Men's Soccer Weekly Release #3

Sept. 10, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Nick Harpel, Cleveland State
Freshman * Goalkeeper * Toledo, Ohio
Harpel logged eight saves in a 1-0 shutout victory over Western Michigan on Tuesday and came back with six stops in Sunday's 1-1 tie at Kentucky. He leads the League with a 0.27 goals-against average, allowing only one goal while making 21 saves in 335 minutes of play this season. He is CSU's first Player of the Week since Stephen Ademolu won the award in September 2003.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending September 9

Boris Gatzky, Butler
So. * F * Reulingen, Germany
Gatzky earned all-tournament honors after leading Butler to ties versus Western Kentucky (0-0) and Appalachian State (3-3). He set up the third Bulldog tally Sunday versus APSU for his second assist of the year.

Francois Basty, Green Bay
So. * F * Beauzelle, France
Basty tallied his second goal of the season in Sunday's 1-1 draw with in-state rival Marquette. His marker five minutes into the second half tied the contest. Basty, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, leads the team in scoring.

Michael Ferguson, Loyola
So. * F * Overland Park, Kan.
Ferguson continued his hot start, posting the lone Rambler tally Friday against UMKC and setting up the match-winner in Sunday's 1-0 triumph over Oral Roberts. He earned all-tournament honors for his efforts and now leads the League with four goals and nine assists this season.

Ryan Germann, Milwaukee
Jr. * GK * Madison, Wis.
Germann made seven saves in Sunday's 1-0 loss at Cal Poly. Five of those stops came in the first half to keep the Panthers within one goal. In the process, Germann lowered his season goals-against average to 1.46.

Jovan Bubonja, UIC
So. * GK * Belgrade, Serbia
Bubonja registered his first shutout of the season, stopping five shots in 110 minutes of action in a 0-0 draw at Rutgers on Saturday. He led the League and ranked fourth nationally with a 0.37 GAA last fall, including a school-record ten clean sheets.

Yukki Guzman, Valparaiso
Jr. * M * Tokyo, Japan
Guzman assisted on the Crusaders' second goal Friday against IPFW and added an insurance tally in the 37th minute to secure a 3-0 victory over the in-state rivals. Guzman's three-point afternoon puts him in a tie for the team scoring lead this year.

Tony Labudovski, Wright State
Sr. * M * Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Labudovski notched his second overtime match-winner of the season, hitting the net to end Friday's 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh. Labudovski, who missed nearly all of the 2006 campaign due to injury, leads the League with his two match-winners this year.

Previous Player-of-the-Week Honorees:
Sept. 3 -- Frank Patano, Butler

News From Around the League

Bulldogs remain undefeated
Butler posted two ties at the Bowling Green WKU Invitational, moving to 2-0-2 on the season. The Bulldogs played host Western Kentucky to a 0-0 draw Friday and salvaged a 3-3 tie with Appalachian State on Sunday despite allowing two goals in the last six minutes of regulation.

Junior forward Frank Patano, sophomore forward Boris Gatzky and freshman defender Connor Burt earned all-tournament recognition. Gatzky logged his second assist after setting up the third Bulldog strike versus APSU.

Freshman goalkeeper Fabian Knopfler turned aside seven shots for his first collegiate shutout versus WKU and had four saves in Sunday's match.

All three of Sunday's goals came from freshmen, with Troy Blewitt, Burt, and Jacob Capito each hitting the net for the first time in Butler uniforms.

Patano leads the team with three goals this season, with seven other players tied with one marker apiece. Gatzky and Capito share the top spot on the Bulldog assist charts with two apiece.

Butler stays on the road, traveling to DeKalb, Ill., for the adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational. The Bulldogs face a pair of 2006 NCAA Championship qualifiers in #10/12 Northwestern (Friday) and host and defending Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois (Sunday).

Flames clamp down on defense
UIC carries a 1-0-1 record into the week following a scoreless draw at Rutgers on Saturday. The Flames missed a penalty-kick opportunity in the 90th minute before settling for the tie against the Big East Conference representative.

Since the start of the 2006 campaign, UIC has allowed only nine goals in 2,204 minutes of action spanning 23 matches. The Flames own a 0.368 goals-against mark in that stretch that includes 14 shutouts. Sophomore Jovan Bubonja registered five saves at Rutgers. UIC has not allowed more than one goal in a match since a 3-0 loss to Green Bay to close the 2005 season.

UIC has out-shot its first two opponents by a combined 26-16 margin, including a 14-5 advantage before intermission. Only eight shots have reached Bubonja so far in 2007.

The Flames' last three matches have come against Big East foes, including a season-opening 3-0 victory over Marquette on Sept. 2 and a 1-0 loss at Notre Dame in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Championship.

