The Kickoff: Wednesday, July 24

Your roundup of soccer news across Wisconsin and beyond

Top of the box

Andrija Novakovich (Muskego) joined SSC Bari in Italy’s Serie B (second division) on loan from Serie A Venezia for the 2024-2025 season on Tuesday. The agreement includes an obligation for Bari to purchase the 27-year-old striker if certain conditions are met. Novakovich had six goals and one assist in 38 appearances (34 starts) while on loan to Calcio Lecco 1912 last season, and has 25 goals and 22 assists in 168 career appearances in Serie B. Novakovich, who has three caps for the U.S. national team, also previously played with English club Reading FC and on loan with Dutch clubs Telstar and Fortuna Sittard before moving to Italy with Frosinone in Serie B and subsequently being transferred to Venezia. (Photo: SSC Bari)

Professional

• Goalkeeper Nathan Crockford (UW) made his unofficial debut for D.C. United on Saturday, coming on in the 61st minute of their 4-0 loss to Scottish power Celtic in a friendly. Crockford, who was selected by D.C. United in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after playing one season with the Badgers, allowed two goals and made four saves —including a diving stop on Irish international Mikey Johnston’s penalty kick in the 78th minute. (Watch the penalty save)

• In Israel, midfielder-forward Rachel Dallet (Whitefish Bay/UW) signed with Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem of the Ligat Al Women’s Premier League for the 2024-2025 season. Dallet, 22, made 17 appearances for the Badgers over the past three seasons and was a Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholar Award winner last fall. Founded in 2020, Hapoel Jerusalem was the first high-level professional women’s team in Jerusalem and has quickly become one of the country’s top sides.

• Follow all the players with state ties playing professionally in the U.S. and around the world on our Wisconsin Players in the Pros chart. If we've missed anyone, email us at wisconsinsoccercentral@gmail.com or connect with us on socials.

• Forward Madison (5-1-4) could pull level with Union Omaha and the Greenville Triumph on 22 points in USL League One play with a victory over the last-place Central Valley Fuego (1-6-2) when the teams meet tonight at Breese Stevens Field in Madison in a rescheduled game. Kickoff is at 7. The teams were tied 1-1 in the 36th minute on July 13 when storms halted the game and eventually forced a postponement. With a win, the Flamingos would be third in the standings, as the first tiebreaker in USL League One is victories.

Youth clubs

• Two FC Wisconsin players are headed to Chula Vista, Calif., for the ECNL Conference Cup. FC Wisconsin Nationals midfielder Jesus Ramirez (Milwaukee Pius) is among the 90 players selected for the boys event from July 29 to Aug. 2, while FC Wisconsin midfielder-defender Alayna Gleeson (Germantown) is one of the 120 players chosen for the girls event Aug. 5 to 9. While 15 players from each conference on both the boys and girls sides were selected for the Conference Cup, the event rosters will be a mix of players from different conferences.

• Tuesday’s results for the four Wisconsin teams on the opening day of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Reunion, Fla., along with their remaining schedules for group play.
  
  14U Girls
  North Shore United 10G Blue
  7/23: PPA 2010 Green (Md.) - 3-0 W
  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 - 3-2 L
  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 - 2-1 L
  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. - 2-0 W
  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 (free to watch; all games either live or recorded)
  

High school

• A reminder that the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association’s 32nd High School Senior All-Star games are Saturday at Breese Stevens Field in Madison. The girls game kicks off at 11 a.m., with the boys game at 1 p.m. Tickets for just the all-star games or the two prep games and the evening’s Forward Madison FC match against the Northern Colorado Hailstorm are available here.
  
  WSCA Senior All-Star Game rosters

Amateur

• The top two teams from the Wisconsin Primary Amateur Soccer League regular season — East Division champion NRFC Cyclones and West Division winner Lobos FC — cruised into Sunday’s league final with shutout victories in the semifinals. The New Richmond side is seeking to win the title in its first WPASL season, while Lobos FC shoots for back-to-back championships. The teams met earlier this season, with the host Cyclones prevailing 4-2 back on June 23.
  
  WISCONSIN PRIMARY AMATEUR SOCCER LEAGUE
  Playoffs
  Semifinals
  NRFC Cyclones 3:0 Union Eau Claire FC
  Lobos FC 9:0 Poskin Jets FC
  Final 7/28
  At Bollinger Field, UW-Eau Claire
  NRFC Cylones (10-1-0) vs. Lobos FC (9-1-1), 3:30 p.m.

• A correction from earlier in the week from the Midwest Premier League: Only the last-place finisher in the Heartland Conference Division 1 will be relegated to Division 2 for the 2025 season. And that will be Steel City FC, as a result of their 2-1 loss to Czarni Jaslo on Tuesday night.

Standings

MIDWEST PREMIER LEAGUE
Heartland Conference
Division 1
W-L-T - Pts
RWB Adria Chicago 6-1-1 - 19
Bavarian United 6-2-1 - 19
Chicago House AC 6-2-0 - 18
DeKalb County United 2-5-2 - 8
Czarni Jaslo Chicago 2-6-1 - 7
🔽 Steel City FC 1-7-1 - 4
Last-place team relegated to Division 2 for 2025

Division 2
W-L-T - Pts
🔼 AFC Roscoe 8-1-2 - 26
🔼 Green Bay Glory 8-2-0 - 24
Rockford FC 6-4-1 - 19
Edgewater Castle 5-3-3 - 18
Chicago Ghost 3-5-3 - 12
Berber City 2-7-2 - 8
Strikers Fox Valley 0-10-1 - 1
Top two teams promoted to Division 1 for 2025

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
Finals 7/27
At Hart Park, Wauwatosa
Major Division
Bavarian United (9-3-1) vs. FC Wisconsin Brewers (9-3-1), 7 p.m.
First Division
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

Linking play

• ‘You can’t have barriers’: Is pay-to-play having a corrosive effect on US soccer? (The Guardian)

• Paris 2024 Olympic men's soccer: Expert picks, predictions, who will earn gold, how far will USA soccer go? (CBS Sports) — Tournament starts today