Men's Soccer Weekly Release #10

Oct. 31, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Adam Stikl, UW-Green Bay
Freshman * Goalkeeper * Milwaukee, Wis.
Stikl registered a 1-0 overtime shutout of hometown team UW-Milwaukee in his first collegiate start Wednesday, leading the Phoenix past its instate rival for the first time since 1998. Added six saves in a 1-0, overtime loss at IUPUI on Sunday. Finished the week with a 0.46 goals-against average, yielding one goal in 197 minutes of action.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending October 30

Tonci Skroce, UIC
Junior * Midfielder * Zadar, Croatia
Skroce scored two goals, including the eventual match-winner, in UIC's 4-1 victory over Wright State. His penalty kick put UIC ahead 2-1, and he added an insurance marker for his eighth goal of 2005.

Jason Massoglia, Detroit
Junior * Defender * Troy, Mich.
Massoglia scored three goals in two matches last week. He opened and closed the scoring in a 3-0 victory over Butler to secure the regular-season title and hit the net in a 3-2 loss to Western Michigan.

Tony DeLuca, Loyola
Sophomore * Midfielder * Appleton, Wis.
DeLuca eaded home the match-winner in Sunday's 2-1 victory over Cleveland State on Senior Day. His header of Dino Melitas' free kick helped Loyola rally from an early 1-0 deficit.

Tony Labudovski, Wright State
Junior * Midfielder * Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Labudovski continued his torrid scoring pace, hitting the match-winner in a 2-1 victory over Loyola to give WSU the fourth seed in the League tournament. He now has eight goals this season.

News From Around the League

Titans look for return to NCAA Tournament after nine-year absence
Detroit clinched the Horizon League regular-season title and the top seed in the League Championship tournament with Friday's 3-0 victory over Butler. A 3-2 loss to Western Michigan on Sunday leaves the Titans at 10-5-2. Fourteen of those 17 contests have been decided by one goal or less.

Detroit won the regular-season crown for only the second time in school history (the first coming in 1996). The Titans have reached the NCAA tournament only once before, in 1996.

Andrew Ornoch netted his 25th career goal against Butler, putting him fourth in school history in that category. Ornoch leads the Horizon League with nine goals and 23 points (including five assists) this season.

Jason Massoglia recorded the other two markers versus BU and now has 14 in his career, but the junior defender has yet to log his first collegiate assist. Sasha Boskovic is second in the League with 77 saves.

Panthers give back Chancellor's Cup
UW-Milwaukee dropped its only match of the week, losing 1-0 in overtime as instate rival UW-Green Bay regained the Chancellor's Cup traveling trophy. The Panthers fell to 9-4-4 overall (prior to Monday night's match versus crosstown rival Marquette) and 4-2-1 in the League. The loss ended an eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) versus UWGB since 1998.

The Panthers have struggled in overtime this season, going 0-3-4 in matches lasting longer than 90 minutes. In regulation, UW-Milwaukee owns a 9-1-0 overall ledger, losing only to Detroit (2-1 on Oct. 2). The seven OT contests are the most for a Panther squad since 1999 when the team played beyond 90 minutes eight times.

Neil Dombrowski ranks second in the League with eight goals this season, while his 18 points are tied for fourth on the loop charts. Craig Mallace tops the League with nine assists while Grant Fernstrum owns the League's best goals-against average (0.55) since taking over the starting role at mid-season.

Flames wishing October could continue
UIC completed an undefeated (7-0-1) month of October with a 4-1 victory over Wright State on Sunday. The Flames are now 10-3-2 overall, heading into Tuesday's contest at Bradley.

The ten victories are double the team's total from 2004, when the Flames posted an overall record of 5-12-2. UIC has not lost since a 2-0 defeat to Northwestern on Sept. 28. The Flames have outscored their opponents 21-6 over that span, including four 2-1 victories, a 1-0 triumph and a scoreless tie with UW-Milwaukee plus an 8-1 victory over Centenary (Oct. 2) and Sunday's match.

After combining for 18 points in their initial collegiate season, sophomores Tonci Skroce and Pavle Dundjer have more than doubled that total this fall. Dundjer is second in the League with 20 points (six goals, eight assists), with Skroce one spot behind at 19 (eight goals and three helpers). In goal, Jeff Engelbrecht stands third in the League with a 0.87 goals-against average and fifth with 59 saves.

