Wisconsin Soccer Central

Bavarian SC will play host to two prominent amateur soccer tournaments the next two weekends.

The Premier League of America semifinals and final will be played July 29 and 30 at Heartland Value Fund Stadium, and the Glendale facility will host of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association National Amateur Cup semifinals and finals Aug. 4 and 5.

The PLA playoffs will feature the top two sides from the league's two divisions.

The Bavarians pulled level with Cedar Rapids Rampage United (8-1-0) atop the West Division with a 1-0 victory Friday night in Glendale, getting a 90th-minute goal from UW's Isaac Schlenker (Milwaukee University School). Cedar Rapids beat the 10-man Bavarians 1-0 in the teams' first meeting of the season June 17 in Iowa. Both teams have clinched playoff spots with one regular-season match remaining.

The regular-season division champions will play the second-place finishers from the opposite division in the PLA semifinals.

Chicago's RWB Adria, which lost to the Bavarians in last season's PLA final and last month's Region II Amateur Cup final, leads the East Division with a 6-2-1 record ahead of the Muskegon Risers (5-2-2). However, Toledo Villa FC and Carpathia Kickers FC also are still mathematically alive for a playoff spot heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

The semifinals are set for 5 and 7:30 p.m. July 29, with the pairings to be determined, and the PLA final is scheduled for 2 p.m. July 30.

Meanwhile, the Bavarians are playing host to the National Amateur Cup finals for the second straight year – a year ago, they scored two late goals to tie Texas' Legends FC 2-2 in the semifinals and prevailed 5-4 on penalties before falling to Maryland's Christos FC 2-0 after extra time in the final.

They earned a return to the final four with a 2-1 win over RWB Adria in the Region II final June 10 in Chicago. Andre Francois (Brookfield East/UW-Milwaukee) opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Scott Lorenz (UW) doubled the lead in the 60th, and the Bavarians held on despite allowing their first goal in the regional competition.

The home side was drawn against Florida's Kickers FC, which won the Region III tournament, for the national semifinals. California's L.A. Wolves, the Region IV champions, will take on New York's Lansdowne Bhoys in the other semifinal – the Wolves are coached by National Soccer Hall of Famer Eric Wynalda.

Bavarian SC have won the Amateur Cup five times – 1976, 2001 to '03 and 2009 – and only two clubs have more titles in the competition that started in 1923: Ponta Delgada SC from Fall River, Mass., and St. Louis Kutis SC, who both have seven.

USASA NATIONAL AMATEUR CUP
At Heartland Value Fund Stadium, Glendale
Semifinals: Friday, Aug. 4
L.A. Wolves (Calif.) vs. Lansdowne Bhoys (N.Y.), 5:30 p.m.
Bavarian SC vs. Kickers FC (Fla.), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 5
Third-place match, 5:30 p.m.
Final, 8 p.m.

• Before those events, though, there will be some history made Saturday night at Uihlein Soccer Park as the Bavarians (12-2-2) face Milwaukee Brewers FC (10-4-2) in the 2016-17 Wisconsin Soccer Leagues Major Division final. The Bavarians are looking to become the first team in more than 30 years to win three straight championships – the most recent side to win three consecutive Major titles was the Bavarians from 1981 to '83. Meanwhile, the Brewers' lone Major championship came back in 1974, when they tipped the Bavarians 1-0 in the final. These teams also met in the 2015 final, with the Bavarians prevailing 3-2. The top-seeded Bavarians, who have won a record 30 Major titles since 1927, swept all three matches against the third-seeded Brewers during the regular season, winning 3-1, 5-2 and 2-1. In last Saturday's semifinals, the Bavarians outlasted No. 4 seed Croatian Eagles (7-7-2) on penalties, with Matt Yang (Milwaukee Hamilton/UW-Parkside) delivering the decisive kick from the spot following a 1-1 draw, while Lorenz and Jordan Gyuricza scored in the Brewers' 2-1 victory over No. 2 seed Milwaukee Sport Club (9-3-4). Interestingly, Lorenz and Nick Wilson both play for the Bavarians' PLA team but with the Brewers in the state league.

WSL MAJOR DIVISION PLAYOFFS
Semifinals: July 15
No. 1 Bavarian SC 1, No. 4 Croatian Eagles 1 (Bavarian SC advances on penalty kicks)
No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers 2, No. 2 Milwaukee Sport Club 1
Final: Saturday, July 22
At Uihlein Soccer Park, Milwaukee
No. 1 Bavarian SC (12-2-2) vs. No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers (10-4-2), 7:30 p.m.

• The Milwaukee Brewers Reserves and United Serbians Reserves will meet in the WSL First Division final at 5 p.m. Saturday at Uihlein. It's an unlikely matchup for the championship, as the Brewers were seeded sixth in the eight-team field and the United Serbians claimed the final playoff spot on a tiebreaker. Tickets for the WSL finals include both matches and are $5 for adults, with children 17 and under admitted free. Prices drop to $3 per ticket for groups of five or more.
• Pierre-Claver Goudjo Gbedey, a native of Togo who was influential in helping develop Madison's soccer scene, died July 3. He was 77. After playing semi-pro soccer in France, Gbedey moved to Madison in 1973 and was a player/coach for the Dynamos in the Wisconsin Soccer Association Capitol Division, helping the team win the 1982 title and earn promotion to the WSA Major League. He also coached the Madison East High School boys club team in 1976 and '77 (before the WIAA sponsored soccer) and the Dynamos women's team in 1979 and '80, and was inducted into the Madison Area Soccer Hall of Fame in 2010.
• Edgewood College's Garrett Lee (Sussex Hamilton) scored the lone goal as Madison United blanked third-seeded Madison Fire Red 1-0 to win their second straight Madison Soccer Association Division 1 title and third in the past four years. Ravi Rajani (Madison Memorial) set up Lee's goal, and Garrett Farin (Madison East/Milwaukee School of Engineering) posted the shutout for fourth-seeded United (6-6-6) in the final June 16 at Goodman Pitch at Reddan Soccer Park in Verona. No. 1 seed Chivas (14-2-2) won its first Division 2 championship since 2013, beating Have Fun FC 5-2 in the Division 2 final. MSA schedules, results and standings