valley Magic (3-0-0) 27, La Crosse (1-2-0) 13, UWSP Gold (1-2-0) 9, Wartburg I (1-2-0) 9.

• Saturday: Wartburg I 4, La Crosse 3; Valley Magic 9, UWSP Gold 0; Valley Magic 5, La Crosse 1; UWSP Gold 2, Wartburg I 0.
• Sunday: Valley Magic 5, Wartburg I 0; La Crosse 3, UWSP Gold 1.

Martha Pool: Bamboozlers (3-0-0) 26, FC Barrington (1-1-1) 16, Madison Fire (1-1-1) 14, Blugolds (0-3-0) 3.

• Saturday: Bamboozlers 3, Madison Fire 1; FC Barrington 5, Blugolds 2; Bamboozlers 4, FC Barrington 3; Madison Fire 3, Blugolds 0; FC Barrington 1, Madison Fire 1; Bamboozlers 2, Blugolds 1.

Mary Pool: Peanut Gallery (3-0-0) 27, Old P'Cocks (1-1-1) 16, Oshkosh Gold (1-1-1) 14, UW Women's Club (0-3-0) 1.

• Saturday: Peanut Gallery 8, UW Women's Club 1; Oshkosh Gold 2, Old P'Cocks 2; Old P'Cocks 4, UW Women's Club 0; Peanut Gallery 4, Oshkosh Gold 0.
• Sunday: Peanut Gallery 7, Old P'Cocks 2; Oshkosh Gold 4, UW Women's Club 0.

Michelle Pool: Madison United (3-0-0) 27, Assured Mortgage (2-1-0) 21, Wartburg II (1-2-0) 12, Dirty Dozen (0-3-0) 2.

• Saturday: Madison United 4, Assured Mortgage 3; Wartburg II 6, Dirty Dozen 1; Assured Mortgage 6, Dirty Dozen 1; Madison United 6, Wartburg II 1.
• Sunday: Assured Mortgage 7, Wartburg II 2; Madison United 7, Dirty Dozen 0.

Nancy Pool: Megna Financial (3-0-0) 27, Upper Iowa II (2-1-0) 19, Oshkosh Black (1-2-0) 13, Nacho Mamas (0-3-0) 4.

• Saturday: Megna Financial 8, Oshkosh Black 1; Upper Iowa II 3, Nacho Mamas 2; Oshkosh Black 3, Nacho Mamas 1; Megna Financial 7, Upper Iowa II 1.
• Sunday: Megna Financial 7, Nacho Mamas 1; Upper Iowa II 4, Oshkosh Black 3.

Men's Over-30

Heading into the tournament, the consensus was that the Over-30 division would be even more competitive than usual.

That proved correct.

Keeper Goals barely got out of their group – they needed a goal with 11 seconds left in their final pool match to salvage a tie and qualify for the playoffs – then went on to win their fifth President's Cup championship, tying Forest City for the most in division's 18-year history.

Manager Steve Grimm scored the winner in the 2-1 victory over FC Tipsy, getting a long ball from Jason Zitzke, turning and firing a left-footed shot into the upper left side with 1:20 left in the 5-minute overtime period.

Zitzke, the UW-Parkside men's coach, also set up Keeper Goals' opener in the first half, taking the ball off an FC Tipsy player and finding Scott Schwebel for the goal.

Orange-clad FC Tipsy, who scored at least four goals in each of their other games and beat reigning champion Almost Fire in the semifinals, tied it up when former Milwaukee Wave forward Ramon "Choko" Alvarado finally got one past keeper Pete Madsen with 5:04 left in regulation.

"We sat back and played low pressure knowing how talented they were," Grimm said. "We dodged quite a few bullets – they were hitting the posts everywhere around the goal. Pete made some great saves, but obviously it was just a matter of time before they got one. We weren't going to shut them out."

Earlier in the day, Dustin Keegan delivered a tournament-saving goal, giving Keeper Goals a 2-2 draw with Chivas that got them into the 10-team playoff bracket.

"We had a really tough group," said Grimm, whose team had a one-goal win and two ties in pool play. "We were just lucky to get through."

Championship: Keeper Goals 2, FC Tipsy 1 (OT).

Semifinals: Keeper Goals 5, Smoky's Red Rockets 1; FC Tipsy 4, Almost Fire 1.

Quarterfinals: Smoky's Red Rockets 4, Bares United 2; Keeper Goals 3, Smoky's Blue Rockets 1; Almost Fire 2, Rock Vegas 1; FC Tipsy 4, Madison United 1.

Wild card playoffs: Smoky's Red Rockets 3, Thunder Bay Bremen 2; Madison United 3, FC Tunji 2.

Bush Pool: Keeper Goals (1-0-2) 20, Rock Vegas (2-0-1) 20, Chivas (1-1-1) 15, The Other Dinos (0-2-1) 8.

• Saturday: Chivas 4, The Other Dinos 0; Keeper Goals 5, Rock Vegas 4; The Other Dinos 3, Keeper Goals 3; Rock Vegas 2, Chivas 1.
• Sunday: Rock Vegas 4, The Other Dinos 2; Keeper Goals 2, Chivas 2.

