Men's Soccer Weekly Release #11

Oct. 30, 2006

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NCAA Tournament Ticket on the Line in League Championship

An automatic berth into the 2006 NCAA Tournament is up for grabs at the Horizon League Championship. Semifinal-round action is set for Friday (Nov. 3), with No. 2 seed UW-Green Bay facing sixth-seeded Butler at 5 p.m. (EDT / 4 p.m. CDT), and top seed UIC hosting fourth-seeded Loyola at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central).

The winner of Sunday's (Nov. 5) title match claims the League trophy and that automatic entry into the 48-team NCAA field.

Regular-season champion and top seed UIC seeks its first trip to the national summit since 2000, while UW-Green Bay looks for its first NCAA trip in 23 years and the second of its Division I tenure.

Butler has played in four NCAA tuornaments, winning opening-round matches in 1995 and 1998 but falling in the first round in its last appearance in 2001. Loyola has never advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Top Performances from Saturday's Quarterfinals

David Znaty, UW-Green Bay
Fr. * M * Hadera, Israel
Znaty came off the bench to score both Phoenix goals in a 2-1 victory over Detroit. His goal on a free kick with 16 seconds left in regulation forced overtime, and he added the golden goal 7:16 into the extra session.

Tonci Skroce, UIC
Sr. * M * Zadar, Croatia
The League Player of the Year hit the net twice in the Flames' penalty-kick shootout versus Wright State, including the deciding tally in the 12th round. Skroce had seven goals and 20 points during the regular season.

Keum Sung Kim, Loyola
Jr. * F * Arlington Heights, Ill.
Kim set up two goals in the Ramblers' 3-2 victory over Cleveland State. He assisted on Steven Graner's goal to open the scoring in the 11th minute, and fed Matt Marek for the eventual match-winner early in the second half.

Aaron Thompson, Butler
Sr. * D * Waterloo, Ill.
Thompson's first goal of the year proved to be the difference in a 2-1 triumph at UW-Milwaukee. The senior headed home Matt Soldato's crossing pass off a short corner to give BU a 2-0 lead and the Bulldogs held on to advance.

Tebias Mason, Wright State
Jr. * GK * Santa Rosa, Calif.
Mason recorded eight saves to preserve a 0-0 tie versus top-seeded UIC. He stopped two shots in overtime, helping overcome UIC's 20-8 advantage in attempts. The junior also surpassed the 100-save mark for the season.

Nenad Stojkovic, Cleveland State
So. * F * Parma Heights, Ohio
Stojkovic led CSU's attempt to rally from a 3-0 deficit at Loyola, setting up Josh Williams for the Vikings' initial goal in the 69th minute and hitting the net in the 83rd to pull Cleveland State to within 3-2.

League Semifinalist Capsules

Flames win PK shootout to remain alive
UIC won the Horizon League regular-season championship for the first time since 2000 and outlasted eighth-seeded Wright State in a 12-round shootout for the right to host the rest of the tournament. The top-seeded Flames stand at 12-2-4 on the year. The 12 victories match the most by a Flame team since that 2000 campaign, when UIC won 18 matches.

Freshman Jovan Bubonja demonstrated the form which made him the League's Goalkeeper of the Year with his loop-best ninth shutout of the year. Bubonja, who also scored twice in the shootout, was one of four Flames on the First-Team All-League unit and ranks fourth in the nation with a 0.38 goals-against average.

League Player of the Year Tonci Skroce and junior Pavle Dundjer were repeat First-Team picks, with senior Derek Kosek also earning top honors, while senior Eric Cervantes and junior Cesar Zambrano were Second-Team honorees. Senior forward Skroce and Dundjer share the team lead with seven goals each, with Skroce also setting up six markers for a 20-point total which is third in the circuit.

UIC has out-scored its opponents 27-7 this year, including 18-2 after intermission.

Championship History: UIC is 10-6-2 all-time, winning the title in 1999 and 2000. The Flames are in the semifinals for the first time since 2002.

