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Milwaukee Closes Out Horizon League Slate Saturday At Green Bay

Chancellor's Cup on the line in showdown with Phoenix

Oct. 22, 2007

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team closes out its regular season Horizon League schedule with just one game this week, heading north to take on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Saturday night.

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The match-up is not only a contest between longstanding Horizon League rivals, but also marks the annual battle for the Chancellor's Cup. The Cup, which originally began as a tournament of Wisconsin state schools in the 1980's, is now given to the winner in the annual UWM-UWGB game. The Panthers currently own the Cup thanks to a 1-0 victory at Engelmann Field last season.

UWM has dominated the series of late, winning six of the past seven matchups while posting a 12-2-2 record in the last 16 meetings. UWM has met UWGB 35 times on the soccer field, second only to Cleveland State (36) for most matches against any opponent in program history. Milwaukee leads the all-time series 21-11-3.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
GREEN BAY: The Phoenix slipped to 4-1-2 in the Horizon League and 9-3-4 overall with Sunday's 3-0 loss to Loyola. That setback was the first for Green Bay since Sept. 7, ending a 12-match (8-0-4) unbeaten streak that included Thursday's 1-0 victory over UIC. The unbeaten streak was the second-longest in program history, trailing only a 14-match run in 1992.

Junior goalkeeper Adam Stikl recorded five saves against UIC for his eighth shutout of the season. Stikl ranks second in the league with those eight shutouts and third with a 0.82 goals-against average. As a team, Green Bay has nine clean sheets, just one off the school's single-season record.

Fifteen of Green Bay's 20 goals this season have come after halftime. The Phoenix has been outscored 7-5 in the first half this season but owns a 15-7 edge after intermission.

ABOUT THOSE LEAGUE STANDINGS
With a new team in the mix (Valparaiso) pushing the program total to nine, the conference has also gone to a new playoff format for the league tournament this season. In years past, the No. 1 seed hosted the No. 8; the No. 2 seed hosted the No. 7 and so on. This season, the top two seeds receive byes all the way into the semifinals, while the No. 3 seed gets a bye from the first round. Higher seeds will host first round and quarterfinal games at their campus sites, with the semifinals and finals being host by the No. 1 seed.

That stated, UWM can still finish anywhere from second to fifth place despite the fact that they have just one league game left. Loyola wrapped up the top spot and hosting rights last week and currently holds a 5-0-2 record in league games. With a win being worth three points and a tie worth one, that gives the Ramblers 17 standings points. Green Bay currently sits second at 4-1-2 (14), Milwaukee third at 4-2-1 (13), Butler fourth at 3-2-2 (11) and UIC fifth at 2-1-3 (9).

The Panthers can:
-Be the No. 2 seed by beating Green Bay Saturday.
-Be the No. 3 seed if they lose to UWGB and Butler loses. UIC would also have to lose at least one of its final two games.
-Be the No. 4 seed if they lose and Butler beats Wright State in its final league game of the year. UIC would again also have to lose at least one of its final two games.
-Be the No. 5 seed if they lose, Butler wins and UIC wins its final two games of the league season against Loyola and Valparaiso.

The No. 2 seed would earn the team a bye into the semifinal round, but would then end up with no more home games on the 2007 schedule. As the No. 3, they would get a first round bye and host the winner of the No. 6/No. 7 game on Sunday, Nov. 11 at Engelmann Field. Lastly, as the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, they would play at home Friday, Nov. 9 and, with a win, would play again Sunday Nov. 11.

UWM was in the mix for a regular season crown until last week. Milwaukee had won the Horizon League regular season title in four of the past six seasons, posting a win-loss record of 38-5-4 in that span. The Panthers became the first-ever Horizon League school to win four-straight soccer titles (2002-05), breaking Evansville's old standard of three consecutive (1989-91).

THE WEEK THAT WAS
The offensive struggles continued for the UWM men's soccer team as it dropped a pair of Horizon League contests last week. The team fell, 1-0, on Thursday to Loyola. Then, on Sunday, UWM went to Chicago but was defeated by UIC, 2-0.

SENIOR SALUTE
The match against Loyola Oct. 18 was Senior Night. Seven seniors - Steve Bode, Martin Castro, Zeke Dombrowski, Dan Horst, Chris Lins, Ken Ogorzalek and Tenzin Rampa were honored in a pregame ceremony before playing in their final regular season home game in a UWM uniform.

