Kyle Ingold scored with about 15 minutes remaining to snap a tie, then added an insurance goal by drawing and converting a last-minute penalty kick as the Milwaukee Kickers knocked off Bavarian SC 3-1 in the 2010 Wisconsin Open Cup final on Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
With the win, the Kickers — who had lost to Bavarian SC in the state final each of the past three years — earned the state championship, plus a berth in next spring’s USASA Region II tournament, which also is a qualifier for the US Open Cup.
Nick Walls gave the Kickers (4-1-2 overall) the early lead on an odd play about 5 minutes into the match. A long throw-in sailed into the box and took a big bounce over the Bavarian SC goalkeeper, and the one-time Chicago Fire player beat a defender to the ball and fired home for a quick 1-0 advantage.
The Kickers were forced to use two of their four substitutes for injuries around the 35th minute, with two defenders coming off, and Bavarian SC seized control of the match.
The Bavarians, who have qualified for the U.S. Open Cup six times since 1995 — a record for an amateur team during the tournament’s “professional era” — got the equalizer about 5 minutes before halftime when Dave Treblinski made a good run to the far post and one-touched a volley into the net off a cross.
The teams, who played a 0-0 draw in a Wisconsin Adult Soccer Association Major League opener on Sept. 13, went back and forth with the score 1-1 until Ingold’s first goal. A corner kick was knocked around the box and popped out to Ingold, who half-volleyed in a shot from about 12 yards out to break the tie.
The Bavarians (2-4-1) responded by pushing numbers forward in search of another equalizer — “They put up a fierce attack,” Kickers manager John Sweeney said — but goalkeeper Nick Farrell was up to the task.
Ingold’s late penalty iced the match for the Kickers, who also beat Bavarian SC 2-1 in the 2006 Wisconsin Open Cup semifinals (held in fall 2005), but were eliminated by the Croatian Eagles 5-4 on penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie in the final.