Men's Soccer Release #10 - Championship Preview
Nov. 4, 2008
Men's Soccer Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE
2008 U.S. Army Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship
First Round -- Thursday, Nov. 6
No. 7 Milwaukee at No. 6 Wright State, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Detroit at No. 4 Green Bay, 8 p.m.
No. 8 Valparaiso at No. 5 Loyola, 8 p.m.
Second Round -- Sunday, Nov. 9
Wright State/Milwaukee at No. 3 Cleveland State, 1 p.m.
Loyola/Valparaiso vs. Green Bay/Detroit (hosted by highest seed)
NOTE: All times Eastern
HORIZON LEAGUE NEWS AND NOTES
NUMBER ONE SEED - UIC (12-2-4, 6-1-1)
-- UIC, which is ranked eighth by Soccer America and ninth by Soccer Times, claimed its fourth regular season title on the final day of the regular season, beating Loyola 2-1 Sunday night. The Flames won regular season crowns in 1999, 2000 and 2006.
-- The Flames have spent the entire season in the national rankings. Here is a breakdown of where the team is ranked in the national polls this week:
Soccer America 8th
Soccer Times 9th
NSCAA 9th
College Soccer News 12th (6th in Great Lakes)
Top Drawer Soccer 13th
-- Senior Pat McMahon started for the 81st consecutive match in the Flames' 2-1 win over Loyola on Nov. 2 He has started every match since the 2005 opener.
-- Head coach John Trask is just two wins short of 50 in his career. He is 48-16-17 since taking over the program in 2005.
NUMBER TWO SEED - BUTLER (13-2-4, 5-0-3)
-- The No. 21 Bulldogs have tied the fourth-highest win total in school history with 13 victories. It's the most wins for a Butler team since 2004, when the Bulldogs finished 13-6-1.
-- Senior Eduardo Garcia has set a school single-season record for assists with 13, breaking the previous school mark of 12. The previous record was established in 1989, the first year of intercollegiate soccer at Butler.
-- Butler enters postseason play with a Horizon League-best 35 goals, which is tied for the fourth-highest mark in school history.
-- Butler has an 18-3-4 record in its last 25 matches, dating back to last season.
NUMBER THREE SEED - CLEVELAND STATE (7-7-3, 5-2-1)
-- Cleveland State earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament, marking its highest finish in the conference standings since 2002. The Vikings placed second and were the tourney runner-up that season.
-- CSU will host the winner of No. 6 Wright State and No. 7 Milwaukee Sunday at 1 p.m. The Vikings defeated both teams by a combined 5-1 margin in the regular season.
NUMBER FOUR SEED - GREEN BAY (6-7-4, 4-2-2)
-- Green Bay finished the regular season with a 2-0-1 stretch, picking up a pair of conference wins en route to fourth place in the standings and a first round home match.
-- The Phoenix will take on No. 9 Detroit Thursday evening. Green Bay defeated the Titans, 5-2, on Oct. 5. Senior Tosaint Ricketts scored three goals in that contest.
-- Freshman AJ Konchar earned his first collegiate point in the win over Wright State with a "chest pass" on Green Bay's second goal. On a free kick by David Prochazka, Konchar chest-trapped the ball to David Znaty, who then scored in the 47th minute.
NUMBER FIVE SEED - LOYOLA (8-6-3, 3-3-2)
-- Loyola hosts No. 8 Valparaiso in the tournament's first round Thursday evening. The Ramblers blanked Valpo, 2-0, in their regular season meeting on Oct. 5.
-- Loyola ranks 18th nationally in shutout percentage (0.57) and 22nd in goals-against average (0.69). The Ramblers have recorded nine shutouts this season.
-- Senior Keum Sung Kim recorded his team-best fifth assist of the season. He now has 18 for his career, tying him for fifth all-time.
NUMBER SIX SEED - WRIGHT STATE (5-13-1, 3-4-1)
-- Wright State earned a first round home match in the, claiming the tournament's No. 6 seed for the second straight year. WSU won the No. 6 vs. 7 last season, defeating Valparaiso, 2-1.
-- The Raiders picked up a pair of 1-0 victories over IUPUI and Milwaukee last week, marking the first time the team has won consecutive matches this season.
NUMBER SEVEN SEED - MILWAUKEE (4-9-5, 1-5-2)
-- Milwaukee enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed, traveling to Wright State. The seventh-place finish in the standings marks the first time in nine years that UWM hasn't placed in the Horizon League's top three teams.
-- Ryan Germann's 12 saves against Wright State Friday were a career high and marked the most for a UWM keeper since 1992. The 12 stops also ties for 10th in UWM single-game history.
NUMBER EIGHT SEED - VALPARAISO (6-9-3, 1-6-1)
-- Valparaiso finished tied with Detroit with a 1-6-1 league record, but claimed the No. 8 seed by viture of Sunday's 3-0 win over the Titans.
-- Valpo closed its home campaign 4-3-1, marking the third straight year of at least a .500 record at home.
-- Goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck stopped eight shots against Detroit for his fifth shutout of the year, the second highest single-season total in Valpo history.
NUMBER NINE SEED - DETROIT (4-12-1, 1-6-1)
-- Detroit travels to No. 4 Green Bay Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. The Titans dropped a 5-2 decision versus the Phoenix on Oct. 5.
-- Freshman goalkeeper Paul Graf started his third collegiate game in goal in UDM's match at Valparaiso last weekend, tallying nine saves.
