If the Tropics SC are going to win the United Premier Soccer League championship this weekend, they’ll have to beat the defending champions to bring a title back to Polk County.
The Tropics – the only undefeated team left in this weekend’s national Final Four – have drawn one of the sport’s most iconic teams in Saturday’s semi-finals when they match up against the Milwaukee Bavarian SC. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. Central Standard time at Kangaroo Stadium in Weatherford, Texas. The game will be streamed live at www.mycujoo.tv/upsl.
Not only are the Bavarian the reigning UPSL champs, but they also won the national men’s amateur crown in 2018 which automatically qualified them for this year’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
“We’ve gotten this far because of hard work and humility,” Head Coach Lucas Teixeira said. “We believe in ourselves and in a team. We know we’ve drawn one of the top teams in the country, but we believe we are one of the top teams in the country too.”
Milwaukee’s history as a soccer club dates all the way back to 1929, while the Tropics SC are in their first season of play.
The Tropics (16-0-0) punched their Final Four ticket with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over World Class Premier, a Maryland based team, two weekends ago in Savannah, Ga. The Bavarians (9-1-1) also came from behind but rolled to a 5-1 win over Mass United FC last weekend.
It was the first time all season the Tropics had trailed in a game all season, but an equalizer in the 25th minute from Melvin Boetang tied it at 1-1 to set the stage for the squad’s dynamic duo to complete the comeback.
Win or lose, the weekend will be bittersweet for the Tropics and their fans. Ricardo Diegues and Victor Parreiras, who teamed on the game-winner two weeks ago, have played together for the last eight years, after meeting as newly enrolled students at UT-Brownsville in 2012. They are the leading all-time scorers for the Florida Tropics of the Major Arena Soccer League – who will start their fourth season of play late this fall at the RP Funding Center. Diegues, despite missing a half the regular UPSL season, leads the outdoor team in goals and has scored in four straight playoff games. Parreiras, who assisted on his good friends game-winner in Savannah, had a three-playoff game goal-scoring streak stopped in the triumph
Both free agents after the indoor season ended, Parreiras elected to re-sign to stay in Lakeland, while Diegues signed a three-year deal with Utica City FC of the MASL.
“They are both unbelievable talents,” said Lucas Teixeira, head coach of the Tropics SC and teammates with the pair for the last three indoor seasons here. “To be able to play alongside both, and now to be with them as a coach on this fantastic journey, has truly been a privilege. The good news is we are far from a two-player team, but it would be special for them to celebrate a championship together one last time.”
Saturday’s winner will meet the winner of the other semi-final game between Salt Lake City-based Utah Murcielagos and Southwest FC out of El Paso. The championship game is Sunday with an 11 a.m. CDT start.