Wisconsin Soccer Central

After taking a year off from playing college soccer, Vince Butitta thought this summer would be one of just getting back into the swing of things.

The former Delavan-Darien High School player has been training with the Madison 56ers NPSL team, gearing up to play for Ripon College in the fall.

On Sunday night, though, Butitta made his debut for 56ers and ended up scoring twice — both after the 89th minute — in a 3-2 victory over a Select team from Organizacion Latina de Futbol in a friendly at Breese Stevens Field.

"I was lucky to see the field. I'm just happy to practice with them this year, I didn't expect to see any playing time," said Butitta, who played at Lawrence University in Appleton in 2007 but took last year off to work. "But I got in, and hopefully this will help me in the future."

Butitta actually was involved in another goal. He was beaten by Fernando Olayo down the right side late in the first half, and watched Olayo give the OLF Select side the lead with a smooth finish to the far post against 56ers goalkeeper Nick Powell (Madison Memorial) in the 44th minute.

"It was my mark that got the goal, so I was ready to redeem myself," Butitta said.

That time nearly came with the score tied at 1 in the 82nd minute, when Butitta ran onto a long ball from forward Nick Kay (Stevens Point) on the left side, beat a defender and went to goal, only to have OLF Select keeper Omar Rodriguez smother his shot.

But Butitta got another chance in the 90th, thanks to some hard work by Kay. The Marquette athlete, who scored the 56ers' goal in their 1-1 tie against the St. Paul Twin Stars a night earlier, made a long run on the left flank, cut past defender Fernando Jones and squared the ball back for Butitta in the middle of the 6-yard box. Butitta finished past Rodriguez despite a last-ditch tackle attempt by an OLF defender.

"Nick Kay set me up with some wonderful opportunities. I missed one, but then I found the net after that," said Butitta, who had three goals in 12 games for Lawrence in 2007 after being an all-conference defender in high school. "You work hard in practice and hopefully it will pay off, and it did for me today."

Moments later, Butitta got another chance — almost identical to the one he had in the 82nd. Gaelan Fraboni (McFarland), playing right back as part of the 56ers' makeshift backline, switched a long ball to Butitta on the left flank. Going in on Rodriguez again, this time he made a move past the sliding keeper and dribbled the ball into the empty net to give the 56ers a 3-1 lead.

"On the first goal, the thing that was so significant was Nick was up there all by himself, (Butitta) ran that hard to get to the right place. That was the key to that," 56ers coach Jim Launder said. "And the second one, he corrected. The first time he had a breakthrough, he just tried to shoot it and the goalkeeper stopped it. The second time he beat him and he scored. So he learned from that problem."

Continuing a recent theme, the 56ers (6-3-2) had problems finishing — though much of that was because of Rodriguez's work between the posts. The OLF Select keeper made two great saves in the opening half hour, tipping Kay's shot wide in the 5th minute and parrying a blast by Eric Meyer (Madison Memorial/Yale) over the bar in the 30th.

As planned, Launder brought on five players who had started Saturday night at halftime. They made a difference in their 30 minutes, especially Butler midfielder Kyle Pateros (Janesville Craig) working on the right flank, but the 56ers still couldn't break through.

Meyer had his shot from the doorstep cleared off the line in the 51st after a nifty sequence that included Pateros and UW-Green Bay forward Ilya Ksenidi (West Allis Hale); Ksenidi pulled Rodriguez off his line in the 55th but rolled a shot wide; and UW-Green Bay midfielder J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside) fired his shot well over the crossbar in the 67th after another nice interchange involving right back Trevor Banks (Madison Memorial) and Pateros.

"That's how it was last night," Launder said of the missed opportunities. "We probably had more chances like that last night."

Fraboni finally got the 56ers on the board from the spot in the 76th. Fraboni, normally a midfielder or forward, surged forward from his right back spot and was taken down by Jones in the box as he tried to work toward the goal on the byline. Fraboni went to Rodriguez's left on the penalty kick.

After Butitta's two goals had seemingly sealed the outcome, OLF Select continued to go forward and were rewarded when 56ers center back Taylor Diem (Middleton/Hofstra) pushed down Papa Cone in the box in the last of 5 minutes of stoppage time. Olayo stepped up and buried the penalty to account for the final score.

"It was a good game for us. They've got a good team, they played well," Launder said of the OLF Select team. "They had a couple of guys I talked to for next year."

OLF president Ulises Meza, meanwhile, was thrilled with his club's performance.

The OLF is a non-profit organization that runs three leagues in Madison — competitive and recreational leagues for adult men, along with a youth league — and hopes to field a team in the NPSL in the near future. Its goal is to help players reach the professional level, and the Select team coach, Jose Mora, has a USSF B License. Meza said that the OLF is developing a relationship with storied Mexican club Pachuca.

"Today is the first time that we've played on this kind of level, this organized of a game," Meza said. "So I think this is the beginning, a good beginning."

For more information about the OLF, visit the group's Web site.

From the touchline

The Twin Stars took the lead in the NPSL Midwest with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Fire NPSL on Sunday. To win the title, the 56ers need to beat FC Indiana and Eau Claire Aris FC next weekend at Breese Stevens, have the Fire lose or tie at least one of their matches against Eau Claire Aris FC or FC Indiana and have FC Indiana beat or tie St. Paul on July 26. ... Launder expects right back Brian Bultman (UW) to be able to play next weekend after missing Saturday's game because of a pulled hamstring. However, Launder said that injured defender Taylor Waspi (UW) and midfielder-forward Demetrius White likely won't be ready. ... None of the 56ers' five UW players were available Sunday — those who aren't injured were working at a UW soccer camp. ... The 56ers played a Madison Latino League All-Star team in 2006, winning 9-1.

Organizacion Latina de Futbol — Fernando Olayo 44
Madison 56ers — Gaelan Fraboni (penalty kick) 76
Madison 56ers — Vince Butitta (Nick Kay) 90
Madison 56ers — Vince Butitta (Gaelan Fraboni) 90+
Organizacion Latina de Futbol — Fernando Olayo (penalty kick) 90+

ORGANIZACION LATINA DE FUTBOL: Omar Rodriguez; Armando Flores, Carlos Vitela, Adrian Garcia, Ivan Abrajan; Antonio Mora, Ovidio Suarez, Sergio Marchetti, Joel Torrez; Alfredo Miranda, Jose Hernandez.
Substitutes (open): Fernando Jones, Fernando Olayo, Papa Cone, Leonardo Oseguera, Geovanny Martinez, Alein Camara.
MADISON 56ERS: Nick Powell; Chris Brown, Taylor Diem, Zakim Abraham, Gaelan Fraboni; William Bagayoko, Eric Meyer, Will Ziegahn, Richard Rowell, Clayton Ramirez; Nick Kay.
Substitutes (open): Tyrone Creech, Vince Butitta, Baboucarr Njie, J.C. Banks, Kyle Pateros, Ilya Ksenidi, Trevor Banks, Bram Dorrestyn.

Saves: OLF (Rodriguez) 6; M (Powell) 1. Shots: OLF 9, M 16. Corner kicks: OLF 3, M 9. Fouls: OLF 11, M 10. Offsides: OLF 4, M 2. Discipline: OLF — Olayo (76, caution). Att. — 375.