The Kickoff: Tuesday, July 23
Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond
Top of the box
Saturday’s finals of the Wisconsin Soccer Leagues Milwaukee Premier League playoffs are set after Sunday’s Major Division and First Division semifinals — and in both brackets, the top two seeded sides advanced. Bavarian United has teams in each final, with their top side to face second-seeded FC Wisconsin Brewers for the Major championship and their second team taking on MKE Crush in battle of First Division regular-season group winners. The Bavarians handed the Brewers two of their three Majors losses this season, 2-0 on both Sept. 24 and May 19. Over four First Division playoff matches, the Bavarians and Crush outscored opponents by a combined 17-1 margin. The teams met back on June 22, with the Bavarians winning 3-0. Saturday’s games are at Hart Park in Wauwatosa, with the First Division final at 3:30 p.m. and the Major final at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Full playoff results in the Amateur section below.
Youth clubs
Four state girls teams kick off play at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships today in Reunion, Fla.
14U Girls
North Shore United 10G Blue
7/23: PPA 2010 Green (Md.), 10:30 a.m.
7/24: KC Legends 2010 Academy Red (Kan.), 8:30 a.m.
7/25: Solar South 10G FDL Adames (Texas), 7 a.m.
Elmbrook United 10G Elite 64
7/23: Utah Soccer Alliance 10G Elite 64, 10:30 a.m.
7/24: BVB International Academy Pittsburgh 10G Premier, 8:30 a.m.
7/25: Nationals Union 10 Black (Mich.), 7 a.m.
15U Girls
Elmbrook United 09G Elite 64
7/23: Missouri Rush 2009G Goddard, 8:30 a.m.
7/24: Kononia Lady Fire 2009/10 (Tenn.), 7 a.m.
7/25: Cook Inlet SC 09 Elite (Alaska), 8:30 a.m.
17U Girls
Madison 56ers 07G Elite 64
7/23: EDA (Calif.), 12:30 p.m.
7/24: Aztec 2007 NAL (Mass.), 11 a.m.
7/25: Utah Surf 07 Hale, 12:30 p.m.
Schedules, results and standings
Streaming links (no charge; all games either live or recorded)
Amateur
Millerlitecup (8-1-0) won the Northern Wisconsin Soccer League Division One championship as the regular season concluded Sunday. The second- through fifth-place finishers will battle for the Noal Messou Cup on Aug. 3 and 4. In Division Two, Oshkosh’s Member FC (7-1-0) wrapped up its title-winning season, which includes promotion to Division One for next season. The Green Bay Kickers (0-9-0) were relegated to Division Two for 2025. NWSL champions
NORTHERN WISCONSIN SOCCER LEAGUE
Division One
Final
W-L-T - Pts
🏆 Millerlitecup 8-1-0 - 24
Mach IV 6-2-1 - 19
Lakeshore United 6-3-0 - 18
DC Express 4-4-1 - 13
Neenah Boom 3-4-2 - 11
Kiel SC 3-4-2 - 11
Fond du Lac FC 2-5-2 - 8
🔽 Green Bay Kickers 0-9-0 - 0
Green Bay Kickers relegated to Division Two for 2025
Noal Messou Cup
Semifinals 8/3
No. 2 Mach IV (6-2-1) vs. No. 5 Neenah Boom (3-4-2)
No. 3 Lakeshore United (6-3-0) vs. No. 4 DC Express (4-4-1)
Final 8/4
Semifinal winners
Division Two
W-L-T - Pts
🏆🔼 Member FC 7-1-0 - 21
Electric City 5-2-1 - 16
Lakeshore United 3-2-2 - 11
Fox Cities 3-1-2 - 11
FC Oshkosh 2-5-1 - 7
Waupun FC 2-4-1 - 7
GB Dynamo 0-7-1 - 1
Member FC promoted to Division One for 2025
Scores and schedules
USASA NATIONAL AMATEUR CUP
At Northern Illinois Soccer Complex, DeKalb, Ill.
