Madison Soccer Central

The state of the Princeton-56ers: Good.

The state of the National Premier Soccer League, specifically the Midwest Conference: Not so good.

One big question for the MYSC Lady Blues this season was the team's age, as the expansion team's roster was the oldest in the Women's Premier Soccer League Midwest Conference.

In the end, though, "Experience kind of won out," Lady Blues coach Ben John said.

Player-assistant coach Nancy Rohrman, 37, converted on a 25-yard free kick in the 42nd minute and played a solid game as a holding midfielder as MYSC fended off the Chicago United Breeze 1-0 on Wednesday night in Algonquin, Ill., to win the conference championship.

Brad Ring was headed out of Warner Park after the Princeton-56ers' season finale Saturday night when he stopped to bid farewell to teammate Henry Aiyenero.

Ring, a second-team All-American midfielder who will be a senior at Indiana in the fall, asked Aiyenero if he would be back with the amateur team next summer. Then he quickly answered his own question.

"Nah, there's got to be an age limit," Ring said, sparking laughter from those around — the loudest coming from the 34-year-old Aiyenero.

After all, Aiyenero had just showed he still has plenty of spring in his step, scoring three goals to lead the Princeton-56ers to a 7-0 thrashing of the short-handed Milwaukee Bavarians in a National Premier Soccer League match.

Madison native Lindsay Tarpley earned her 100th career cap as the U.S. beat Brazil 1-0 on Wednesday night in San Diego in its final match before the Beijing Olympics.

The 23-year-old Tarpley wore the captain's armband — a tradition for U.S. players in their 100th match — for her 56 minutes. The game was at Torero Stadium on the University of San Diego campus, also the site of Tarpley's first international appearance on Jan. 12, 2003.

Natasha Kai's 85th-minute header kept the Americans unbeaten (21-0-1) in 2008 under new coach Pia Sundhage, but the U.S. suffered a major loss as prolific scorer Abby Wambach suffered a broken left leg in the 33rd minute and will miss the Olympics.

"I was very emotional," Tarpley said of seeing Wambach taken off the field. "She is one of my best friends."