Sure, they were indoors at the McClain Facility on the University of Wisconsin campus in Madison, but they were playing the outdoor game Sunday -- or at least something pretty close to it.
The Milwaukee Wave United used the four-team, 9-on-9 tournament as the final stage of a four-day tryout camp that included about 25 players.
"I think there are some guys from this tryout who could help us," Wave United coach Art Kramer said after watching his teams go 1-1-3 in the round-robin of 35-minute, running-clock games on the FieldTurf surface.
The tournament also included A-League rival Minnesota Thunder and college teams from UW-Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Kramer understandably was more concerned with assessing players than results -- until the last game of the day.
That match, against Wisconsin's "Red" team, was the only one in which Kramer used all three of the regulars he brought -- defenders Chad Dombrowski and Steve Lawrence and forward Nick Walls - at the same time.
"What I said to the group that played that last game was ... 'The people that came to see the games today, they should get a little glimpse of what they may see this season,' " Kramer said. "I thought we executed pretty well that last game (a shutout victory). The other games were a real chance to look at some other guys."
And while it might not look like there are many open roster spots, Kramer says he is always looking to upgrade.
"There's no guaranteed contracts on our team that I know of," he said. "And if you don't have a guaranteed contract, then you know what - you're competing every day.
"A lot of guys call me up and say, 'Coach, how many spots do you have?' As far as I'm concerned, we've got 20 spots on the indoor team and we've got 26 spots on the outdoor team. If you come in and you play better than a guy we have ... then we'd be silly not to add you to our team."
TOURNAMENT ROSTER: The following players were listed on the Wave United roster for the 9-on-9 tournament in Madison:
Brad Swenby and Peter Boyer (goalkeepers); Ryan Barber, Arne Barez, Chad Dombrowski, Steve Lawrence, Geoff Miles, Ron Plute, Adam Schultz, Daniel Bustos, Victor Guerrero, Derek Kasten, Kyle Lance, Bobby Lish, Shane Lohr, Nino Marcantonio, Christain Porto, James Prosser, Sean Reti, Jose Villegas, Marcelu Uriarte, Nick Walls, Patrick Daka, Neil Krause, Eduardo Serrano and David Wiebenga.
Not all of the players listed above were present. The spellings for players' names came from the roster distributed at the tournament.
PRESEASON PLANS: The team will have another 40 players in for a tryout camp April 5 to 9 at Uihlein Soccer Park and the Marquette Valley Fields.
Training camp for the Wave United begins April 19, with five exhibition matches against college teams on tap.
"I think it prepares us as well as we could expect it to," Kramer said of facing the college teams.
Four of the games will be at Uihlein: vs. Northwestern, 2 p.m. April 21; vs. Wisconsin, 2 p.m. April 25; vs. Marquette, 5 p.m. April 28; and vs. UW-Milwaukee, 2 p.m. April 30. The lone road match is at NCAA Division II UW-Parkside, noon April 24 in Kenosha.
Wave United opens the regular season against the expansion Edmonton Aviators May 14 at Uihlein.
IF YOU CAN'T BEAT HIM, SIGN HIM: Forward Johnny Torres was a thorn in Milwaukee's side while playing for the Thunder the past two summers -- last year, the former Major League Soccer first-round draft pick had both goals in the Thunder's 2-1 extra-time, aggregate victory in the first round of the playoffs.
Now Torres is with the Wave United, after signing a three-year deal March 5 to play with the franchise indoors and outdoors.
"That was huge," Kramer said of signing the 27-year-old native of Colombia, whom he called the team's No. 1 priority during the offseason.
Torres, 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, had eight goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 92 matches in parts of five seasons with New England, Miami and Chicago in MLS from 1998 to 2002, then totaled 19 goals and 12 assists for 50 points in 47 games for the Thunder the past two years in the A-League.
He also trained with the MetroStars for part of the MLS preseason earlier this month.
"The first thing that jumps to mind is we did lack some pace up front last year -- I think that was quite obvious to myself and the other coaches -- so Johnny will help us in that area," said Kramer, whose team nonetheless led the A-League with 61 goals in 2003.
"And not only the pace, but he makes crafty runs, he makes great diagonal runs up front, and that was another area we were weak in last year."
With the addition of Torres, Wave United is set to have three of the league's top 20 scorers from last season: forward Greg Howes (11-12-34, fourth), forward Todd Dusosky (11-7-29, tied for fifth) and Torres (7-7-21, tied for 14th).
"Certainly Johnny's presence up front ... will add another element to our offense," Kramer said.
Torres joined the Wave indoor team, with whom he had played the past two seasons, after signing and has two goals in eight games.
LOOKING INWARD: With two games left in the regular season, the Wave has the best record in the Major Indoor Soccer League at 25-9 and has clinched the Central Division title -- and a first-round playoff bye. Because of the bye, Milwaukee will have a lengthy layoff between its regular-season finale April 3 at Baltimore and its playoff semifinal April 16 at home at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
Howes leads the MISL in goals and points with totals of 52-26-78 and is the odds-on favorite for league MVP. Dusosky stands fifth in scoring with 58 points on 23 goals and 35 assists.
Sixteen players on the Wave> '> s roster are under contract to play for Wave United this summer.
CORNER KICKS: Dombrowski, who had five goals and three assists for 13 points in 27 appearances (24 starts) last season, recently signed a two-year contract with the team. ... Kramer said both of last year's goalkeepers, starter Jim Larkin and backup Jeff Richey, are expected to return. ... None of the three players selected by Wave United in the A-League draft are with the team. Defender-midfielder David Wagenfuhr is with the Dallas Burn in MLS, and forward Aaron Paye signed with his homestate team, the Thunder, after becoming a free agent. Kramer said he remains in contact with the team's other draftee, midfielder Chad Riley, who is a free agent exploring his options. ... The Wave picked Wagenfuhr in the second round and Marcantonio in the third round of the MISL amateur draft earlier this month. Marcantonio had three goals and 10 assists for 16 points as a senior at Maryland last fall. ... Two Wave United regular-season games will be televised on Fox Sports World: June 18 at Virginia Beach and July 2 against Seattle.