Semifinals 7/25
New York Pancyprian-Freedoms (N.Y.) vs. Tobacco Road FC (N.C.), 5:30 p.m.
FC Arizona vs. FC Milwaukee Torrent, 8 p.m.
Final 7/27
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
WISCONSIN SOCCER LEAGUES
MILWAUKEE PREMIER LEAGUE
Playoffs
Major Division
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Bavarian United received bye
No. 4 Croatian Eagles 0:1 No. 5 Milwaukee Sport Club
No. 3 United Serbian 1:3 No. 6 Honduras FC
No. 2 FC Wisconsin Brewers received bye
Semifinals
Bavarian United 4:1 Milwaukee Sport Club
FC Wisconsin Brewers 2:0 Honduras FC
Final 7/27
At Hart Park, Wauwatosa
Bavarian United (9-3-1) vs. FC Wisconsin Brewers (9-3-1), 7 p.m.
First Division
Quarterfinals
Gold group
No. 1 Bavarian United 3:0 No. 4 Polonia SC
No. 2 Croatian Eagles 1:2 No. 3 MKE Inferno
Green group
No. 1 MKE Crush 5:1 No. 4 MKE Serbians
No. 2 Wolves FC 1:1 (5:4 pen) No. 3 FC Wisconsin Brewers
Semifinals
Gold group
Bavarian United 4:0 MKE Inferno
Green group
MKE Crush 5:0 Wolves FC
Final 7/27
At Hart Park, Wauwatosa
Bavarian United (14-1-1) vs. MKE Crush (15-2-0), 3:30 p.m.
NISA INDEPENDENT CUP
Great Lakes Region
Final
Inter Detroit vs. FC Milwaukee Torrent, details TBA
WISCONSIN CUP
At Woodside Sports Complex, Wisconsin Dells
Final 8/3
Superior City FC vs. FC Milwaukee Torrent, time TBA
College
With college teams kicking off practices in the next few weeks, here are our latest recruit listings for Wisconsin players teams. The national letter of intent signing period for the Class of 2024 closes Aug. 1.
Coaches, players and parents: Help us add to this list. E-mail us with more commitments.
High school
2024 WIAA boys soccer key dates
Earliest day for practices: Monday, Aug. 19
Earliest day for games: Tuesday, Aug. 27
Regionals: Oct. 22 and 26 (Divisions 1 and 2); Oct. 22, 24 and 26 (Divisions 3 and 4)
Sectional semifinals: Thursday, Oct. 31
Sectional finals: Saturday, Nov. 2
43rd WIAA state tournament: Nov. 7-9 at Uihlein Soccer Park in Milwaukee
TV updates
CBS Sports retained the rights to Italy's Serie A in the U.S. through the 2027-2028 season, in addition to the Supercoppa Italiana and Coppa Italia. Most games will be on Paramount+, with selected matches on CBS, CBS Sports Network and the free CBS Sports Golazo Network.
And CBS Sports added the rights for the English Football League, which includes the Championship, League One, League Two, the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) and the EFL Trophy (Bristol Street Motors Trophy), also through the 2027-2028 season. Matches will be on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network and the free CBS Sports Golazo Network. Read more
Linking play
The Marshall Islands, one of the last countries in the world without a soccer team, makes its international debut with a series of futsal games this week. Get the info from The Sweeper — and check out their podcast while you’re at it. They really explore the beautiful game, delving into smaller countries, lower leagues and stories rarely covered by other media outlets.
West Ham bus for USA tour features comically oversized bubble machine (USA Today’s Pro Soccer Wire)
Nike unveiled its Flight ball, the official ball of the 2024-2025 Premier League, on Monday. This is the final season of a 25-year partnership that has seen Nike provide the official Premier League ball; Puma takes over next season. (The Athletic)
Fish cake fury sees Norwegian game cancelled after VAR protest (ESPN/Reuters)