The Flames have only one match this week, but it's a marquee match-up as UIC (ranked 24th in the nation in the current Soccer America poll) travels to Akron on Friday. Akron stands 18th in the latest NSCAA national poll and 16th according to SA. UIC has only one home match (Sept. 18 versus Western Illinois) in its next nine outings before opening a homestand on Oct. 12.

Vikings play better on the road
Cleveland State stands at 2-1-1 after a successful road swing last week. The Vikings defeated Western Michigan 1-0 on Wednesday and earned a 1-1 draw Sunday at Kentucky, playing on even terms against a team that won 14 matches last fall. CSU, which went 3-6-2 on the road in 2006, is now 1-0-1 away from home this season.

Sophomore midfielder Bryan Henson came off the bench to score the match-winner at WMU, while senior midfielder Roshard Gilbert hit the net against UK. The Vikings have now recorded five goals---one each by four players and one own-goal. Freshman midfielder Marco DiFranco tops the team charts with three points, with sophomore defender Steve Trapp owning the team's other marker.

Freshman goalkeeper Nick Harpel allowed his first goal of the year Sunday, snapping a 292:40 scoreless streak. That is still the only blemish on his collegiate stat line, which features League-best figures for goals-against average (0.27) and save percentage (.955) in 335 mintues of action.

CSU heads to Las Vegas, Nev. this weekend for the adidas Invitational. The Vikings meet Cal State-Northridge on Friday before wrapping up the trip with Sunday's matinee versus Cal Poly, wrapping up a five-match, four-state road swing.

Ramblers stay at .500
Loyola split its two matches at the UMKC Invitational last weekend, moving to 2-2-0 overall after falling 3-1 to the host school Friday and coming back to defeat Oral Roberts 1-0 on Sunday.

Sophomore forward Michael Ferguson took over the League scoring lead after logging a goal and an assist over the weekend. He hit the net for the lone Rambler tally Friday night and set up the match-winner versus ORU. Ferguson already has four goals and nine points this fall after recording five goals and one assist in his freshman campaign.

Sophomore midfielder Eric Gehrig scored the match-winner Sunday, his second strike of the season. Ferguson, Gehrig and freshman defender Will Martin earned all-tournament honors for their play over the weekend.

Junior goalkeeper Brian Byrne made that one tally stand up against ORU with six saves for his first shutout as a Rambler. The whitewash was also the first this year for Loyola, which set a school single-season record with ten last fall on its way to the League championship.

The Ramblers host Eastern Illinois on Wednesday before opening Horizon League play Sunday against Valparaiso. Sunday's contest will be played at Toyota Park, home of the MLS's Chicago Fire, as part of a doubleheader with the Loyola women's team.

Raiders earn split in trip to Pitt
Wright State stands at 2-2-0 following a weekend of mixed results at the Pittsburgh Soccer Classic. The Raiders outlasted the host school 2-1 in overtime Friday before suffering a 1-0 loss to Robert Morris on Sunday.

Senior midfielder Tony Labudovski continued his late-match heroics with the match-winner against the Panthers, hitting the net in the 109th minute. Both of Labudovski's goals this year have come in overtime, including the decisive strike versus Western Kentucky on Aug. 31---his first match since missing nearly all of 2006 due to injury.

Wright State owns the same record through four matches as last year, but the Raiders have taken a different route to that mark. In 2006, WSU outscored its first four opponents 9-5, while this year's team has hit the net just three times in the first four contests. Junior midfielder Milovan Milosevic has the third Raider marker.

Sophomore forward Braden Fleak has gone five matches without a goal (dating back to the end of last season), his longest streak since a five-match run in early October last season. Fleak ranked second in the League with 13 goals and 29 points in 2006 but is scoreless so far in 2007.

Senior goalkeeper Tebias Mason leads the League with 26 saves this season (6.50 per outing), building on his loop-high total of 105 last fall.

Phoenix close road swing with loss, tie
Green Bay dropped to 1-2-1 overall, closing a four-match road swing with a 2-0 loss at DePaul on Friday and a 1-1 draw with in-state rival Marquette on Sunday.

Freshman forward Scott Raymonds got into the scoring column with his first career assist on Sunday, setting up sophomore forward Francois Basty's second goal of the season versus Marquette. Raymonds' grandfather Hank was the head coach of Marquette's men's basketball team from 1977-83, following the legendary Al McGuire on the bench.

Green Bay is now 7-4-3 in overtime matches in Tom Poitras' four-year run as Phoenix coach, with wins in four of the last five contests going past 90 minutes.

Three players have played every minute of Green Bay's first three matches this year---seniors Dan O'Brien and Glenn Herzog plus junior goalkeeper Adam Stikl. The Phoenix netminder stopped three shots in Sunday's tie and lowered his season goals-against average to 1.83.

Junior forward Tosaint Ricketts is still looking for his first goal of 2007 after logging eight last fall.