Raiders have winning streak snapped
Wright State saw its four-game winning streak come to an end with Sunday's 4-1 loss at UIC. The Raiders claimed the fourth seed in the League Championship tournament with Friday's 2-1 victory over Loyola, part of a 9-8-0 overall ledger. That win also sets up the rematch with the fifth-seeded Ramblers this Saturday. Wright State's 4-3-0 League record is the school's best since a similar 4-3-0 mark in 2002.

Wright State opened the year 1-4-0, then won four in a row, lost four in a row and won four straight contests prior to Sunday's defeat.

Senior Tony Labudovski has climbed to second place on the League charts with eight goals this season, while his 17 points are tied for sixth in that category. Labudovski had hit the net in five consecutive matches before being held off the scoresheet by UIC on Sunday. Jason Balach is third in the League with 66 saves.

Ramblers head back to Dayton
Loyola split a pair of matches last week, losing to Wright State (2-1) on Friday before rallying for a come-from-behind, 2-1 victory over Cleveland State on Sunday. Loyola stands at 7-8-2 overall, but the loss to WSU means Loyola is the fifth seed in the League Championship tournament and will have to go back to Wright State for first-round action.

Matt Marek's goal 63 seconds into Friday's match was an uncharacteristically quick start for Loyola, which has scored first in only five of 17 contests this season. Loyola has been outscored 15-10 in the first half and 33-27 overall.

Sophomore Keum Sung Kim leads the team with six goals this season and is sixth in the League with 17 points. Brad Sommer ranks fourth on the loop charts with 62 saves.

Phoenix working overtime with new keeper
Freshman goalkeeper Adam Stikl made the most of his first collegiate start Wednesday night, as the Milwaukee native registered a 1-0 shutout of UW-Milwaukee to help the Phoenix reclaim the Chancellor's Cup. UWGB lost a similar 1-0, overtime contest at IUPUI on Sunday, leveling the team's overall record at 8-8-0 heading into Wednesday's contest at Wisconsin.

Thirteen of the Phoenix's 16 matches have been decided by one goal apiece, yet UW-Green Bay still does not have a tie on its record. The only three outings not to go down to one shot this year are a 3-1 victory over Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3), a 5-1 win over Cleveand State (Sept. 18) and a 3-0 victory over IPFW (Oct. 19).

Overtime is becoming a habit for the Phoenix, with four of the team's last five matches going into extra time. Unfortunately, three of those four have ended in losses (to Loyola, UIC and IUPUI).

Bulldogs look for ways to stop slide
Butler saw its losing streak reach seven consecutive matches, falling 3-0 to Detroit on Friday and 2-1 to Butler on Sunday. BU had won nine of its first 11 matches through Oct. 7, but now stands at 9-9-0 overall and 2-5-0 in the League.

Senior Scott Olsen (who had a team-best nine goals last season) scored his first goal of 2005 on Sunday, but the Bulldogs have tallied only three goals in that skid while yielding 18 goals over the same span. During the team's 9-2-0 start, Butler had outscored its opponents by a 15-4 margin.

Senior goalkeeper Frank Peabody, who had been sidelined since Oct. 7 with an elbow injury, returned to the starting lineup for the Detroit contest and also was in goal versus Northwestern. Peabody was leading the nation in goals-against average and save percentage at the time of his injury.

Vikings coming close but falling short
Cleveland State finished the regular season winless (0-16-1 overall, 0-7-0 in the League) but were anything but a pushover. Four of those seven League losses came by one goal apiece (including a 2-1 setback to Loyola on Sunday). Cleveland State's ledger also includes a 3-2 loss versus Detroit along with a 1-0 defeat versus UW-Milwaukee.

Freshman Anthony DeMarco became the tenth player in Viking history to register 100 saves in a season. With 103 this year, he stands ninth on the school's one-year charts and needs four more to move up three spots on that list. Fellow freshman Nenad Stojkovic leads the team with five goals and 11 points.

NCAA Tournament on the Line in League Championship

An automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament is up for grabs at the Horizon League Championship, which begins this Saturday (Nov. 5) at campus sites. The top four seeds host quarterfinal action, with the highest seed remaining earning the right to host the remainder of the League summit the following weekend (semifinals on Friday, Nov. 11, and championship on Sunday, Nov. 13).

UW-Milwaukee seeks its fifth consecutive trip to the national summit, earning an at-large berth in 2001 before winning the League Championship in each of the past three years. Butler last represented the League in 2001, with UIC looking to return to the tourney for the first time since 2000. Regular-season Detroit could make its first NCAA appearance since 1996.

