Wisconsin Soccer Central

Forty years ago, Bavarian SC and the Milwaukee Brewers squared off in the state Major Division final. The clubs have had vastly different experiences since the Bavarians' 2-0 victory in that match in 1975.

The Bavarians continued their tradition of winning Major titles – they've added 15 more championships for a total of 16 since 1973, 10 more than any other club in that time span. The Brewers, meanwhile, haven't been back to a final.

But that will change Saturday, as the teams meet again in the 2014-15 Wisconsin Soccer Leagues Major final at UW-Milwaukee's Engelmann Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., following the 5 p.m. First Division final.

The Brewers (12-5-3) were seeded second in the six-team playoffs and rallied past North Shore United 2-1 in last Saturday's semifinals at the Brookfield Indoor Soccer Complex Outdoor Fields.

Andre Francois (Brookfield East/UW-Parkside) gave third-seeded NSU (11-6-4) the lead, but Scott Lorenz (UW) converted a penalty kick to tie it and Jordan Gyuricza scored what proved to be the game-winner off a feed from Erik Ortega (UW) for the Brewers, whose most recent Majors title came in 1974 – at the time, media reports indicated it was their first championship in 25 years.

On the other side, Bavarian SC will shoot for its first title since 2011 after knocking off the nine-man Croatian Eagles 4-1 in the other semifinal.

Brett Dietz had a hat trick and Milwaukee School of Engineering's Braden Andryk (Milwaukee Marquette) also scored for the fourth-seeded Bavarians (11-5-5), who lost to the Brewers 2-0 last October and 4-1 in a spring season opener April 12.

The top-seeded Croatians (14-2-4) had a player sent off about 5 minutes in, then were reduced to nine men approximately 10 minutes later. Dietz gave Bavarians the lead with a penalty in the opening quarter hour, but the Eagles leveled the score with an own goal just before halftime. It remained tied until Dietz scored again with about 20 minutes remaining.

Azteca United FC (16-5-2) will face North Shore United Reserves (15-4-4) in the First Division final. It's somewhat of a rematch of last season's final, when North Shore United beat the Azteca United Reserves 4-1.

In Saturday's semifinals, top-seeded Azteca United posted a 2-0 victory over the fourth-seeded Bavarians Reserves (11-8-5) and the North Shore United Reserves eliminated No. 3 seed Atotonilco (16-4-4) with a 3-0 decision.

Spencer Hosseini (Mequon Homestead) opened the scoring, Adam Brown (Cardinal Stritch) doubled the lead off a free kick, Brad Valerine added a third and Johnny Lara (St. Francis/Milwaukee Area Technical College) kept a clean sheet as the NSU Reserves extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1). Included in that run was a 3-1 victory over Azteca United on May 23.

• Elm Grove Blue, which outscored opponents 31-3 in winning all five of its regular-season matches, is the top seed as the WSL Women's Premier League playoffs start Saturday at the SCORe Complex in Franksville. SC Waukesha-Strike FC also was unbeaten and allowed just three goals in five games, but didn't face Elm Grove. Four quarterfinals and a consolation match will be played Saturday, with the semifinals, third-place game and final set for July 25 at Croatian Park in Franklin.

WSL WOMEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Saturday's matches
At SCORe Complex, Franksville
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Elm Grove Blue (5-0-0) vs. No. 8 Madison 56ers Majors (1-3-1), noon
No. 4 North Shore United U23 (3-1-1) vs. No. 5 Milwaukee United SC (3-3-0), 10 a.m.
No. 2 SC Waukesha-Strike FC U23 (4-0-1) vs. No. 7 Rush Wisconsin U23 (1-2-2), 2 p.m.
No. 3 Croatian Eagles (3-1-1) vs. No. 6 Fusion Premier U23 (2-1-2), 10 a.m.
Consolation
No. 9 FC Green Bay (1-4-0) vs. No. 10 Racine United (1-4-0), noon

• Austrian midfielder Matthias Binder, who played with Real Salt Lake-Arizona in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and is headed to UW-Milwaukee this fall, was an honorable mention selection on the USL Premier Development League Team of the Week for Oregon club Lane United. UW-Green Bay goalkeeper Dani Alvarado, who plays for the Thunder Bay Chill, also earned honorable mention.
• Laval Comets defender Vanessa Legault-Cordisco (Marquette) and University of Wisconsin midfielder Rose Lavelle, who plays for the Seattle Sounders Women, were honorable mention on the USL W-League Team of the Week.

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original version to correct information. The time of the Croatian Eagles' second red card was incorrect in earlier versions.