No. 10 UWM Men's Soccer Prepares For NCAA Second Round GameNov. 26, 2002 MILWAUKEE - No. 10 Panthers Prepare For NCAA Second Round The No. 10 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team is in uncharted territory from here on out. Thanks to a 2-1 win over Oakland University on Saturday (Nov. 23) the Panthers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. UWM, who had dropped its four previous NCAA contests, will head to Omaha, Neb. to face perennial college soccer power No. 11 Creighton University on Wed. (Nov. 27). The Panthers and Bluejays will square off at 6:30 p.m. at Tranquility Park. The game, which will be broadcast live, can be heard by visiting the Creighton University Athletic Website at www.gocreighton.com. 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 92-47-8 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 twice. 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. The Scoop On The Bluejays 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. These Two Have Some History Wednesday's (Nov. 27) game will mark the fourth time the two Midwest schools have met on the soccer field and the all-time series is tied at 1-1-1. UWM traveled to Omaha last season and handed the Jays their worst home defeat since 1990 with a 3-0 blanking. Wednesday's contest will mark the first home NCAA Tournament game for CU since 1995. Bennett Earns Repeat Honor 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. UWM Stays 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 19 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 68-9 in the 19 contests and have been scored on more than once in just one game, a 4-2 win at Illinois-Chicago on Oct. 2. Sophomore Named League's Best 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. More On The Swedish Sensation 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 Dominating at home. It's one thing all great teams in sports do and the 2002 UWM men's soccer team is no exception. Following Saturday's NCAA win, the Panthers are currently 13-0-0 at home in 2002, outscoring the visitors 51-5 in the process with the possibility of a third round NCAA home game on the orizon. 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. Furthermore, UWM is 6-1 all-time at Englemann Field in the postseason. 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 0.39 goals against average is the best in all of college soccer. The 6-1 senior is a remarakable 16-0 this season with nine shutouts wile allowing just six goals in 1400+ minutes in net. The New Berlin, Wis.-native now has 42 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 hashanged. The first round, which began on Friday (Nov. 22), featured 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). Third round games will be played on campus sites on either Saturday (Nov. 30) or Sunday (Dec. 1). Run-N-Gun Offense 70 goals. 69 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.Two goals allowed in eight games. Three goals allowed in 11 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 0.56 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, nine different Panthers have reached double-figures in scoring with ten 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 13 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. Fifth Time A Charm For UWM It took five tries but the UWM men's soccer program finally broke into the win column in NCAA Tournament play. Milwaukee had been 0-4 in four previous NCAA Tournament appearances, including last year's 2-1 overtime defeat to UM-Kansas City in St. Louis, Mo. Wednesday's game at Creighton will be UWM's first true "road" NCAA game since dropping a 5-0 contest at Indiana in 1990. Unexpected Finishers Help UWM Advance In its 2-1 win over Oakland on Saturday, UWM got its two goals from a couple of unlikely sources. Milwaukee jumped ahead 1-0 in the first half when Second-Team All-League defender Khaled-El Ahmad headed home a Kyle Lance corner. The tally was the first of the year and first in the two year career of the Swedish-sophomore. Freshman sparkplug Kyle Zenoni ended up playing hero for Milwaukee on Saturday when he scored the game winner in the games' 61st minute. The midfielder notched his third goal of the year when he pounced on a failed OU clear and drilled the ball into the back of the net. Zenoni now has seven points and two game-winning goals to his credit in his initial campaign.
It's Hoelker Time
With starting defender Khaled El-Ahmad forced to sit out Wednesday's game due to a red card violation, sophomore Ian Hoelker will get a chance to return to the starting lineup. The lanky defender should be a worthy replacement as he started seven games earlier in the season in addition to starting last year's NCAA Tournament game.
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