Wisconsin Soccer Central

Jose Hernandez and Cesar Castillo (West Allis Central) scored early in the second half to level the score, and Azteca United made its final five kicks from the spot to win the Wisconsin Soccer Leagues First Division title 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw against 10-man North Shore United Reserves on July 18 at UW-Milwaukee's Engelmann Stadium.

Jesse "Miklo" Murguia converted the winning penalty for Azteca United (16-5-3), which was seeded first in the six-team playoff field.

NSU Reserves (15-4-5) briefly thought it had won the shootout, but referees ruled goalkeeper Johnny Lara (St. Francis/Milwaukee Area Technical College) came off his line early on a save. NSU Reserves missed their final two shots in the shootout against keeper Azteca United keeper Luis Flores.

Alex Kaul (West Allis Hale) gave No. 2 seed NSU Reserves the lead 20 minutes in and Dan Anderson (Concordia) doubled the lead 5 minutes later on an impressive long-distance strike, ripping a 45-yard line drive into the upper 90 past Flores.

But NSU Reserves – who beat Azteca United 3-1 in the teams' regular-season meeting May 23 – were reduced to 10 men when Nicolas Ferraz (Green Bay East) was sent off on what North Shore officials considered a "questionable" straight red card.

Goals by Hernandez and Castillo in the opening 15 minutes of the second half tied the score at 2, and it remained that way through the rest of regulation and two 15-minute periods of extra time.

Lara stopped Hernandez on Azteca's first penalty, but Castillo, Guadalupe Leon, Antonio Rodriguez (West Allis Hale) and David Perez converted to set the stage for Murguia's winning shot. Last year, North Shore United defeated the Azteca United Reserves 4-1 in the First Division final.

• Luis Trude (Marquette) scored the final goal in the 90th minute, wrapping up host Chattanooga FC's 3-0 victory over the Indiana Fire in a National Premier Soccer League semifinal in front of a league-record crowd of 9,236 on Saturday. Chattanooga FC (17-1-2) will play host to New York Cosmos B (14-0-1) in the final Saturday night.
• Jacob Streicher (West Allis Hale/Concordia) converted a 21st-minute penalty to level the score, but the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the host Muskegon Risers 3-1 in the inaugural Lake Michigan Cup match between the teams July 25 in Michigan.
• Aris FC, made up of players from Viterbo College, topped FC Fargo 3-2 in a friendly Thursday in La Crosse. FC Fargo, which will be a charter member of American Soccer League 2 along with the Milwaukee Torrent in 2016, finished 6-1-0 in its first season this summer – including a 3-0 victory over Aris on July 10 in North Dakota. Aris, created by Viterbo coach Greg Saliaras, played in the NPSL from 2009 to '14.