Phoenix gets late lift from freshman reserve
UW-Green Bay is the only team returning from last year's semifinals, coming to Chicago as the tournament's second seed.

The Phoenix edged Detroit 2-1 in the quarterfinal behind some late heroics from freshman midfielder David Znaty, who scored with 16 seconds remaining in regulation and again in overtime to lift the Phoenix to 13-5-0 on the season.

UW-Green Bay leads the League with a total of 41 goals, including three in a 3-2 victory at Wisconsin on Tuesday to close the regular season. Senior forward Joshua Okoampa leads the League with 32 points and shares the top spot on the loop charts with 13 goals this year. The three-time First-Team All-League selection has 35 goals and 78 points in his four-year career.

Junior midfielder Dan O'Brien also has six assists this year, tying him for third place on the League charts. O'Brien was a Second-Team All-League honoree and joined Znaty on the League's All-Newcomer Team.

Sophomore goalkeeper Adam Stikl posted victories in both matches last week, returning to the line-up for the first time since August 26. He stopped six shots against the Badgers and two versus Detroit.

Championship History: UW-Green Bay, in pursuit of its first League crown, owns a 4-11-0 mark in the loop summit, reaching the final in 2000 and the semifinals in 1999 and 2006.

Ramblers make history on two fronts
Loyola is in unfamiliar territory, winning a Championship match for only the second time in League history by defeating Cleveland State, 3-2, on Saturday. The Ramblers had been 1-17-0 in the loop summit before that match---with the lone victory coming in 2000 (3-1 over Detroit)--but built a 3-0 lead and held off CSU's late rally.

Saturday's victory also moved the Ramblers to 10-7-1 on the season, giving LU its second double-digit victory total since 1996. Loyola finished 11-8-1 after reaching the loop semifinals in 2000.

Junior midfielder Keum Sung Kim set up two of the three goals, moving into a tie for the League lead with eight helpers for the year. Senior Matt Marek netted the eventual match-winner, and leads the team with 15 points. Freshman Alex Jones matches Marek with his six goals.

Kim and junior defender Iradj Farahmand earned First-Team All-League honors, with Marek and senior goalkeeper Sean Bond named to the Second Team. Bond ranks second in the League with an 0.86 goals-against average and seven shutouts this year. Jones and freshman forward Matt Ferguson represented Loyola on the League's All-Newcomer Team.

Championship History: Loyola's win over Cleveland State was only the Ramblers' second in 20 Championship matches all-time. LU had been outscored 50-19 in their previous entries.

Bulldogs pull lone upset of opening round
Butler was the only road team to win a quarterfinal match, holding off four-time defending League champion UW-Milwaukee 2-1 to earn a spot against UW-Green Bay. The sixth-seeded Bulldogs are 7-10-2 overall but have won three of their last four outings.

Freshman midfielder David Giarratana and senior defender Aaron Thompson provided the offense for the Bulldogs, with Thompson's first goal of the year proving to be the match-winner. Giarratana's marker---his second of 2006---opened the scoring in the tenth minute aand Thompson hit the net three minutes later.

Sophomore Frank Patano leads the Bulldogs with 15 points (seven goals, one assist) for the season. Senior and First-Team All-League pick John DeVae is next on the BU charts with 13 points, off six goals along with one assist. He scored one of the two Bulldog goals in a 4-2 loss to #9/6 Indiana in the regular-season finale on Tuesday.

Senior Frank Peabody is the only League goalkeeper to play every minute of the season. He has logged 1605 minutes in the Bulldog nets, stopping 52 shots while compiling a 1.35 goals-against average with four shutouts in 2006.

Championship History: Butler is 21-11-2 in previous tournaments, winning four League titles (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001). BU is in the semifinals for the 12th time in the last 15 years.

Trends to Watch For This Weekend

-- Prior to its first-round loss to Butler, UW-Milwaukee had reached the final match in each of the last five years, winning the last four. The Panthers defeated Cleveland State in 2002, Butler in 2003 and Detroit in both 2004 and 2005.