MILWAUKEE RUNS DEEP
One major strength of the 2007 team is the exceptional depth displayed at each position. So far this year, 24 different players have seen time, with 22 of them earning at least one start. Only two players, seniors Zeke Dombrowski and Tenzin Rampa, have started all 16 games with six others starting at least 11 times each. Thirteen different Panthers have notched at least one point this season with eight different players scoring at least one goal. Dombrowski leads the team in goals with four and points with 11, while also tying for the team lead with three assists. Junior Colin Baker and freshman Robert Refai both sit second place with six points each.

UWM TURNS THE BIG 4-0-0
The week of Oct. 14 was another great one for the Panthers, as they extended their unbeaten streak to six games with a tie against Wisconsin Oct. 10 and victories against Detroit and Cleveland State on the weekend. The 1-0 win over UDM was a big one, as it was the 400th victory in the history of the program.

Junior Grant Fernstrum led the way against Wisconsin, allowing only a goal on a penalty kick while making a career-high 11 saves in a 1-1 draw with the Badgers. On Friday, junior Colin Baker's 61st-minute goal was enough to get by Detroit, 1-0. The team then jumped out to a 2-0 lead on Cleveland State Sunday, getting two first half goals in less than two minutes from freshman Greg Rosenthal and senior Martin Castro, and then held on for a 2-1 victory.

CASTRO PICKS HIS SPOT
Senior Martin Castro netted the eventual game-winner Oct. 14 against Cleveland State when he scored at the 17:46 mark. The goal was not only his first game-winner in a Panther uniform, but came just 31 seconds after subbing into the match.

DOMBROWSKI LEADING THE WAY
Entering his senior season, Zeke Dombrowski had career totals of one goal, five assists and seven points. A little more than midway through the 2007 season, he had already eclipsed those numbers for goals and points. He has also been cited for his work in the classroom, earning Horizon League Scholar Athlete of the Week honors Oct. 8.

Entering play this week, he leads the team in goals (4), points (11), shots (42), shots on goal (16), minutes played (1,440) and is tied for the team lead in assists (3). His points have come at vital times as well, assisting the tying goal against Wisconsin Oct. 10 and the winning goals against Wright State Oct. 7 and Detroit Oct. 12.

CAREER EFFORT FOR FERNSTRUM
Seeing his first action since playing against No. 9 UC Santa Barbara back on Sept. 7, junior Grant Fernstrum responded in a big way. Getting the start against in-state rival Wisconsin Oct. 10, Fernstrum made a career-high 11 saves to help UWM earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw. Several of his stops were of the highlight variety and the only goal allowed came on a penalty kick that he nearly got a piece of as well. His 11 saves topped his previous career-best of nine that he made against #2 SMU August 27th of last season.

NOW THAT'S FAST!
Junior Travis Phillips gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead against Yale Sept. 23 before most people had even found their seats. Phillips caught the Yale goalkeeper off guard with a 35-yard blast off a free kick from near midfield in the first minute of play. The tally at the 55-second mark was the sixth-quickest goal to start a match in program history.

Quickest UWM Goal Scored To Start A Game
# Time...Date...Opponent...Player
1. 0:19...9/14/03...Memphis...B.J. Blake
2. 0:23...9/12/93...Alabama A&M...Jake Provan
3. 0:26...8/29/03...Northern Illinois...Bobby Lish
4. 0:32...9/17/80...Minnesota...Dave Dray
5. 0:49...11/15/02...Butler...Evan Richardson
6. 0:55...9/23/07...Yale...Travis Phillips

OVERTIME JINX CONTINUES
In settling for a 1-1 draw with Wisconsin Oct. 10, UWM saw a streak get extended once again that they would like to see end: the team is now 0-7-9 in its past 16 overtime matches. They were 0-2-2 in 2006, 0-3-5 in 2005 and lost in extra time in the final match of the 2004 season (2-1 at UCSB in the NCAA Tournament). The Panthers last OT win came on Oct. 31, 2004, a 1-0 win over Cleveland State.

TOUGH OPPONENTS
The 0-8 start looked bad on paper, but a closer look reveals that four of UWM's 2007 opponents are ranked, or have been ranked, in the national polls this season. UC Santa Barbara, Tulsa, Gonzaga and Cal Poly have all been ranked at some point. Additionally, the eight teams Milwaukee lost to own a combined 59-26-19 (.658 win percentage) record this season, including a 9-1-2 mark by Cal Poly, 8-3-2 by Gonzaga, 9-3-3 by Drake and 8-2-2 by both Dartmouth and Tulsa.

IT ISN'T LETTING UP OVERALL, EITHER
In addition to the .658 winning percentage that is owned by the eight schools that knocked off Milwaukee to start 2007, the Panthers also lead the way - so to speak - in another category. The overall record of all opponents on UWM's 2007 schedule is currently 113-100-56 (.524 winning percentage). The only other Horizon League team that has a total opponent win-loss record even close to .500 is Valparaiso, at a near break-even 106-105-40 (.502).

