Wisconsin Soccer Central

The top men's amateur soccer league in the state is back to having only teams from the Milwaukee area.

Madison United withdrew from the Wisconsin Soccer Leagues Major Division over the winter, leaving the league with seven Milwaukee-area teams when the spring portion of its 2012-13 season kicks off next month.

United's decision came after the team played just two of its seven scheduled matches last fall, and only one of its four home games. Bavarian SC, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Serbians forfeited their away matches against United, continuing a trend that made home forfeits a common occurrence for the Madison club in recent years.

Milwaukee Serbians, Club Latino, United Serbians and Bavarians all forfeited games in Madison during the 2011-12 season – meaning United has played six of 13 scheduled home matches over the past two seasons. 

"Some teams – the Croatians, Kickers, Sport Club – they always fulfilled their obligations," Madison United founder Keith Binns said. "But surprisingly the Bavarians, the Brewers, the two Serbian teams and then in previous years, Club Latino, never came. And it's like we go down there about 12 times a year."

Binns was optimistic last year when WSL took over as the governing body for adult soccer in Wisconsin and quickly accepted the club's proposal for stiffer forfeit penalties: A $250 fine and a 3-0 loss – he said that under the previous Wisconsin Adult Soccer Association policies, there was no fine and a 1-0 loss.

WSL president Milan Vidakovich was hopeful, too.

But that outlook quickly changed when Bavarians forfeited their season opener at United last September – Vidakovich said in that case it was a registration problem rather than a lack of players available to make the trip to Madison, which is the main reason Milwaukee-area teams have forfeited to United.

"It's impossible to legislate to people what they must do,"  Vidakovich said. "The Milwaukee teams just refuse to go, even though we upped the ante for fees, more points."

While Vidakovich sympathizes with United's situation, he was frustrated with the club leaving midway through the first WSL season.

"I felt so terrible for United. And I can understand it – they've got to do what they've got to do," he said. "But it's just unfortunate. It's put us behind the 8-ball (having only seven teams). I was really hoping that they wouldn't drop out mid-season, which really caused a problem for the league. ... I'm not going to argue with them about it. I'm sure it was difficult for them."

Binns acknowledged that it was "very disappointing" to withdraw from the Majors for the second time – United departed in 1995 because of an old rule that required clubs with Major teams to field reserve teams. They returned to the league in 2008-09 and promptly won the championship in their first year back, and advanced to the playoff final last summer before falling to the Croatian Eagles 6-3.

"Maybe at some time we can re-enter the league ... but I don't expect things to change," Binns said.

For his part, Vidakovich wants to see United return again, saying: "I'm hoping they will be back."

• The spring schedules for the WSL Major and Reserve leagues have been released. Majors play resumes April 14 and Reserves start back up April 21, with the playoffs set for June – the Reserve Division "open round" is June 16, with the semifinals June 23 and finals June 30 in both divisions. Vidakovich said the decision was made to strike all of Madison United's fall results from the books and refund all forfeit fees related to United.
• Binns said that United will turn its focus back to the Madison Soccer Association. "What we're going to do is take that really seriously," he said. The MSA is returning to a fall-spring format, scrapping its spring-fall setup after three seasons and setting up a short championship season this spring. Binns said that Division 1 will include Celtics, Deportivo, Madison Fire, Madison United, Paradigm and the Wisconsin Wizards – the Fire are the defending champions, while the Wizards move up after winning the past two Division 2 titles. Twelve teams are set for Division 2, including Madison United Juniors and Madison United Over-30s.
• Registration is open for the Wisconsin Men's Amateur Cup, with the winner earning a berth in the U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II tournament. The state competition is a single-elimination tournament, with first-round matches set for Saturday, May 11. The cost is $200 per team, with entries due to the WSL office by April 15. A blind draw is scheduled for April 16. Bavarian SC is the defending Wisconsin champion and will receive a first-round bye if they enter again this season and there are an odd number of teams in the field. Binns said Madison United is considering entering the tournament; the club is affiliated with WSL through the spring season after paying its registration fee last fall. 
• The Men's Under-23 League and the Women's Premier League, which are now also being operated by WSL, will run from June 8 to July 28. The deadline for teams to enter is May 1. For more information on the Amateur Cup, the Men's Under-23 League and the Women's Premier League, visit the WSL website.
• The USASA announced more details about the National Amateur Championship, which will debut May 24 to 26 at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro, N.C. The tournament includes three 2012 national champions: the Croatian Eagles (USASA Open Cup), Boston's Battery Park Gunners (USASA Amateur Cup) and FC Sonic Lehigh Valley (National Premier Soccer League), along with the host Carolina Dynamo – they were the runners-up in the USL Premier Development League last year, losing to Canadian side Forest City London in the final. Semifinals are set for 4:30 and 7 p.m. May 24; with the third-place game at 8 a.m. and the final at 10:30 a.m. on May 26.
• The USASA National Cup will be July 19 to 21 at the Star Complex in San Antonio, Texas, featuring the semifinals and finals in the men's Amateur, Open, Under-23 and Over-30 competitions. The four women's divisions will be contested at the inaugural USASA National Women's Championships in Overland Park, Kan. – the Open tournament is June 25 to 27, while the Amateur, Under-23 and Over-30 brackets are set for June 28 to 30.

Check back to Wisconsin Soccer Central in the coming weeks for more on Wisconsin Soccer Leagues as it heads into the second half of its first season.