Clinton Pool: Almost Fire (3-0-0) 27, Thunder Bay Bremen (1-1-1) 16, Keeper Goals North (1-2-0) 10, Green White Chicago (0-2-1) 7.

• Saturday: Almost Fire 4, Thunder Bay Bremen 1; Keeper Goals North 2, Green White Chicago 1; Almost Fire 4, Keeper Goals North 2; Thunder Bay Bremen 3, Green White Chicago 3.
• Sunday: Almost Fire 3, Green White Chicago 0; Thunder Bay Bremen 3, Keeper Goals North 0.

Ford Pool: FC Tipsy (3-0-0) 27, Smoky's Red Rockets (2-1-0) 17, Beer FC (1-2-0) 13, Yale (0-3-0) 2.

• Saturday: FC Tipsy 5, Smoky's Red Rockets 0; Beer FC 3, Yale 1; FC Tipsy 7, Yale 1; Smoky's Red Rockets 6, Beer FC 4.
• Sunday: FC Tipsy 6, Beer FC 1; Smoky's Red Rockets 2, Yale 0.

Reagan Pool: Smoky's Blue Rockets (3-0-0) 26, Madison United (2-1-0) 19, Milwaukee Brewers (1-2-0) 11, Celtics (0-3-0) 6.

• Saturday: Smoky's Blue Rockets 4, Madison United 2; Milwaukee Brewers 4, Celtics 2; Madison United 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1; Smoky's Blue Rockets 9, Celtics 4.
• Sunday: Madison United 4, Celtics 1; Smoky's Blue Rockets 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1.

Roosevelt Pool: Bares United (2-0-1) 22, FC Tunji (2-0-1) 22, Rad Mad (1-2-0) 10, Galaxy (0-3-0) 6.

• Saturday: Bares United 4, Rad Mad 0; FC Tunji 3, Galaxy 2; FC Tunji 4, Rad Mad 1; Bares United 6, Galaxy 3.
• Sunday: Bares United 1, FC Tunji 1; Rad Mad 3, Galaxy 1.

Men's Over-38

For Khalid "Johnny" Zafari, it was one game, one goal and one more title.

Zafari's left-footed shot through traffic found the back of the net with 1:31 left in overtime, lifting Hooligans to a 2-1 victory over the Albanian Eagles. It was their sixth President's Cup championship: They also won Over-30 titles in 1996, '99 and 2000 and Over-35 crowns in 2003 and '04.

"I thought it was lucky – the goalie didn't see it and it rolled right by him," Zafari said of his game-winner in the only match he played with Hooligans on the weekend. "I think he was shielded off, because if he would've seen it coming, he would've had it."

Zafari spent the rest of the tournament playing with Almost Fire in the Over-30 competition, but Hooligans manager Joel Adams put his longtime friend on the roster in case he happened to be available.

"I've known Johnny forever. ... I just thought, 'You never know, there's a chance they could lose,' " said Adams, a 49-year-old former University of Wisconsin player who is a musician and college teacher in Chicago. "I'm a very good recruiter."

The come-from-behind victory gave Zafari a unique individual hat trick: He has won titles in all three men's divisions of the President's Cup, having won the Men's Open championship with Dionysus in 1999 and the Over-30 title with Almost Fire last year.

The Albanian Eagles, who ousted four-time reigning champion FC Gherkin 3-2 in the semifinals, took the lead with 8:12 remaining when Driton Sylejmani scored from the right side. Marco Alonso got the equalizer for Hooligans with 4:50 to play.

"I thought they should've won. We got lucky, actually," Zafari said. "There were a couple times they were right there, the ball hit the corner and came out. But that's soccer for you."

Championship: Hooligans 2, Albanian Eagles 1 (OT).

Semifinals: Albanian Eagles 3, FC Gherkin 2; Hooligans 3, Celtics 2.

Carter Pool: FC Gherkin (1-0-2) 19, Hooligans (1-1-1) 16, St. Charles Celtics (1-1-1) 12, Madison United (0-1-2) 8.

• Saturday: Hooligans 3, Madison United 0; FC Gherkin 2, St. Charles Celtics 1; FC Gherkin 3, Hooligans 3; Madison United 0, St. Charles Celtics 0.
• Sunday: St. Charles Celtics 2, Hooligans 1; Madison United 2, FC Gherkin 2.

Eisenhower Pool: Celtics (2-0-1) 24, Albanian Eagles (1-0-2) 20, Forest City Kickers (1-2-0) 9, Inter Madison (0-2-1) 9.

• Saturday: Albanian Eagles 4, Inter Madison 4; Celtics 6, Forest City Kickers 5; Forest City Kickers 2, Inter Madison 0; Albanian Eagles 3, Celtics 3.
• Sunday: Celtics 4, Inter Madison 3; Albanian Eagles 2, Forest City Kickers 1.

Pool-play scoring

• Win: 6 points
• Tie: 3 points
• Goals scored: 1 point per goal, maximum of 3 per game
• Maximum of 9 points per game