Wisconsin Soccer Central

For four seasons, Ian Bennett played for Keith Tozer and assistant Mark Litton (Racine St. Catherine's/UW-Parkside) with the Milwaukee Wave.

This week, though, Bennett was on the other side of the court and helped end his former coaches' quest to take the U.S. to the CONCACAF Futsal Championships and the FIFA Futsal World Cup.

Bennett, who is playing outdoors for the Milwaukee Torrent in addition to his role as the Wave's leading scorer indoors, scored in each game as Canada beat the Americans 9-7 on aggregate in a two-leg play-in series for the regional championships in San Jose, Costa Rica. The sides tied 4-4 in Wednesday's opener, with Canada winning 5-3 on Tuesday to claim the final spot in the tournament.

The Canadians, coached by one-time Wave player Kyt Selaidopoulos, will open Group B play Sunday against Costa Rica before facing Curaçao on Monday and Cuba on Tuesday. The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals and earn berths in the Futsal World Cup, which starts Sept. 10 in Colombia. Canada's only Futsal World Cup appearance came in the inaugural 1989 event.

The U.S., which finished third and second in the first two Futsal World Cups, last played in the event in 2008.

On Twitter: @IanBennett26