Horizon League Champions Through the Years (NCAA Tournament Results)


1987 Evansville (lost to Clemson, 2-1)
1988 Notre Dame (lost to Southern Methodist, 2-0)
1989 Evansville (did not qualify)
1990 Evansville (def. Boston Univ., 1-0 [OT]; def. Indiana, 1-0; lost to Rutgers, 1-0, in semifinal)
1991 Evansville (lost to Wisconsin, 1-0)
1992 Evansville (lost to Indiana, 4-1)
1993 Notre Dame (lost to Wisconsin, 3-1)
1994 Notre Dame (lost to Indiana, 1-0 [OT])
1995 Butler (def. Indiana, 1-0; lost to Portland, 4-1)
1996 Detroit (lost to Bowling Green, 4-0)
1997 Butler (lost to Indiana, 2-1 [OT])
1998 Butler (def. Cincinnati, 1-0 [OT]; lost to Indiana, 2-1 [OT])
1999 UIC (lost to Saint Louis, 3-2)
2000 UIC (def. Bradley, 1-0; lost to Stanford, 6-0)
2001 Butler (lost to Michigan State, 2-1)
2002 UW-Milwaukee (def. Oakland, 2-1; lost to Creighton, 3-2)
2003 UW-Milwaukee (def. Western Michigan, 4-1; lost to Notre Dame, 4-1)
2004 UW-Milwaukee (def. San Francisco, 3-2; lost to UC Santa Barbara, 2-1 [OT])

Horizon League Teams Earning At-Large Berths Into the NCAA Tournament

1987Saint Louis (lost to San Diego State, 2-1)
1988Evansville (lost to Fresno State, 2-1 [PKs])
1989Saint Louis (lost to Fresno State, 2-1)
1990Saint Louis (def. George Mason, 1-0; lost to Indiana, 2-1)
2001 UW-Milwaukee (lost to Missouri-Kansas City, 2-1 [OT])


Summary of Regular-Season Matches Between First-Round Opponents

Detroit 3, Cleveland State 2
Two goals from Joe Hess lifted the Titans to the 3-2 victory (Oct. 16, at Detroit). Hess opened the scoring on a 15-yard drive past CSU netminder Anthony DeMarco 6:41 into the match, starting a flurry of early goals. The Vikings countered just 33 seconds later when Jim Stannard intercepted a pass and beat Sasha Boskovic for the tying marker, and Roshard Gilbert's goal gave the visitors a 2-1 lead in the 21st minute. UDM's Alex Kawalit leveled the score when he converted a Christopher Fudge pass at 28:35, and Fudge also set up Hess' header for the deciding strike at the 60-minute mark.

UW-Milwaukee 2, Butler 0
The visiting Panthers ended Butler's four-match winning streak with the 2-0 victory (Oct. 9, at Indianapolis) as Craig Mallace netted a goal and an assist. Mallace's 23-yard blast past Butler goalkeeper Mike Sims put UW-Milwaukee up 1-0 just 12:54 into the contest and the junior's corner kick set up Steve Bode's header at 36:51. Panther freshman Grant Fernstrum needed to make only one save to post his third shutout of the week for the victors, extending a personal shutout streak which eventually reached 584 minutes. UW-Milwaukee outshot the Bulldogs 14-4.

UIC 2, UW-Green Bay 1 (Overtime)
Pavle Dundjer's one-timer 4:22 into overtime led visiting UIC past UW-Green Bay (Oct. 22, at Green Bay) as the Flames posted their fourth overtime victory of the season. After a scoreless first period, Ray Hibbler put UW-Green Bay on top just 3:04 into the second stanza. Tosaint Ricketts set up the initial strike to put the Phoenix ahead 1-0, but UIC's Pawel Otachel answered 4:35 later with a 22-yard blast past Josh Loyd. The score remained deadlocked until Dundjer hit the net for the fifth time this season. UIC outshot the hosts, 17-12, with Flame netminder Jeff Engelbrecht logging three saves for the victory.

Wright State 2, Loyola 1
Tony Labudovski's game-winning goal came with 4:17 left in regulation, giving Wright State the come-from-behind 2-1 victory (Oct. 28, at Dayton). The Ramblers needed only 63 seconds to take a 1-0 lead, claiming that advantage when Matt Marek tapped in a Keum Sung Kim crossing pass past Jason Balach. Loyola clung to that one-goal lead until Dana York netted the equalizer at 64:10, steering in a pass from Josh Grossman to level the score. Labudovski then emerged from a scrum in front of the Loyola net, knocking in his eighth goal of the season at the 85:43 mark. Balach finished with four saves, including one in the 88th minute.