Men's Soccer Weekly Release #11

Nov. 3, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Dale Weiler, UW-Milwaukee
Junior * Forward * Hudson, Wis.
Weiler made a triumphant return to the field after missing ten matches and more than five weeks due to a knee injury. The junior made an immediate impact, recording the eventual match-winning goal just 7:05 into UW-Milwaukee's 4-0 victory over Marquette on Monday. He added an assist on the Panthers' third goal, giving him three points on the night.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending November 2

Pavle Dundjer, UIC
Sophomore * Midfielder * Becmen, Belgrade
Dundjer scored the lone Flame goal in a 4-1 loss at Bradley on Tuesday. The sophomore's penalty-kick conversion brought UIC within 2-1 midway through the second half, but the Flames could get no closer. Dundjer's seventh goal of the season gives him 22 points, tying him for second in the League.

2005 Horizon League Players of the Week
Sept. 5Jeff Engelbrecht, UIC
Sept. 12John DeVae, BU
Sept. 19Andrew Ornoch, UDM, Joshua Okoampa, UWGB
Sept. 26Jason Balach, WSU
Oct. 3Frank Peabody, BU, Christian King, UDM
Oct. 10Grant Fernstrum, UWM
Oct. 17Jeff Engelbrecht, UIC
Oct. 24Neil Dombrowski, UWM
Oct. 31Adam Stikl, UWGB
Nov. 3Dale Weiler, UWM

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])

Horizon League Players Receiving National Honors

Soccer America National Team of the Week
Jeff Engelbrecht, UIC (Sept. 7)
Andrew Ornoch, Detroit (Sept. 21)
Frank Peabody, Butler (Oct. 5)
Keum Sung Kim, Loyola (Oct. 12)
Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 12)
Neil Dombrowski, UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 26)

College Soccer News National Team of the Week
Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 12)
Neil Dombrowski, UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 26)

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.