Wisconsin Soccer Central

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, one of the oldest soccer tournaments in the world, turns 100 next year.

And any men's team in Wisconsin could be a part of it – but they'll need to hurry.

Registration is open for the Wisconsin Open Cup, which traditionally is contested in the fall the year before the national tournament. The 2013 Wisconsin Open Cup is scheduled to start Nov. 3, with the winner earning a berth in next spring's U.S. Adult Soccer Association Region II tournament.

The top teams from the regional event claim spots in the U.S. Open Cup, which includes teams from all levels of soccer in the country: Major League Soccer, North American Soccer League, USL Pro, USL Premier Development League, National Premier Soccer League, U.S. Club Soccer and USASA.

The registration deadline for the Wisconsin Open Cup is next Monday, Oct. 22, and a blind draw will be held that night to be determine the pairings. If an odd number of teams enter the competition, last year's state champion – the Croatian Eagles – will receive a first-round bye. The Croatians also would have home-field advantage should they reach the state final.

The cost to enter the single-elimination tournament is $300; there are some other fees that could be required based on rosters, and teams must complete several items of paperwork by posted deadlines. For more information, visit the Open Cup page on the Wisconsin Soccer Leagues website.

For fans, host teams are allowed to set prices for admission to Wisconsin Open Cup matches, but the rules stipulate that the maximum ticket price is $5.

• WSL, the state's new governing body for adult soccer, recently was granted full membership in the USASA. The group's National Council unanimously approved WSL as a full member on Oct. 6 during the organization's mid-year meeting in Chicago. The WSL had been granted probationary USASA status in June.
• The schedule is set for Sunday's Northern Wisconsin Soccer League Division II playoff semifinals, which will see top-seeded D.C. Express (10-3-1) facing No. 4 seed Team Green Bay Packaging (7-4-3) and second-seeded F.C. Oshkosh II (8-5-1) taking on No. 3 seed Green Bay Kickers (7-4-3). The final regular-season standings and playoff pairings for Division I hadn't been posted to the league website as of Tuesday night.
• The Madison Soccer Association semifinals scheduled for Sunday were postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled for this Sunday at Warner Park, meaning the championship games will be pushed back to Oct. 26. The Division 2 play-in game was played Saturday at Daleo Fields, with fourth-seeded Sporting 1836 (11-6-4) rolling past fifth-seeded Madison United Juniors 4-0 to advance to a semifinal matchup against top-seeded FC Metro (11-2-7). Here's the updated MSA playoff schedule: