The Madison 56ers of the National Premier Soccer League are holding open tryouts for the 2012 season.

56ers coach Jim Launder and player-assistant Jed Hohlbein will evaluate players from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 1 at Madison indoor facility Salon Centinela, 5018 Blazing Star Drive.

There is a $25 fee to participate in the tryout, and all interested players must fill out a registration form (download PDF).

Philadelphia Union

Le Toux spotted with Tim Ream at Bolton's win over Liverpool on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Kyle Scott and crossingbroad.com

A report from The Bolton News on Friday quotes Wanderers' manager Owen Coyle on Sebastien Le Toux, "I've had some decent reports on him. He's very industrious, hard working and looks a very good team player, which is what I'm all about.

This past week has been a whirlwind for Fire fans. We had the MLS SuperDraft hoopla last week with a couple of new player signings sprinkled in (Robayo and Puppo). On the heels of that we had a sponsor announcement and new jersey unveiling. Somewhat lost in the shuffle was the announcement of the changes to the U.

The US Soccer Federation has approved a major change to the US Open Cup. A change that will certainly enhance how the tournament is played in the US.

The competition will feature a Modern Professional Era (1995-present) record 64 teams, including every US-based professional club in the American soccer pyramid from Major League Soccer (16 teams), the North American Soccer League (6 teams), and USL PRO (10 teams).

New England soccer fans who can't get enough of the sport will have plenty of opportunities to watch live soccer this summer, thanks in part to the arrival if three new USL Premier Development League (PDL) teams in the region. Boston Victory Soccer Club, Connecticut FC Azul and Worcester Hydra FC have all been announced over the past month as expansion clubs in the PDL.

One player who spent his summer playing soccer in Wisconsin is now a national champion.

Carlos McCrary came off the bench and played 11 minutes as third-ranked North Carolina tipped No. 14 Charlotte 1-0 in the NCAA Division I men's final Sunday in Hoover, Ala.

McCrary, a National Premier Soccer League All-Star after scoring five goals and adding two assists for the Madison 56ers last summer, was on the field for the lone goal of the match – an impressive curling, left-footed shot by Ben Speas from 25 yards out in the 65th minute.

Tonight there will be held the longest running US soccer tradition, the US Open Cup Final. Almost 100 years of soccer tradition and almost no one knows about it or even cares. I really started thinking about the US open cup because of the fact that a lot of supporters from our hated rival like to point out that they have won the thing twice now and are in the final tonight.

Milwaukee Bavarians midfielder Amilcar Herrera (Milwaukee Riverside) earned a spot on the National Premier Soccer League National Championships Best 11.

The Marquette player missed several late-season matches because of plantar fasciitis in his foot, but returned to the lineup for the Midwest Division champions for last week's NPSL Final Four in Madison, Ala.

It was just one of those nights for the Milwaukee Bavarians.

They created chance after chance, but couldn't score a goal. They hit the post, shot wide, shot high, had a goal ruled out for being offside, missed from 1 yard out and saw Erie Admirals goalkeeper Danny Mudd make a couple of nice saves.

Down a goal but fired up as the temperature dropped, the Milwaukee Bavarians had a shot.

Marquette midfielder Sebastian Jansson slipped a pass in from the left wing to UW-Parkside forward Cyril Simmons, who picked out the left corner of the goal. Hollywood United goalkeeper Raul Calderon was headed in the opposite direction, but was able to reverse course and grab the shot.

Three players from Wisconsin teams were named to the National Premier Soccer League All-Star team, which is set to play three matches over the next week.

Hartford's Anthony Santaga (Green Bay Notre Dame) and North Carolina's Carlos McCrary, both midfielders from the Madison 56ers, and Mountain State defender Pedashoo Deneus from Eau Claire Aris FC are part of the 21-player roster.

The first time Andreas Davi saw the movie "Miracle" a few years ago, he was still learning English and didn't quite fully understand coach Herb Brooks' infamous speech to the U.S. hockey team before their historic upset of the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

This summer did not live up to the expectations of Minnesota Kings FC owner Tim Haselberger. Both the men's team and the first-year women's team struggled during the season with player attendance and missed the play-offs. However, despite the on-field disappointment the Minnesota Kings FC organization has been taking large steps forward and is wasting no time improving the quality and size of their youth academy and adding to their training resources and facilities.

