Oct. 15, 2001

MILWAUKEE (Oct. 15, 2001) -- The No. 16 UWM men's soccer team (11-2, 3-0 Horizon) is aiming to capture its sixth-straight win on Wednesday when they host Northern Illinois at 3 p.m. Playing for the John Lewang Memorial Cup, the Panthers are also hoping to claim their third and final cup game of the season after winning the previous two games against Marquette and Green Bay. Following Wednesday's match, Milwaukee travels to Ohio to take on Akron on Friday at 6:15 p.m. and then Cleveland State for a league game on Sunday at noon.

The Panthers are coming a pair of 2-1 league wins last week on the road, first defeating Green Bay Tuesday night and then Loyola on Friday night. The victories helped propel UWM to a No. 16 ranking in the NSCAA poll this week, down from a No. 19 ranking last week.

Northern Illinois (3-9, 1-4 MAC) is coming off Sunday's 2-1 overtime loss against Western Michigan, while Akron (6-3-1, 5-1 MAC) won its game on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over Wright State. Cleveland State (2-11, 1-5 Horizon) is coming off a 5-2 league loss against UIC on Sunday, after Thursday's 1-0 defeat by No. 22 Ohio State.

UWM beat all three opponents last year, posting a 4-2 result against Northern Illinois, a 2-1 victory over Akron and a 1-0 win against Cleveland State. UWM leads the all-time series against Northern Illinois, 13-11-3, while Akron holds the series at 8-7. The series is tied against Cleveland State, 12-12-2.

UWM Recap

* The Panthers defeated Loyola, 2-1, on Friday night to win their fifth-straight game. UWM had the two-goal lead before allowing Loyola to score a late goal. Kevin Roethe scored on a header in the 16th minute off an assist from Chad Dombrowski, while UWM was credited with its second goal after a Loyola own goal in the 48th minute.

* UWM defeated Green Bay, 2-1, in overtime on the road to capture the Chancellor's Cup trophy on Tuesday night. Down a goal since the 25th minute, Ryan Seymour scored the equalizer with just seven minutes to play to force overtime, while defender Ian Hoelker scored the golden goal in the 99th minute. Senior Marc Pehowski assisted on both goals.

UWM (11-2, 3-0 Horizon) Game Notes

* Down 1-0 against Green Bay, the Panthers recorded their first win of the season in a game in which they failed to score first. The Panthers were 0-2 in games they trailed, with losses coming against Southwest Missouri State (2-1) and Bowling Green (1-0).

* Goalkeepers Chris Dadaian and Brad Swenby have been battling close for the starting spot in front of the net for UWM. Both have been playing well for UWM, though Dadaian has seen more time as he has started eight games including Friday night's start against Loyola. Posting a 7-1 record, Dadaian has recorded four shutouts and a 0.88 GAA. Swenby had started the previous three matches including the game against Green Bay, and has a 4-1 record on the season and 0.94 GAA.

* Ryan Seymour leads UWM in scoring with 25 points, including nine goals and seven assists. Seymour leads the league in points, shots (61) and goals (9). Seymour and Kyle Lance are tied for the lead league in assists (7), while Lance is second on team scoring with 17 points (5g, 7a). Antou Jallow is third on the team with 16 points (8g), while defender Chad Dombrowski has 10 points (3g, 4a).

* According to the Horizon League release last week, UWM leads the league in most major team statistical categories, including shots, points, goals, assists, goals allowed per game and shutouts.

Panther Injuries

Starting defenders Chad Dombrowski and Evan Richardson both suffered severe ankle injuries against Wisconsin, but Dombrowski returned to the lineup in last week's games. Richardson is possible to train this week. Antou Jallow missed the game against Loyola after suffering a knee injury against Green Bay. The central midfielder had started every game for the Panthers, but will be out from training while also waiting the results of an MRI. Freshman Ian Hoelker has started in place of Richardson, while Kevin Roethe started for Jallow in the center midfield against Loyola and recorded his first goal of the season.

Sweeping The State

UWM stands at top of the Wisconsin schools after posting wins over Marquette (2-1), Wisconsin (3-1) and Green Bay (2-1 OT) this season. The last time the Panther swept all three state opponents was in 1991 under former head coach Brian Tompkins. The Panthers then defeated Green Bay, 3-1, Wisconsin, 2-0, and Marquette, 2-1, in overtime.

Possessing All Three Cups

UWM has a tradition of playing annual cup games during the season. Milwaukee currently has possession of the Milwaukee Cup, won 2-1 against city-rival Marquette, and also the Chancellor's Cup with a 2-1 win against state-rival Green Bay. Milwaukee is searching to capture its third cup when it hosts Northern Illinois for the John Lewang Memorial Cup. The last time UWM retained all three trophies was in 1996 with scores of 2-1 against Green Bay, 2-1 against Marquette and 1-0 against Northern Illinois.

