No. 10 Panthers Set To Host NCAA TournamentComplete Release in PDF Format
Nov. 22, 2002 MILWAUKEE - No. 10 Panthers Set To Host NCAA Tournament Game The "third season" is set to begin for the No. 10 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team. The Panthers, fresh off a perfect showing in both the Horizon League regular season and postseason tournament, will host Oakland University in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament, Saturday (Nov. 23) at Engelmann Field. The contest, which kicks off at noon, will be the first NCAA game ever to be played on the UWM campus. Milwaukee earned an automatic berth into the "Big Dance" with an 8-0 win over Cleveland State in the Horizon League Tournament final while Oakland earned the Mid-Continent Conference's automatic berth with a 3-0 win over Western Illinois in its league championship game. The winner of the UWM/OU game will advance to Wednesday's second round versus Creighton at 6:30 p.m. at Tranquility Park in Omaha, Neb. The Louis Bennett File Heading the UWM men's soccer program for the seventh season as head mentor and tenth in the program is head coach Louis Bennett. A veteran of the United States professional ranks, Bennett boasts a career 91-47-8 record in seven-plus seasons, including last season's 18-5-0 campaign. The 18 victories mark the most ever in school-history as Bennett garnered Horizon League and Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors. Under Bennett's watch, UWM has won two conference titles while advancing to the NCAA Tournament once. Bennett is assisted on the sidelines by six-year aide Stan Anderson and first-year man Jon Coleman. Anderson has been Bennett's assistant since he took the job while Coleman, a former Panther, has spent time volunteering with the program. Panthers Hope Fifth Time The Right Time Friday's contest will mark the fifth time in school history that UWM has reached the NCAA Tournament, with all four subsequent appearances ending in losses. All but one of the Panthers' NCAA losses have been by one goal with one, last season's 2-1 defeat to UM-Kansas City in St. Louis, Mo., coming in overtime. Two of UWM's NCAA games have been played on the road with one, a 2-1 loss to Cleveland State in 1979, played in Milwaukee at Bavarian Field. Louis, Louis Wins Again For the second consecutive season University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer coach Louis Bennett was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in a vote by his conference peers. Bennett, who won the honor outright last season, shared the 2002 award with Cleveland State University head man Pete Curtis. Bennett, whose squad is 18-1-1 and ranked No. 10 nationally, has posted a 36-6-1 record in the last two season. Panthers Stay Strong In The Region The Panthers appear to be in a holding pattern and circling the runway on the top spot in the NSCAA/Great Lakes Region Poll. For the fifth consecutive week, UWM holds the No. 2 spot in the region behind 14-3-2 Indiana. Milwaukee's first round NCAA opponent Oakland is ranked ninth in the region while, Creighton, the possible second round foe, is ranked second in the Midwest region. Panthers Streak Best In The Land Since tying No. 4 SMU on Labor Day, UWM has ran off 18 consecutive victories, the best streak in school history and the best current streak in all of Division I soccer. During that time, the Panthers have outscored the opposition 66-8 in the 18 contests and have been scored on more than once in just one game, a 4-2 win at Illinois-Chicago on Oct. 2. Antou Named League's Best Player In what turned out to be a mere formality, UWM sophomore Antou Jallow was named the Horizon League Player of the Year last Friday. Jallow, who leads the league in points (51), goals (23), and game-winning goals (7), became the second straight Panther to win league POY honors, following former teammate Ryan Seymour who won the award last season. The only other time a UWM player earned league POY honors was 1993 when Tony Sanneh did the trick in the Mid-Continent Conference. Jallow Shatters UWM Scoring Mark With an eight-yard rebound goal versus Loyola in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament on Friday (Nov. 15), Sweden-native Antou Jallow became UWM's single-season goal record holder. With the marker, Jallow became the first Panther in school history to reach the 20-goal mark in a season. With three more goals in the Horizon League Tournament, the sophomore striker now has 31 goals in only two seasons on campus. The 31 tallies are good enough for an eighth place tie on the school's all-time list. Enough Antou? Not Quite Lead the team in scoring? Check. Lead the the Horizon League in scoring? Check. Lead the nation in scoring? Check. Entering the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Antou Jallow has pulled off the triple-crown of scoring in college soccer. With his 23 goals and 51 overall points, the Swedish sophomore not only leads his team and the league in both categories, but he also leads all Division I soccer players in both statistical areas as well. Furthermore, Jallow is the only underclassmen in the top 15 scorers in the nation, making him an early favorite in next year's scoring race. Owning Engelmann There is no place the UWM men's soccer team would rather be on Saturday than Englemann Field. The Panthers are currently 12-0-0 at home in 2002, outscoring the visitors 49-4 in the process. Over the last two seasons, Milwaukee is 17-0 at home during the regular season and 23-1 overall, with the only loss coming to Butler in last year's Horizon League Championship game. Howver, Saturday's contest will mark the first NCAA Tournament game ever to be played at Engelmann Field. Dadaian Keeps 'Em Out It's not that Chris Dadaian doesn't like goals. He just doesn't like them in his own net. His sanctuary. His home. According to the latest NCAA statistics Dadaian is the stingiest goalkeeper in the country as his 0.34 goals against average is the best in all of college soccer. The 6-1 senior is a remarakable 15-0 this season with nine shutouts wile allowing just five goals in 1311+ minutes in net. The New Berlin, Wis.