Wisconsin Soccer Central

The FC Wisconsin Nationals remained in the hunt for a wild card berth in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Under-15/16 playoffs, pulling out a last-second, 4-3 win over Minnesota Thunder Academy on Sunday in Savage, Minn.

Rafa Munoz (Kenosha Tremper) picked a perfect time to score his first goal for the club, heading a free kick served in by Stefan Rokvic (Muskego) into the corner of the net in the final moments for the dramatic victory.

The Nationals (10-9-5) are in seventh place out of 13 teams in the Central Conference Mid-America Division with three games remaining, averaging 1.46 points per match. The 13th and final wild card spot currently is held by BSC Connecticut, which is averaging 1.55 points per match.

Munoz's late winner capped a wild game that saw four lead changes and three ties. Todor Atlija (Franklin) finished off a through ball from Rokvic for his eighth goal of the season in the 14th to pull FC Wisconsin level and Antonio Amaya (Muskego) gave the visitors a 2-1 lead with his second goal of the season 15 minutes later.

The Thunder, though, scored twice in 10 minutes to lead 3-2 after 50 minutes, only to see Blake Carr (Hartland Arrowhead) equalize in the 65th, nodding in off a feed from Adrian Roman for his eighth goal of the season and setting the stage for Munoz's late heroics.

A day earlier in Faribault, Minn., the Nationals were on the wrong side of the late drama, as Shattuck-St. Mary's pulled out a 1-1 draw on a goal in the 4th minute of stoppage time. Atlija had given FC Wisconsin the lead in the 61st with a volley off a pass from Munoz.

The weekend started well enough for the Nationals' Under-17/18 team, as University of Wisconsin recruit Nikola Atlija (Franklin) scored his ninth goal of the season in the 33rd to give them a 1-0 lead over Shattuck on Saturday.

But the home side equalized 17 minutes later, took the lead in the 55th and went on to a 6-1 victory. Sunday's match didn't go much better, as 11th-place FC Wisconsin fell to 6-14-4 on the season with a 5-0 loss to the Thunder.

The Nationals are off this weekend, then play their final home matches of the season next week. The Under-17/18 side faces the Chicago Fire at 6 p.m. May 27, and all three teams play Ohio's Internationals on May 31 and Crew Soccer Academy on June 1.

2013-14 FC Wisconsin Nationals schedule, results, rosters