John Lewang Memorial Cup History

Former UWM Chancellor Frank Horton and Northern Illinois President William Monat, who were long-time friends, thought about adding a friendly rivalry between their schools in the early 1980s. The idea soon became reality following a tragedy at NIU.

In 1981, Northern Illinois men's soccer coach John Lewang was killed in a car accident, and the two campus leaders decided to honor the late coach with a traveling trophy named on his behalf.

In 1980 and his only season as NIU's head coach, Lewang guided his team to a 0-0 tie against a UWM squad that was ranked 11th in the nation at that time.

UWM possess the cup after last year's come-from-behind 4-2 victory in Dekalb, Ill. The Panthers have taken home the trophy 12 times in the 20-year history of the cup and look to retain it on Wednesday.

Northern Illinois (3-9, 1-4 MAC) Game Notes

* The Huskies are coming off a 2-1 loss in overtime to Western Michigan on Sunday. Western scored in just the third minute, but an own goal gave NIU the equalizer a minute later. After early goals, scoring fell stagnant through regulation and Western scored the golden goal in the seventh minute of overtime. Both teams tallied 23 shots, while NIU took the advantage on shots on goal, 11-7.

* The Huskies lost its previous game against UIC, 1-0, on Thursday. Their other match-up with the Horizon League gave the Huskies a 1-0 loss against Loyola.

* NIU has been outscored, 24-10, on the season. Peter Agrimson and Bruce Conrad lead the team in scoring with six points (2g, 2a each).

* Rashih Pala has started every game in goal for the Huskies, recording 57 saves and a 1.94 GAA.

Akron (6-3-1, 5-1) Game Notes

* The Zips are on a six-game winning streak after capturing a 1-0 win over Wright State on Sunday. Bruce Murphy scored an unassisted goal in the 34th minute for the game-winner.

* The Zips have outscored their opponents, 16-13, on the season. Tobrbjorn Birkeland and Orjan Bjanesko lead Akron with seven points (3g, 1a each), while Will Kletzien follows with five points (2g, 1a) in team scoring.

* Three goalkeepers have seen action for the Zips. Kyle Milligan leads the team with 0.69 GAA in six games, recording three shutouts and a 6-0 record. Matt Balkanloo has a 2.00 GAA in two games, while Dan Pinho recorded a 2.14 GAA in two games as well.

Cleveland State (2-11, 1-5 Horizon) Game Notes

* The Vikings are coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 22 Ohio State. CSU is now 2-5 on the season in games that are decided by one goal.

* CSU is on a six-game losing streak, with its last win coming on Sept. 22. The Vikings have been outscored, 31-14, on the season.

* Joachim Walker has scored half of the team's goals, recording seven goals and one assist for 15 points. Misha Levkov is second on the team in scoring with five points (2g 1a).

* James Kryger has started 11 games for CSU, recording a 2-9 record and 2.18 GAA on 63 saves. Josip Novkovic has played in three games and posts a 0-2 record and 3.07 GAA, tallying 17 saves.

Defense

After allowing 37 goals scored last season, the Panthers have allowed just 12 goals scored so far this season while scoring 34 goals. The Panthers' defense consists of juniors Chad Dombrowski and Evan Richardson and freshmen Khaled El-Ahmad and Trent Furtsch. With Richardson recently injured, Ian Hoelker has started for the Panthers defense.

Scoring First Leads To Wins

* A growing trend with the 2001 Panthers is scoring first. Ten of Milwaukee's 11 games have come when the Panthers take the initial lead. UWM won its first come-from-behind victory after trailing Green Bay, 1-0. UWM's two losses on the season have come when the Panthers failed to score first. Southwest Missouri State beat UWM, 2-1, and Bowling Green scored the golden goal in overtime to knock off the Panthers, 2-0.

Heading Into The 2001 Season

* The Panthers are picked to finish second in the Horizon League in a preseason poll of the league coaches.

* Milwaukee returns nine starters to the 2001 squad, including leading scorer and all-league second team selection Ryan Seymour and all-newcomer team selections Tighe Dombrowski and Kyle Lance.

* UWM coach Louis Bennett led his team to the league tournament semifinals last year and finished the season at 11-9-1. The Panthers ended the regular season tied for third in the conference.

Head Coach Louis Bennett

Louis Bennett, a native of Great Britain, is in his sixth season at the helm of the Panthers. After the pair of league wins over Green Bay and Loyola this past weekend, he posts a 68-43-7 record overall at UWM, including a 25-9-5 record in league play.

* Bennett was named MCC Coach of the Year in 1997 after leading the Panthers to the regular season conference crown and to the tournament championship game.