-native now has 41 career wins and 21 career blinders, both tops on UWM's all-time goalkeeping charts. Format Change For NCAA Tourney For the second consecutive season, the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament will feature a 48-team field. However, unlike last year, the format for the first two rounds has changed. The first round, which begins on Friday (Nov. 22), will feature 16 games at campus sites, with the top 16 seeds receiving byes. The 32 remaining teams will then play second-round games at different campus sites with those games being played Wednesday (Nov. 27). Score, Score, Score 68 goals. 67 assists. 12 games with three or more goals. 11 players with at least two goals on the season. Yep, all this can only mean one thing: the 2002 UWM men's soccer team is one of the top scoring teams in the country. With the aforementioned 68 points in 20 games, Milwaukee has scored 3.40 goals per game, good for second best in the nation. The Panthers trail only UNC Greensboro who averages 3.45 goals per game with 76 goals in 22 contests. Defense Not To Be Outdone For those who like defense. Skip the last note. This one's for you. 11 shutouts.One goal allowed in seven games. Two goals allowed in 10 games. Three goals allowed in seven conference games. Not only does UWM have one of the best scoring offenses in the nation, it also boasts one of the stingiest defenses in all the land as well. With 11 goals allowed in 20 games Milwaukee's 0.54 team GAA is good for third in the country while its 55% shutout percentage is tied for sixth best in the country. UWM Boasts Balanced Attack Yes, Milwaukee does boast the nation's leading goal scorer in Antou Jallow. But a quick look at the Panthers' 2002 statistics will find one of the most balanced attacks in America. Including Jallow, eight different Panthers have reached double-figures in scoring with nine players having notched three goals or more. Junior forwards B.J. Blake and Bobby Lish have tallied 25 and 20 points respectively, while fellow junior attacker Kyle Lance has contributed 12 points of his own. Dombrowski's Get It Done While there is no truth to the rumor that UWM will change its nickname to the "Dombrowski's", it is evident that the West Allis family has been a major part of the Milwaukee men's soccer family. UWM currently has three Dombrowski brothers on the roster, while a fourth, Scott, graduated in 2000. Chad, a senior defender, and Tighe, a junior midfielder, are both two-time First-Team All-League performers while freshman Neil, has scored five goals and was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team. The brothers have combined for 15 goals and 16 assists on the season. Scouting The Opposition - First And Second Round Opponents Oakland- The Golden Grizzlies will be making their first ever appearance in the Men's NCAA Soccer Tournament via an automatic berth from the Mid-Continent Conference. The Grizzlies, 10-7-3 on the season, claimed the Mid-Con Tournament crown with a 3-0 win over Western Illinois in the league championship game. Sophomore forward Philip Braathen leads the OU offensive attack with seven goals and 18 points on the year. The Mid-Con Player of the Year is helped out defensively by goalkeeper Jeff Weise, who was named the league's Newcomer of the Year. UMW leads the all-time series with Oakland 3-1-1 in addition to a 2-0 win in exhibition play earlier this season. Creighton- A national power with final four appearances in 1996 and 2000 to its credit, the Creighton University men's soccer team is back for its 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays, currently ranked No. 11 in the nation in the NSCAA Top 25 poll, earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over Bradley in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Bluejays boast a 15-3-2 mark on the year which includes a 7-1-1 record at home. Three-time, First-Team All-MVC performer Mike Tranchilla leads the CU offense with 12 goals, four assists and 28 points while sophomore forward Julian Nash has contributed seven goals and eight assists for 22 points. CU and UWM are 1-1-1 in three previous contests, including a 3-0 Panther win last season at Tranquility Park in Omaha.
ON THE RECORD WITH LOUIS BENNETT:
Coach Bennett on the NCAA Tournament: "I think hosting an NCAA game at Engelmann Field is obviously a real benchmark and a real historical point in the program's history. It's an exciting team to be a part of UWM soccer. The alumni and the community are really embracing this opportunity. You play the whole season for this. You have mini-goals leading up to this but it's all really just working towards qualifying for the NCAA Tournament."
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