SO CLOSE, SO FAR
If it feels like the Panthers have been in every match but can't catch a few necessary breaks, it would be a fact. After a 1-0 defeat to Loyola Oct. 18, the trend sounds familiar: 15 of the last 18 UWM losses dating back to last season have been by just one goal.

Last year, the Panthers overall record consisted of nine losses, but eight of them were one-goal setbacks. Three of them came at the hands of Top 25 teams: 1-0 to No. 2 SMU Aug. 27, 2-1 to No. 6 Washington in overtime Sept. 10 and 1-0 to No. 12 UIC Oct. 3.

SLOW START NO WORRY
The Panthers may have been 0-8 for the first time ever, but a slow start is no indication of how the season will go at UWM. The team started 1-2-2 in 2004, only to finish the season at 14-5-3 overall. A 3-3 start in 2003 led to a 16-6-1 campaign, while a 2-3 start in 2000 led to a record of 11-9-1.

Also, in 2002, UWM did not have a victory after two games (0-1-1) but went on to produce a program-best record of 19-2-1.

FRESH FACES
The Panthers newcomers continue to make an impression on the line-up, as 10 have already seen time on the field in 2007, including eight who have made starts. That trend continued against Cleveland State Oct. 14, as Elliott Dunn, Greg Rosenthal, Van Hong, Ben Chavers and Raphael Martinez were all in the starting line-up. They've handled the pressure of big games too: Rosenthal, Martinez and Calvin Mai were in the starting line-up against UC Santa Barbara Sept. 7, playing the defending national champions.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR MARTINEZ
Speaking of the newcomers, Raphael Martinez was given some national recognition in the preseason when College Soccer News tabbed him as one of its "100 Freshman To Keep An Eye On In 2007". The website noted his playing for the club team Chicago Magic, his 17 goals and seven assists as a senior and that he was an NSCAA Youth All-American.

HOME COOKING
Despite a 2-3-2 mark at Engelmann in 2007, the Panthers still rank right up there with the best in the country when it comes to home-field advantage. In 2006, that was no different, as the Panthers posted back-to-back shutouts to open the home slate and finished 7-2-1. Since the start of the 2001 season, UWM has turned Engelmann Field into a place visiting teams do not want to see on their schedule. They have gone 52-8-3 on their home pitch in that time, including a 13-2 mark in postseason play and a perfect 2-0 mark in NCAA Tournament action.

SENIOR CLASS READY TO RETURN TO FORM
The seniors on the 2007 squad will look to go out on a high note, and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament is what they have in mind. After going to the second round of the tournament in each of their first two seasons, the seniors will look to improve on their 2-1-1 NCAA ledger in four games with a return trip this fall.

THE DRIVE FOR 400
The Panthers hit a significant milestone in their history Oct. 12 against Detroit: all-time program victory No. 400. UWM entered play in 2007 with an all-time mark of 397-222-53, a .635 winning percentage.

MILESTONE PROGRAM WINS:
1: Marquette, 4-1 (9/22/73)
50: UW-Green Bay, 4-0 (10/7/78)
100: Northern Illinois, 4-3 (11/6/82)
150: Cleveland State, 2-1 (10/18/87)
200: Michigan State, 4-0 (10/13/91)
250: Cleveland State, 5-0 (10/15/95)
300: Loyola (MD), 2-0 (9/17/00)
350: Detroit, 3-0 (9/28/03)
400: Detroit, 1-0 (10/12/07)

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS
The Panthers were picked by league coaches to place third in the Horizon League regular season, according to the results of the preseason poll announced Aug. 23 by the league office. Milwaukee has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in five of the past six seasons, reaching the second round in the last four it appeared (2002-05). It has compiled a league record of 34-5-3 in that time.

UIC, the regular season champion in 2006, took the top spot this year with 64 points and eight first place votes (all possible). Green Bay edged out UWM for second, compiling 53 points (and one first place vote) to the 48 that the Panthers received. This marks just the second time in the past six years that the Panthers were not chosen as the favorite. In 2006, they were tabbed for a second place finish.

1. UIC (8 first place votes) - 64 pts.
2. Green Bay (1) - 53
3. Milwaukee - 48
4. Loyola - 45
5. Butler - 31
6. Cleveland State - 27
7. Detroit - 25
8. Wright State - 23
9. Valparaiso - 8

ON TAP
Milwaukee continues with non-conference action next week Wednesday, traveling across town to Valley Fields for its annual Milwaukee Cup showdown with Marquette. The Panthers and Golden Eagles, who are led by former UWM head coach Louis Bennett, kick off at 7 p.m.