Men's Soccer Release #13
Nov. 20, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
UIC Travels to Saint Louis for First Round of NCAA Championship
INDIANAPOLIS -- In 2006, the University of Illinois at Chicago men's soccer team began its run to the NCAA Championship with a 1-0 victory on the road at perennial national power Saint Louis University. The 2007 version of the Flames returns to the scene of that contest on Friday (Nov. 23) as the Horizon League champions take on SLU's Billikens in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (Central time / 8 p.m. Eastern) at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
The match is one of 16 first-round contests on tap this weekend after the NCAA announced the 48-team field on Monday (Nov. 19). Sixteen seeded teams earn byes into the second round next Wednesday (Nov. 28), feeding into the College Cup Dec. 14 and 16 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
UIC (11-5-5 overall) has won five consecutive matches, racing to the Horizon League title on the strength of Sunday's (Nov. 18) 3-1 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. UIC entered the loop tournament as the third seed (4-1-3 in League play) but has allowed only one goal in its last five outings. The Flames opened Horizon League Championship play with shutouts against Wright State University (4-0) and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1-0 in overtime) before defeating Green Bay for its first League crown since 2000.
The Flames are in the Field of 48 for the fourth time in program history. UIC reached the second round in 2006, defeating Western Illinois University 3-0 before falling 1-0 at the University of Notre Dame to cap a 13-3-5 campaign. The Flames lost 3-2 to Saint Louis in their first NCAA tournament (1999) and advanced to the Sweet 16 the following year. That was the only meeting between the schools prior to last season's encounter.
UIC will attempt to continue the Horizon League's recent run of success in the NCAA Championship, with League entries advancing to the second round in each of the last five national tournaments. Milwaukee won first-round contests against Oakland University (2001), Western Michigan University (2003), the University of San Francisco (2004) and Bradley University (2005) before the Flames ousted WIU last fall.
Flames coach John Trask leads a veteran crew that features League Championship Most Valuable Player Cesar Zambrano. The senior forward shares the League lead with seven assists and ranks third in the circuit with 19 points (including six goals), making him one of four UIC representatvies on the First-Team All-League honor roll. Senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer became the circuit's first-ever four-time First-Team honoree and carries five goals and three assists into Friday's match.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja ranks tenth in the nation with a 0.57 goals-against average and owns nine shutouts this year. He set a school record in 2006 with ten clean sheets as the Flames led the nation with a 0.36 goals-against mark last fall. Sophomore midfielder Baggio Husidic (three goals and one assist for seven points) was UIC's fourth First-Team All-League honoree.
Saint Louis (12-2-4) had won six consecutive matches before dropping a penalty-kick shootout to the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the semifinals of the Atlantic-10 Conference tournament. The Billikens, ranked 12th in the nation according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and 11th by Soccer America, won the A-10 regular-season title for the third year in a row (including a shared championship in 2005). Saint Louis boasts one of the nation's most storied programs, entering the national tournament for a record 44th time (including three as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1987,1989 and 1990). No school owns more national titles (ten) than SLU, and only Indiana University (72) has more tournament victories than the Billikens (65-32-4 in tourney play).
Junior forward Kyle Peterson leads the Billiken attack with ten goals and four assists for 24 points, with sophomore midfielder Scott Wisniewski adding seven goals and four helpers for 18 points. Sophomore Ross Kaufman sports a 0.66 goals-against average with six shutouts.
The winner of Friday's match meets ninth seed Northwestern University (12-4-3) in the second round. That contest is set for Wednesday, Nov. 28, at NU's Lakeside Field.
Defending national champion University of California Santa Barbara is the 12th seed in this year's tournament, with Boston College (15-4-1) receiving the top seed, followed by Wake Forest University (17-2-2), the University of Connecticut (18-2-1) and Indiana (13-4-4).
Note: The tournament pairings can be found in the PDF version of this release.
News From Around the League
Flames back in tournament
UIC reached the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year, winning the League's automatic entry after defeating Green Bay 3-1 in the final match of the Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship. The Flames (11-5-5 overall) came in as the the third seed but slipped past second seed Milwaukee 1-0 in Friday's semifinals.
