Wisconsin Soccer Central

Upsets were the norm Tuesday night as the Wisconsin Soccer Leagues First Division playoffs kicked off with quarterfinal matches.

Lower-seeded teams won three of the four games, with No. 2 seed North Shore United the only one of the four home teams to advance to Saturday's semifinals at the Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex Outdoor Fields.

North Shore United (16-3-1) cruised past the United Serbians Reserves 5-2 and will take on eighth-seeded Bavarian SC Reserves (12-7-2), who knocked off No. 1 seed Upper 90 Sports Pub 2-1.

The other semifinal pits sixth-seeded Milwaukee Kickers Reserves (13-5-2) against fifth-seeded Azteca United Reserves (13-4-3). The Kickers blanked No. 3 seed SC Waukesha Blue 2-0 on Tuesday, while Azteca United got past the Croatian Eagles 4-3.

Both matches are scheduled for 1 p.m., followed by the WSL Major Division semifinals at 3 p.m. – Bavarian SC is the only club with teams in both divisions. The finals are set for one week later, July 19, at Milwaukee School of Engineering's Viets Field.

WSL PLAYOFFS

MAJOR DIVISION
Saturday's semifinals
At Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex Outdoor Fields
No. 4 United Serbians (7-5-2) vs. No. 1 Croatian Eagles (13-1-1), 3 p.m.
Previous meetings: Croatian Eagles won 3-2 on May 18 and 2-1 on June 22
No. 3 Bavarian SC (10-4-1) vs. No. 2 Milwaukee Sport Club (11-4-0), 3 p.m.
Previous meetings: Sport Club won 3-1 on Oct. 13; Bavarians won 3-2 on Oct. 19 (Wisconsin Open Cup semifinals) and 2-1 on May 21
Final
Saturday, July 19
At Viets Field, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.

FIRST DIVISION
Tuesday's quarterfinals
No. 8 Bavarian SC Reserves 2, No. 1 Upper 90 Sports Pub 1
No. 2 North Shore United 5, No. 7 United Serbians Reserves 2
No. 6 Milwaukee Kickers Reserves 2, No. 3 SC Waukesha Blue 0
No. 5 Azteca United Reserves 4, No. 4 Croatian Eagles 3
Saturday's semifinals
At Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex Outdoor Fields
No. 8 Bavarian SC Reserves (12-7-2) vs. No. 2 North Shore United (16-3-1), 1 p.m.
Previous meeting: North Shore United won 5-1 on June 27
No. 6 Milwaukee Kickers Reserves (13-5-2) vs. No. 5 Azteca United Reserves (13-4-3), 1 p.m.
Previous meeting: Kickers won 3-2 on Sept. 10
Final
Saturday, July 19
At Viets Field, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.

• St. Louis Lions defender Blake Jones (Green Bay) was named to the USL Premier Development League Team of the Week after anchoring the backline in a 1-0 win over the Thunder Bay Chill on Saturday. UW-Milwaukee defender Dustin Ashley (Racine Horlick) earned  honorable mention after scoring his first goal of the year for the Mississippi Brilla in a 2-2 draw against the Houston Dutch Lions on July 3.
• UW-Milwaukee's Laurie Bell set up the first two goals, both scored by Abu Danladi in an 8-minute span late in the first half, as the Ventura County Fusion blanked the OC Pateadores Blues 3-0 in a PDL match Wednesday in Ventura, Calif. Bell is tied for second in the PDL with five assists in nine appearances.
• Marquette defender John Pothast, playing in just his second match of the season, scored his first goal Tuesday in the Chicago Fire Under-23 team's 4-0 rout of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Under-23s on Tuesday in Bridgeview, Ill.