Men's Soccer Weekly Release #3

Sept. 12, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week
John DeVae, Butler
Junior * Forward * Elmhurst, Ill.

DeVae recorded the eventual match-winner in both of the Bulldogs' victories last week. The transfer from UIC hit the net to lift BU past Valparaiso 2-1 on Friday, and registered the only goal of the match as Butler shut out Cincinnati, 1-0, on Sunday. He also set up the first BU tally on Friday, giving him five points for the week and the team scoring lead for the season.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending September 11
Tonci Skroce, UIC
Junior * Forward/Midfielder * Zadar, Croatia
Skroce scored his second game-winning goal of the year for the Flames. His latest heroics came 49 seconds into overtime of UIC's 2-1 road victory over Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday, keeping the team unbeaten at 2-0-1 overall. He also netted the match-winner versus then-No. 24 Loyola Marymount on Sept. 3.

Matt Marek, Loyola
Junior * Forward * Fox River Grove, Ill.
Marek continud his solid play early in the season, netting his second goal of the year in the Ramblers' 4-2 loss at 16th-ranked Creighton on Saturday. With his team down a player due to a teammates' red-card expulsion, Marek's header in the 59th minute leveled the score at 2-2. The junior tops the team leader board in both goals (two) and points (four).

Josh Loyd, UW-Green Bay
Sophomore * Goalkeeper * Plymouth, Minn.
Loyd made nine saves for his first collegiate shutout in UW-Green Bay's 1-0 overtime victory at Air Force on Friday, and stopped more eight shots versus Denver on Sunday to keep his season goals-against average under 1.00 (four goals allowed in 361 minutes). He also leads the League with 27 saves for the season.

Craig Mallace, UW-Milwaukee
Junior * Midfielder * Torphichen, Scotland
Mallace continued his fast start, scoring the lone goal in UW-Milwaukee's 1-0 victory over Oakland on Friday and setting up the tying marker to force overtime against 12th-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday. He shares the League scoring lead with six points (one goal, four assists) and has hit the stat sheet in all four matches this fall.

Jason Tackis
Senior * Forward * Fairborn, Ohio
Tackis scored the Radiers' only goal of the week, netting the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Bowling Green. It was his first goal of the season and gave WSU a victory in its home opener for the first time since 2002. He had five markers for Wright State a year ago.

News From Around the League

Bulldogs continue strong start, led by scoring tandem plus stifling defense
Butler climbed to 4-0-0 for the first time since 1995, defeating Valparaiso, 2-1, and Cincinnati, 1-0. It marks the fourth time in program history that the Bulldogs have opened a season at 4-0-0.

Juniors John DeVae and Roberto Gallo have bolstered the BU attack. Each has two goals and one assist for five points, representing 80 percent of the team output.

In addition, senior midfielder Scott Olsen picked up his 19th career assist by setting up DeVae's strike on Friday, lifting Olsen into a tie for third place on BU's all-time assist chart. He shares that spot with former teammate Andrew Pancio.

Senior Frank Peabody registered his third shutout of the season against UC. He had two whitewashes last fall, but has allowed only one goal in 360 minutes for a 0.25 goals-against mark in 2005.

Skroce, Flames add to early-season success
UIC's Tonci Skroce continues to score clutch goals, netting the game-winning goals for the second time in three matches with his strike against Missouri-Kansas City. The junior forward's marker 49 seconds into extra time represents the fastest goal scored in a UIC overtime win.

Sophomore midfielder Pavle Dundjer set up the deciding shot, logging his third assist of the season. Dundjer, the League Newcomer of the Year in 2004, has three helpers so far this season.

Sophomore netminder Jeff Engelbrecht had his season-opening scoreless streak end at 222:35 when UMKC hit the scoreboard in the first half of that match, but Engelbrecht owns a 0.31 goals-against average with 16 saves.

Phoenix split weekend matches in Colorado
UW-Green Bay emerged from its western swing with a 1-1-0 mark, defeating Air Force 1-0 in overtime Friday night as sophomore midfielder Glenn Herzog posted the match-winner 1:35 into extra time. Herzog also had the winning goal (with 6:48 left in regulation) versus Sacred Heart on Sept. 4.

Senior midfielder Bati Tola's free kick set up that score, giving his three assists this season. That total also includes a helper on the lone Phoenix strike (by freshman defender Tyler Rosenberg) in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Denver. Tola had five assists in 2004.

Panthers go the extra mile but come up short against #12 team
UW-Milwaukee used Neil Dombrowski's goal with 8:39 left in regulation to force overtime, but dropped a 2-1 decision to 12th-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday. The loss ended an 11-match home winning streak for the Panthers, dating back exactly one year to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Tulsa on Sept. 11, 2004.

Junior midfielder Craig Mallace has at least a point in each of the team's four matches this season. Mallace headed home the only goal in the Panthers' 1-0 victory over Oakland on Friday. He shares the team and League scoring lead with six points, while his four helpers top the League charts in that category. He had seven points (three goals, one assist) for the entire 2004 campaign.

