Wisconsin Soccer Central

The Princeton-56ers played in the National Premier Soccer League championships twice in their four-year history, in 2006 and '07.

The amateur men's team, now renamed the Madison 56ers, has extra incentive to get back to the finals this summer.

That's because the finals will be played on their home turf at Breese Stevens Field, 56ers NPSL general manager Charles Billings said. The semifinals are set for Friday, July 31 at the historic 83-year-old stadium, with the championship game on Saturday, Aug. 1.

"We hope to be one of the four teams here," Billings said of the 56ers, who missed the playoffs last season. "But it will be here even if we're not."

Breese also played host to the 2006 NPSL final, when the Sacramento Knights beat the Princeton-56ers 2-0 in front of a team-record crowd of 1,351.

For much of the winter, it looked like the 56ers would have to come out of an expanded eight-team Midwest Region to get to those finals. But the region had to settle for an increase of just one team from last year's four-team setup.

The Milwaukee Bavarians aren't playing this year, having been one of two founding NPSL members to request one-year leaves of absence for 2009, Billings said.

The St. Paul Twin Stars, the defending regional champions, and the Chicago Fire join the 56ers in returning to the division. FC Indiana also is back after a one-year absence — the Lafayette-based club went 0-10 in 2007 — and there is a new Wisconsin team in Eau Claire Aris FC.

Billings, who also is the Midwest Region commissioner, said he had extensive discussions with Detroit United of the Michigan Premier Soccer League and the Brooklyn Knights — a Minneapolis-area club that was looking to put an All-Star team in the league — but the clubs opted not to join for 2009.

They remain possible entries for the 2010 season, along with Appleton-based FC Magic, which has scheduled friendlies against the Princeton-56ers all four seasons.

"It's a little disappointing," Billings said of the five-team division, which will start play the last weekend in May.

The Midwest schedule hasn't been finalized because of the late changes, but the 56ers will be on the road for the opening weekend. Once again, league matches will be played on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons.

Their home games will be back at Breese Stevens, which wasn't available last summer because of major renovation work. The next phase of the project is ongoing, but it won't keep matches from being played.

"I'll be delighted to be back there after a year at Warner Park," Billings said. "Not that it was a bad experience, but it wasn't what I had hoped for, what we want."

Beyond the league, the 56ers are expected to enter the U.S. Adult Soccer Association Amateur Cup — the past two years, they played in the Region II U.S. Open Cup qualifying tournament, but the Twin Stars claimed the NPSL berth for this year by winning the region last season.

The Region II Amateur Cup is June 26-28 in Chicago, and the regional champion advances to the national finals July 24-26 in Orlando, Fla., the weekend before the NPSL finals.

Building the team

Meanwhile, 56ers coach Jim Launder is looking to firm up his roster.

"The only thing is there's a lot of guys with question marks," Launder said.

Two of the 56ers' key players the past three years have departed: midfielder Brad Ring — the 2007 NPSL Midwest MVP — was drafted by the San Jose Earthquakes in the second round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft, while defender Reed Cooper moved to St. Louis.

Two standout attacking players from last summer, the University of Wisconsin's Scott Lorenz and Indiana's Andy Adlard, are set to play for the Chicago Fire in the USL Premier Development League this year, Launder said.

Midfielder Trevor Banks and defender-midfielder Tenzin Rampa, two more mainstays for the team, could be back if they don't sign with USL teams — though Launder isn't expecting Banks to return. And Jed Hohlbein, by far the team's all-time leading scorer, could end up back with the club after his season with German Seventh Division side VfB Susterfeld wraps up in late May.

Launder said two more veterans would like to return, but are dealing with health concerns — midfielder Keenan Newallo is rehabilitating a knee injury in hopes of avoiding surgery, while UW-Green Bay defender Ray Hibbler is recovering from serious kidney problems during the winter.

But Launder has plenty of players set to return, including Henry Aiyenero, last season's leading goal-scorer; former UW midfielder Zack Lambo; Notre Dame midfielder Josh Thiermann; Butler midfielder Kyle Pateros; Yale midfielder Eric Meyer; UW-Oshkosh midfielder Will Howell; Missouri State midfielder Tyson Striebel; midfielder-forward Gaelan Fraboni; UW-Platteville midfielder Chris Brown; UW defender Cale Cooper; defender Hunter Martin; and all three goalkeepers from last summer: Butler's Nick Powell, Evansville's Phil Boerger and UW-Green Bay's Travis Meikle.

Among the anticipated new players is Demetrius White, a Milwaukee native who spent time with the Chicago Fire in MLS in 2005.

"He could play in the midfield, he could play up top, he's really good at holding the ball up front," Launder said of White, who lives in Madison and was called into a national team camp for Puerto Rico last year. "I think he's a better midfielder, but for us he might need to be up front."

Another interesting player is Keith Dangarembwa, a midfielder from Zimbabwe who plays for NCAA Division III Kenyon (Ohio) — the Lords' coach is former Marquette assistant and Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association coaching director Chris Brown, one of Launder's friends.

"I saw him play with those guys when they were up here last year (at UW-Whitewater) and I was interested in him," Launder said. "He's freshman ... and he'll be 23 by the time we get him. ... He's too old for Division I, so he has to go D3. but he's a D1 player, he's like a very good D1 player."

Launder planned to meet with UW coach Todd Yeagley and some of his players Wednesday to determine the Badgers players who will be on the 56ers — five is the maximum, per NCAA rules. Launder expects forward-midfielder Pablo Delgado and Brian Bultman, a forward who is being converted into an outside back, to join Cale Cooper on that list. UW defender Eric Conklin could return, and defender-midfielder Taylor Waspi might be a possibility.

There likely will be a pair of Marquette defenders, Launder said, with Billy Von Rueden on board and Paul Monsen likely to join up, too. Among local players still finishing up high school, Sun Prairie forward Musa Sowe, Milton forward-midfielder Adam Lysak (Marquette recruit) and Madison Memorial forward-midfielder Cody Banks (UW-Milwaukee recruit) are expected to be in the mix after the club season.

One other potential addition is midfielder-defender Kyle Zenoni, who recently ended his pursuit of a pro career that saw him play in the USL, Europe and South America. He is looking for a full-time job in sales and marketing, and said he'd be interested in playing for Launder if he moves to Madison.

"He'd play in the midfield for us, and he'd be like Brad Ring. He could go up and down the whole way," Launder said.

From the touchline

Launder is looking for an assistant coach, as Enzo Fuschino won't be back with the team. Fuschino, the UW-Platteville men's and women's coach, and his family moved to Platteville in the past year. ... Billings said the 56ers plan to enter a team in the Wisconsin Major League for the 2009-10 season. Madison United has a team in the league this season, the first time in 13 years a city side has played in the state's top amateur league. At one point, the league had a Madison-based Capitol Division that included as many as 14 teams. ... Several 56ers players play for United, however, Launder said players can be registered for both teams, as the NPSL is regional competition and the Major League is a state competition.

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