The Flames have allowed only one goal during their current five-game winning streak, with that one tally coming on a Green Bay penalty kick in the finale. Sophomore goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja has nine shutouts and ranks tenth in the nation with a 0.57 goals-against average.
Senior forward Cesar Zambrano earned MVP honors at the League summit after setting up both match-winners over the weekend. Zambrano ranks third in the circuit with 19 points (six goals and a League-best seven assists).
Freshman forward Kevin Stoll scored in each of UIC's League Championship matches, netting the winning tallies against Wright State (Nov. 9) and Milwaukee. It was a case of perfect timing for Stoll, who did not have a point in the regular season.
Freshman defender Robert Younger and senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer joined Zambrano, Bubonja and Stoll on the All-Tournament Team. Dundjer sealed the title match with his fifth goal of the season in the 90th minute.
Ramblers fall short in quest to repeat
Loyola finished the season at 10-5-4 following a 1-0 loss to Green Bay in the semifinals on Friday. The Ramblers' defeat marked the third consecutive year that the League's top seed failed to capture the tournament crown on its home field.
LU (5-1-2 in the League) had been idle for 13 days before Friday's contest.
Sophomore forward Michael Ferguson finished the season ranked second in the League in scoring with 32 points (one behind Butler's Frank Patano), a rate of 1.68 per game that leaves him 11th in the nation. Ferguson tied Patano for League honors with 15 goals---trailing only Connecticut's O'Brian White (19) and Jacksonville's Anton Axelsson (16) on the national charts in that department.
Ferguson stands fourth on the school's all-time single-season lists in points and third in goals.
Junior goalkeeper Brian Byrne set a school single-season record with ten shutouts in 2007. His goals-against average of 0.69 also set a Rambler one-year record in that department.
Senior midfielder Keum Sung Kim finished second among this year's Ramblers with four goals and eight points, while sophomore midfielder Eric Gehrig---one of three First-Team All-League picks for Loyola---had two goals and two helpers for six points..
Panthers miss opportunity
Milwaukee ended the year with a 5-12-3 mark after losing 1-0 in overtime to UIC on Friday. Nine of the Panthers' 12 losses this season came by one goal apiece, including two in extra sessions.
UWM opened the year with a program-record eight-match losing streak but rallied to post a
5-4-3 ledger after Sept. 28. That late-season run also sparked Milwaukee to the second seed in the League Championship, based on a 5-2-1 loop ledger.
The Panthers' scoring woes plagued them at the end, however, as Milwaukee scored more than one goal in only two of 20 matches in 2007.
Junior goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum logged four saves against UIC. He finished the year with a 1.07 goals-aganist average in seven starts, with sophomore Ryan Germann registering a 1.21 mark in 13 outings.
Senior midfielder Zeke Dombrowski led the Panthers with four goals this year. Dombrowski's three assists give him 11 points for the year, good for a share of tenth place on that loop chart.
Junior forward Colin Baker and freshman forward Robert Refai provided support in the Panther attack with six points apiece. Baker had three goals in 2006, while Refai's total came from two goals and two assists.
Phoenix one step away, again
Green Bay lost the League Championship match for the second year in a row, ending the season at 11-5-6 overall (4-2-2 in League play) after Sunday's 3-1 defeat against UIC. The Phoenix, who reached the final by upsetting top seed Loyola 1-0 on Friday, set a Horizon League record with those six ties.
Junior forward Tosaint Ricketts provided the difference against the Ramblers, finding the net five minutes into the second half. Ricketts tied freshman JC Banks atop the team charts with six goals and 13 points in 2007. The duo is tied for sixth on the League scoring chart and fourth place among goal scorers, while senior midfielder Dan O'Brien and junior defender Tyler Rosenberg each had two goals and six assists for ten points.
Freshman David Prochazka converted a penalty kick late in the second half for the lone Phoenix marker against UIC, hitting the net for the first time this season.
Prochazka, Ricketts and O'Brien all earned All-Tournament honors for their efforts last weekend.
Junior goalkeeper Adam Stikl leads the Horizon League with 11 shutouts this season while ranking third in the circuit with a 0.80 goals-against average. Stikl and senior reserve Josh Loyd combined to set a Phoenix single-season record with 12 clean sheets in 2007.