The Phoenix opens the home portion of the schedule Sept. 15 versus Albany in the Green Bay Nike Classic. Green Bay plays its next four matches at home before beginning the League schedule Sept. 26 at Valparaiso.

Crusaders prepare to make League debut
Valparaiso brings a 1-3-0 record into the week. The Crusaders defeated IPFW 3-0 with three first-half goals in their home-opener Friday before allowing four second-half goals in a 4-0 loss at Evansville on Sunday.

Junior midfielder Yukki Guzman notched a goal and an assist versus IPFW, setting up the second goal and finishing the scoring with his first marker of the season.

Fifth-year senior Tyler Pagano netted the match-winner against the astodons with his strike in the 11th minute. It was the first goal in his three-year Crusader career. Junior forward Oscar Lomeil also had his first goal as a Crusader on Friday. Lomeli joined the Valpo program this fall after two years at Bethel (Ind.).

Freshman midfielder Adrian Ortiz assisted on two of Valpo's three goals Friday, giving him a League-leading three helpers on the year. He needs only two more to move into 10th place on the school's single-season charts.

Fifth-year senior goalkeeper Sean McGinnis shut out IPFW for the second year in a row, earning his third career clean sheet.

Valpo visits DePaul on Friday before a Sunday match with Loyola. That match---slated for Chicago's Toyota Park---is the first League match in any sport for Valpo, which officially joined the circuit on July 1 after a 25-year run in the Mid-Continent Conference.

Titans still looking for first victory
Detroit tied its only match of the week, battling local rival Oakland to a scoreless draw on Wednesday, marking the second year in a row the teams have played to a tie.

The Titans are now 0-2-1 on the season, having scored only one goal---by freshman midfielder Jake Munchiando---in three matches. The Titans have been outshot 40-22 overall, including 10-7 by Oakland.

Junior forward Mark Djurovski shared the team lead with seven goals last fall but has not hit the net yet in 2007. He and sophomore midfielder Mike Jonca each had two shots in Wednesday's contest.

Sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Kloss stopped six shots against OU, including a penalty kick early in the first half. Kloss, who had played in only one collegiate contest prior to the start of this season, has started all three matches this fall with a 2.45 goals-against average in 256 minutes of action.

The Titans continue a road swing his week wtih three games in five days. Detroit visits IPFW on Wednesday before heading to Bowling Green, Ohio, for matches against Canisius (Friday) and Central Arkansas (Sunday). Detroit will not play a match on campus until at least mid-October due to reconstruction of Titan Field. Detroit will play "home" matches in Clinton Township, Mich. in the interim.

Panthers drop two more tough ones
Milwaukee slipped to 0-4-0 on the season with two shutout defeats in California over the weekend. UWM fell 2-0 to defending national champion UC Santa Barbara on Friday and then came up short in a 1-0 verdict at Cal Poly on Sunday. The Panthers are 0-4-0 for the first time since 1998.

Sunday's loss continued a trend for Milwaukee, as 11 of the team's last 13 losses (since the start of the 2006 campaign) have come by one goal. The Panthers are also 1-11-1 away from home in the last two seasons.

Despite the winless record, the Panthers have outshot their opponents 45-44 and own a 21-16 advantage in corner kicks. But that has not translated into goals as Milwaukee has hit the net only twice in 2007. Senior midfielder Zeke Dombrowski has both of those markers for UWM.

Junior goalkeeper Ryan Germann recorded seven saves against Cal Poly, lowering his season goals-against average to 1.46.

Three freshmen started Friday's contest, with defenders Greg Rosenthal, Raphael Martinez and Calvin Mai on the field for the first touch against UC Santa Barbara.

Milwaukee makes its Englemann Stadium season-debut this weekend. The Panthers host Drake under the lights on Friday and face Gonzaga in a Sunday matinee.

Horizon League opens 21st season Sunday
Sunday's match between Loyola and Valparaiso is the first of 36 League contests on the 2007 schedule, leading into the 21st annual Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship.

This year's League summit begins Friday, Nov. 9, with the fourth through sixth seeds hosting teams seeded seventh through ninth in first-round action. The winners of those matches join the third-seeded team in second-round action on Sunday, Nov. 11. The top two seeds earn byes into the semifinals.

From there, action shifts to the home of the top seed for semifinals on Friday, Nov. 16, and the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 18. The winner of that contest earns the League's automatic berth in the NCAA Championship.

The Horizon League placed two teams in the NCAA Championship last fall, with UIC joining loop champion Loyola in the 48-team field. It was the first time since 2001 that the League had two representatives, and the Flames' 3-0 victory over Western Illinois marked the fifth consecutive year a League institution has reached the second round. Milwaukee won opening-round matches in each of the four previous years.

Loyola won the League Championship to earn its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, while Green Bay compiled a 14-6-0 overall record and finished second in the regular season and the League summit.