-- UW-Milwaukee had also been in the semifinals in six consecutive Championships and nine of the last ten. But the Panthers' early exit in 2006 leaves UW-Green Bay as the only team to return to the semifinals from 2005. UW-Green Bay reached the League's semifinals last fall for the first time since 2000, but the Phoenix boasts a relatively experienced playoff roster compared to two of the other three teams.

-- UIC is in the semifinals for the first time since 2002. The Flames had advanced past the opening round for six consecutive years at that point, but lost in the quarterfinals in each of the last three tournamnents.

-- Loyola is in the semifinals for only the second time. The Ramblers had been 1-18-0 all-time in League Championship play before defeating Cleveland State 3-2 on Saturday, with the only victory coming in the 2000 loop summit.

-- Butler is back in the semifinals for the fifth time in six years, slipping past UW-Milwaukee on Saturday. The Bulldogs were in the League's Final Four for four consecutive years (2001-04) but were eliminated in their opening contest last fall.

-- UIC owns the top seed for the first time since 2000, when the Flames defeated UW-Green Bay 3-1 in the final to win their second consecutive League title. UIC also shut out Detroit, 2-0, to capture the 1999 crown.

-- The 2000 match marked UW-Green Bay's only trip to the League Championship match. The Phoenix won the 1994 regular-season title but was eliminated in the opening round that year.

-- UW-Green Bay looks for (another) case of déja vú when the Phoenix plays Butler in the semifinals. In the regular-season meeting between the schools, Butler led 2-1 with less than a minute left in regulation until Joshua Okoampa scored his second goal of the match at 89:08, and Tosaint Ricketts netted the match-winner in overtime. UWGB also needed a last-minute goal to force overtime versus Detroit in the quarterfinals, with David Znaty scoring again in extra time.

-- UIC and Loyola battled to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 20. Loyola had won two of the three previous meetings between the cross-town rivals, after seven consecutive UIC victories from 1997-2002.

-- The top seed has won six of the last ten League Championships (UW-Milwaukee in 2002-04, UIC in 1999 and 2000, Butler in 1998). UWM was the second seed last year, with Butler claiming the title from the same spot in both 1997 and 2000. Detroit was the third seed when the Titans captured the 1996 crown.

-- UIC has not allowed more than one goal in any match this season. The Flames have out-scored their opponents 18-2 after halftime and 27-7 overall in 2006.

-- UW-Green Bay leads the League with 41 goals scored, including 26 after intermission. The Phoenix has scored three or more goals six times this year, the most in the League.

-- Thirteen of Loyola's 18 matches (including six League contests and the Ramblers' quarterfinal match) have been decided by one goal or less, with the Ramblers posting a 7-5-1 ledger in those matches, edging three League foes (Cleveland State, Butler and Detroit) by 1-0 scores.

-- UIC's penalty-kick victory over Wright State marked the longest shootout in League Championship history. The Flames outlasted WSU, hitting the net ten times in 12 attempts. It was also the first League Championship match settled in PKs since 2002, and the seventh in tournament history:

1992 -- La Salle advanced over Butler (semifinals)
1993 -- Detroit advanced over La Salle (quarterfinals)
1994 -- Detroit advanced over UW-Green Bay (quarterfinals)
1996 -- Deroit advanced over UW-Milwaukee (semifinals)
1997 -- Wright State advanced over UIC (semifinals)
2002 -- Butler advanced over Wright State (quarterfinals)
2006 -- UIC advanced over Wright State (quarterfinals)

-- Two of the quarterfinal matches went to overtime, with UW-Green Bay edging Detroit 2-1 in extra time. Every League Championship contest was decided in regulation in each of the last two years, after the 2003 summit featured three overtime showdowns. The 1994 and 1995 tournaments also had three OT matches, as well, the most in League history.

-- UIC and Wright State recorded the only shutouts in the first round, a dramatic contrast from recent Championship history. In 2005, all four quarterfinals featured shutouts (three 1-0 decisions and a 3-0 final score), with a total of six clean sheets in the tournament. The 2004 loop summit included five shutouts in the seven matches.