This summer did not live up to the expectations of Minnesota Kings FC owner Tim Haselberger. Both the men's team and the first-year women's team struggled during the season with player attendance and missed the play-offs. However, despite the on-field disappointment, the Minnesota Kings FC organization has been taking large steps forward and is wasting no time improving the quality and size of their youth academy and adding to their training resources and facilities.

The Milwaukee Bavarians will play West Division champion Hollywood United in the National Premier Soccer League national semifinals Thursday night in Madison, Ala. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

The Bavarians (8-2-2), who won their first Midwest Division title, are seeded third among the four teams.

Even though the MISL season has not begun you can still catch some great soccer.
The Milwaukee Wave will play two exhibition games this upcoming week featuring members of the 2011 Championship Team.
The Summer Soccer Showcase will be held on Wednesday, July 20th at 1 pm and the Beach Soccer game on Saturday, July 23rd at 2 pm.

Jed Hohlbein (Middleton/UW) scored two goals and set up the other as the Madison 56ers beat the Milwaukee Bavarians 3-1 in a National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division finale Saturday night at Breese Stevens Field.

The Bavarians (8-2-2) clinched their first Midwest title last weekend and already are planning for the NPSL Final Four in two weeks – coach Andreas Davi held out several players coming back from injuries and played UW-Milwaukee goalkeeper Bryce Boyd (Milwaukee Marquette) as a forward for the final 37 minutes.

The summer is only half over and yet the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season is nearing its completion. Despite the Twin Cities having a Division 2 soccer team in the NASL Minnesota Stars, we also have two NPSL teams: The St. Paul Twin Stars who are the oldest team going back to 2005 and the Minnesota Kings who started in NPSL play last year.

It was a night for firsts for the Milwaukee Bavarians.

UW-Milwaukee's Ryan Whitehead, a starting central defender for the team all season, made his first start for the team as a forward.

And all Whitehead did was score two goals to spark a 5-0 victory over host Eau Claire Aris FC that clinched the Bavarians' first National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division championship.

In a match that mirrored their season, the Madison 56ers had their chances to beat the Chicago Fire on Sunday, but couldn't quite get it done.

Hartford midfielder Anthony Santaga (Green Bay Notre Dame) scored equalizers in each half as the 56ers tied the Fire 2-2 in Cary, Ill.

Jim Launder certainly was pleased that his Madison 56ers beat Eau Claire Aris 4-0 on Saturday night at Breese Stevens Field. Perhaps more importantly, the coach liked the way in which his players executed his plan in doing so.

With a laundry list of players out due to injury and other reasons and facing another must-win match in the National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division on Sunday, Launder laid out a strategy.

After playing – or attempting to play – matches four times in six days last week, the Madison 56ers were able to return to a normal schedule this week.

One of coach Jim Launder's main tasks during the squad's three training sessions was to try to keep his team from being overconfident heading into Saturday night's game against Eau Claire Aris FC at Breese Stevens Field.

Henry Aiyenero succinctly summed up the past few days for Madison 56ers.

"It's been a weird week," the player-coach said after guiding the team to a 5-1 thumping of Minnesota Kings FC in a National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division match Sunday afternoon at Breese Stevens Field.

On one hand, Andreas Davi has reason to be concerned.

His Milwaukee Bavarians had plenty of possession and opportunities to put away their two National Premier Soccer League home matches over the weekend, but failed to do so and suffered their first loss in the process.

It was a night like few Jim Launder has seen in his seven seasons coaching the Madison 56ers.

Needing a win and some help from other teams to stay in the hunt for their second straight National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division title, the 56ers scored in the opening 30 seconds but clearly were the second-best team the rest of the night.

The senior MLS Chicago Fire team may keep drawing but that doesn't mean other Chicago soccer teams aren't pulling off victories. Follow me after the break for the latest on the Chicago Fire PDL's run in the U.S. Open Cup tournament and this weekend's playoff schedule for the Chicago Fire U-16 & U-18 Academy teams.

