Tweet
After a late afternoon of golf, I drove past the nearby Milwaukee County Sports Complex, formerly called Rampage Field, located near the golf course and saw that the stadium lights were on. I decided to stop in and see what was happening. To my knowledge, there was little, if any well-publicized activity taking place there. Maybe it was a high school match.
I should note that Rampage Field is located on far south end of the city, the opposite side of town from my house on the northwest side.
The Uihlein (pronounced E-line) Soccer Complex is the other major
soccer complex, which is located three miles up the road from my house.
Five years ago, in late September, the Milwaukee Rampage won the A-League championship on that very pitch on a dramatic overtime goal before a jam-packed crowd of about 6,500. The Rampage were taken over by the Milwaukee Wave indoor team, who then launched an ill-fated attempt to play professional outdoor soccer with indoor players.
Saturday, it was only fitting that a championship soccer match was taking place. At stake was the championship of the Wisconsin Latino Soccer League, which has teams from the Milwaukee area, Madison, and Green Bay, and possibly elsewhere Jalisco, of Milwaukee. wearing blue-and gold Boca-Juniors style uniforms, was playing San Jose of Green Bay, who wore simple white and black.
On hand was a raucous, spirited crowd of about 1,500, most of them Jalisco supporters.
The play was befitting a championship game. The play was crisp, intense, physical, but clean. San Jose scored about the 15th minute, and Jalisco answered at the 35th.
One eerie feature about Rampage Field: At night, hen you look out from the bleachers on the west side, the background to the north, east, and south is absolutely are spectator mounds leading up to nothing but blackness. The four light towers are located below, near the corners of the field.
The area is located in a swampy area, and on a cool night, ground fog settles in, giving the grass a glassy sheen, creating an almost surreal effect. It almost seems like soccer's answer to "Field Of Dreams".
It happened again, the fog began covering the field. The fact that about half the crowd smoked cigarettes added to the effect. Too bad this wasn't Jamaica, I know what they would be smoking.
Jalisco's goalie made some huge saves to keep his team in the game through regulation and one overtime period to keep the game tied at 1-1.
In the penalty kick shootout, with Jalisco shooting first, both teams scored on the first two attempts. In the third round, Jalisco scored,
then Jalisco's goalie made a great save on San Jose, batting the ball over
the crossbar.
Both teams scored in the fourth round, and Jalisco scored in the fifth round to win the shootout 5-3.
As the Jalisco fans stormed across the field to the team's bench, I sat in the bleachers, looked around, imagined two stone walls at the end of the field.
This is Prison Oval. Indy City has just won the Major League championship.
I should note that Rampage Field is located on far south end of the city, the opposite side of town from my house on the northwest side.
The Uihlein (pronounced E-line) Soccer Complex is the other major
soccer complex, which is located three miles up the road from my house.
Five years ago, in late September, the Milwaukee Rampage won the A-League championship on that very pitch on a dramatic overtime goal before a jam-packed crowd of about 6,500. The Rampage were taken over by the Milwaukee Wave indoor team, who then launched an ill-fated attempt to play professional outdoor soccer with indoor players.
Saturday, it was only fitting that a championship soccer match was taking place. At stake was the championship of the Wisconsin Latino Soccer League, which has teams from the Milwaukee area, Madison, and Green Bay, and possibly elsewhere Jalisco, of Milwaukee. wearing blue-and gold Boca-Juniors style uniforms, was playing San Jose of Green Bay, who wore simple white and black.
On hand was a raucous, spirited crowd of about 1,500, most of them Jalisco supporters.
The play was befitting a championship game. The play was crisp, intense, physical, but clean. San Jose scored about the 15th minute, and Jalisco answered at the 35th.
One eerie feature about Rampage Field: At night, hen you look out from the bleachers on the west side, the background to the north, east, and south is absolutely are spectator mounds leading up to nothing but blackness. The four light towers are located below, near the corners of the field.
The area is located in a swampy area, and on a cool night, ground fog settles in, giving the grass a glassy sheen, creating an almost surreal effect. It almost seems like soccer's answer to "Field Of Dreams".
It happened again, the fog began covering the field. The fact that about half the crowd smoked cigarettes added to the effect. Too bad this wasn't Jamaica, I know what they would be smoking.
Jalisco's goalie made some huge saves to keep his team in the game through regulation and one overtime period to keep the game tied at 1-1.
In the penalty kick shootout, with Jalisco shooting first, both teams scored on the first two attempts. In the third round, Jalisco scored,
then Jalisco's goalie made a great save on San Jose, batting the ball over
the crossbar.
Both teams scored in the fourth round, and Jalisco scored in the fifth round to win the shootout 5-3.
As the Jalisco fans stormed across the field to the team's bench, I sat in the bleachers, looked around, imagined two stone walls at the end of the field.
This is Prison Oval. Indy City has just won the Major League championship.