Junior goalkeeper Eric Mickschl carries a 1.41 GAA with 22 saves this season after logging his seventh career shutout in Friday's 1-0 victory over Oakland. Mallace recorded the only score in that contest.

Raiders break through to defeat instate rival BGSU
Wright State's 1-0 victory over Bowling Green on Wednesday featured an unlikely hero. Junior goalkeeper Jason Leuthold made two saves in his first start of the year, holding off the Falcons for his first career shutout. Leuthold played in only six matches in his first two seasons at Wright State, including two matches last fall. He stopped seven shots in 161 minutes of competition for the Raiders in 2004.

Senior forward Jason Tackis notched the eventual match-winning goal in that contest for his first points of 2005. The hometown hero now has eight career markers for WSU, including five last fall.

Wright State was shut out in its other two matches, with West Virginia blanking the Raiders, 3-0, on Tuesday and ninth-ranked Akron handing WSU a 2-0 defeat on Sunday. UA's first goal in that match ended a 141:03 scoreless streak by the Raider defense.

CSU scoring but struggles on defense in pair of losses
Cleveland State dropped both of its matches during the week, falling to ninth-ranked Akron, 12-2, on Friday night before a 5-3 loss in the home opener versus Marshall on Sunday.

Sunday was a day of "firsts" for CSU. Freshman midfielder Steve Trapp scored the first two goals of his Viking career in Sunday's contest, opening the scoring at 16:30 and adding a late strike for the last goal of the day. The other marker came from junior Mark Zambra, who tallied his first career goal in that same match. Zambra started 17 contests in 2004 but did not hit the statsheet.

The other "first" from Sunday came in a return to Krenzler Field. The Vikings had not played on the Krenzler pitch since Oct. 23, 2003 before a two-year improvement project at the field.

Ramblers can't win battle of numbers at Creighton
Loyola dropped to 1-2-0 on the season with a 4-2 setback at Creighton on Saturday night. LU played the final 63 minutes shorthanded after a red-card expulsion, but battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the score midway through the second half.

Loyola spotted the 16th-ranked Bluejays a 2-0 lead after 17 minutes before junior defender Steve Graner's goal of the year cut the margin in half, and Matt Marek's header at 58:08 tied the match but Creighton pulled away for the victory. Marek leads the team with two goals this season, putting the junior forward in a nine-way tie for second place on the League charts in that category.

Titans' first goal: hitting the net
Detroit returns to action Friday after a 12-day layoff. The Titans remain scoreless in 2005, going 290 minutes without a goal in their first three matches of the year. At the other end of the field, sophomore goalkeeper Sasha Boskovic boasts a 232-minute scoreless streak and a 0.60 GAA heading into the adidas / Baymont Inn Invitational this weekend at Northern Illinois University. Detroit faces IUPUI in Friday's opener and the host Huskies on Sunday.

28-Match League Schedule Begins Sunday

Two teams take the first step toward the Horizon League Championship this week as Cleveland State travels to UW-Green Bay. Sunday's matinee at Aldo Santaga Stadium marks the official opening of the 2006 League schedule.

The results of 28 contests during the next seven weeks will determine the seeding for the 2006 League Championship, with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinals on Nov. 5. Action then moves to the home of the highest remaining seed for semifinals on Nov. 11 and the final on Nov. 13, with the winner of that match receiving the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

UW-Milwaukee made its fourth consecutive NCAA appearance last fall, defeating Detroit 3-2 in the League Championship final to reach the national summit. The re-match between the Panthers and Titans takes place Oct. 2 at Milwaukee's Engelmann Field, providing a prelude to a frantic final month of the regular season.

The weekend of Oct. 7-9 is a key time for Butler, which hosts UW-Green Bay on that Friday and the Panthers on Sunday. The Bulldogs try to avenge their only regular-season League loss last year---a 2-1 setback---in Sunday's contest while Friday's match is one of several featuring teams which are off to unbeaten starts through two weeks of the 2005 campaign.

UIC enters the spotlight the following week with matches at UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 12) and versus Butler (Oct. 16). The Flames were the only League team to defeat UW-Milwaukee a year ago, posting a 1-0 triumph at Flames Field on Oct. 10, 2004, and are off to a fast (2-0-1) start this season.

UW-Green Bay looks to the second half of October with two important home dates: Oct. 22 versus UIC and an Oct. 26 match versus instate rival UW-Milwaukee. Those two schools outscored the Phoenix by a combined 8-2 in 2004 but must come to Green Bay this season.

One other team getting a jump on the League schedule is Detroit, which plays three of its seven loop matches in late September. The Titans host Wright State on Sept. 23 before heading to UIC (Sept. 25) and continuing a rough road stretch with dates at UW-Green Bay (Sept. 30) plus UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 2).

Loyola's fast start faces an early challenge as the Ramblers visit UIC on Sept. 23, but a ten-day span pits LU against Butler (Oct. 14), versus UW-Green Bay (Oct. 16) and at UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 23).