Sebastian Jansson scored in the 88th minute as the Milwaukee Bavarians strengthened their position on top of the National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division standings with a 2-1 win over the Madison 56ers on Saturday night in Milwaukee.

The Bavarians (5-0-2) lead the second-place Quad City Eagles (3-1-4) by four points and the 56ers (3-2-2) by six with five matches remaining in the league season.

The Milwaukee Bavarians moved into first place in the National Premier Soccer League's Midwest Division on Wednesday without having to even kick a ball.

The Chicago Fire forfeited their match scheduled for Wednesday night in Milwaukee because they didn't have enough players to field a team, Bavarians coach Andreas Davi said.

Jim Launder rolled the dice a bit Sunday and broke even.

With an eye toward Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup match, the Madison 56ers coach left several regular starters at home for his team's game against the Quad City Eagles in Moline, Ill.

The 56ers ended up settling for a 1-1 tie against the Eagles in a matchup of two of the top three teams in the National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division standings.

A day after a lopsided loss, Eau Claire Aris FC returned to Bollinger Fields looking to make amends Sunday.

They did just that, as French forward Renaud Sicard scored and Australian goalkeeper Troy Osborne turned in another fine performance in a 1-1 draw against the Milwaukee Bavarians in a National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division match.

The Milwaukee Bavarians gained an extra home match in National Premier Soccer League play, and made the most of the situation.

UW-Parkside's Cyril Simmons and Marquette's Amilcar Herrera (Milwaukee Riverside) scored as the Bavarians beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 in front of a good crowd in Glendale to remain perfect in Midwest Division play.

The Madison 56ers' injury problems at center back have now enveloped the team's goalkeepers, too.

UW-Parkside's Ryan Onwukwe is expected to be sidelined for two weeks because of a dislocated finger suffered in training this week, while Kyle Dillman (Madison La Follette) likely will be out for at least two more weeks as he recovers from a broken finger.

Once again after two full months of qualifying matches from Major League Soccer all the way down to the National Premier Soccer League, twenty-three spots along with seventeen automatic entrants have been filled for the 2011 Edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

A historical moment came to NPSL as they were allowed four spots, one per conference to enter the first round when they would normally enter thru US Adult Soccer Association qualifying.

Eau Claire Aris FC enjoyed its best weekend in its three seasons in the National Premier Soccer League, taking three points and coming close to claiming a fourth.

Renaud Sicard, a native of Paris who plays for NAIA Marian (Ind.), had a pair of goals in his debut as Aris scored three times in the second half to rally past Minnesota Kings FC 3-1 on Friday night at Bollinger Fields.

Marco Gutierrez scored in the final seconds of stoppage time as the Chicago Fire stunned the Madison 56ers 2-1 in a National Premier Soccer League Midwest Region match Saturday night at Breese Stevens Field.

Gutierrez's goal on a 2-on-1 with fellow second-half substitute Luke Zeiler came moments after midfielder Trevor Banks (Madison Memorial) equalized for the 56ers in the 90th minute.

Colin Mani (Madison Edgewood) and Henry Aiyenero are an unlikely center back pairing for the Madison 56ers.

But the University of Wisconsin player and the 37-year-old player-coach who is better known for his attacking skills did well last weekend, helping the 56ers post a pair of clean sheets.

After a tremendous spring exhibition season for Marquette, Adam Lysak (Milton) has continued his fine form.

The forward scored for the third consecutive match as the Madison 56ers completed a successful weekend trip to Minnesota with a 2-0 victory over the St. Paul Twin Stars in National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division play Sunday afternoon.

For the second straight week, the Madison 56ers had to deal with rain during their National Premier Soccer League match Saturday night.

But by the time thunderstorms hit Community Education Field in St. Michael, Minn., in the second half and led to a premature end to the game, the 56ers already were home and dry.

The Milwaukee Bavarians made the trip to the Twin Cities for a pair of National Premier Soccer League Midwest Division matches with just 13 players.

Then in the first half of Saturday night's game against the St. Paul Twin Stars, they had to use both of their available substitutes because of injuries.

Andreas Davi's team started the match against a strong wind, but the coach never felt like his Milwaukee Bavarians side was up against it in their National Premier Soccer League season opener Sunday afternoon.

"Even against the wind, we were in charge of this game," Davi said.