Men's Soccer Weekly Release #4

Sept. 11, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Horizon League Player of the WeekEric Cervantes, UIC
Senior * Forward * Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Cervantes scored the match-winner with only 31 seconds remaining in regulation to propel UIC to a 2-1 road victory over seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara. It was his second career match-winner versus a Top-25 team, with both coming in the final ten minutes of the match. He also hit the deciding strike to defeat Creighton last season.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending September 10

Tom Turner, Butler
Sr. * M * St. Louis, Mo.
Turner scored Butler's only goal of the weekend, hitting the net in the third minute to give the Bulldogs an early 1-0 advantage versus Michigan. It was the senior's second goal of the season, tying him for second place on the BU scoring charts.

Michael Ferguson, Loyola
Fr. * F * Overland Park, Kan.
Ferguson scored the first two goals of his career to push Loyola past Buffalo, 2-1, on Friday. He became the first Loyola true freshman to score twice in a match since 2004. Ferguson also set up the match-winner versus Eastern Illinois on Sunday.

Joshua Okoampa, UW-Green Bay
Sr. * F * Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Okoampa extended his goal-scoring streak to three matches with a pair of strikes last week. His penalty-kick conversion sealed a 3-1 victory over Cleveland State in the League-opener Saturday, and his goal 42 seconds into Tuesday's match proved to be the winner versus Marquette.

Braden Fleak, Wright State
Fr. * F * Sanbury, Ohio
Fleak tallied a goal in each match last week as Wright State won twice in Florida. He started WSU's comeback at Jacksonville with a goal in the 57th minute and netted the match-winner with 5:11 left at Central Florida. He leads the League with six goals and 12 points this season.

Previous Players of the Week:
Aug. 28 -- Tonci Skroce, UIC
Sept. 4 -- Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee

Phoenix take early lead in League standings
UW-Green Bay won a pair of matches last week to climb over .500 at 3-2-0 overall. That record now includes a 1-0-0 League ledger after the Phoenix defeated Cleveland State 3-1 on Saturday. The week also featured a 2-0 triumph over in-state rival Marquette on Tuesday.

Three different players hit the net at CSU, with sophomore Mike McCormack and freshman Brent Diggs joining senior Joshua Okoampa on the scoresheet. Seven different players have recorded at least one of the team's 11 goals this season, with Okoampa standing second on the League scoring charts at four goals and nine points. As a team, UW-Green Bay has scored two or more goals in four of five contests so far this season, including two three-goal performances.

The victory over Marquette kept the Phoenix perfect (3-0-0) in home openers under coach Tom Poitras.

Freshman Francois Basty is one of ten players with at least one point this year, setting up both UW-Green Bay strikes against Marquette for his first two points of the season. He is one of several players (along with fellow freshman David Znaty) tied for third place on the League list with two assists so far in 2006.

The Phoenix played four of its first five contests away from Green Bay, and opens a three-match homestand Monday versus IPFW.

Flames stay hot vs. Top 25 on the road

UIC remains the League's last unbeaten team, moving to 4-0-2 following a West Coast trip which featured a 2-1 victory over #19/12 UC Santa Barbara in a match-up of Top-25 teams Friday. UCSB's No. 7 status in the College Soccer News rankings makes the Gauchos the highest-ranked team ever defeated by UIC.

The Flames also tied Cal Poly 1-1 to close the weekend and preserve the best start in school history, surpassing the five-match unbeaten run to open the 2003 campaign.

The Flames have outscored opponents 9-3 this season, including a 7-0 advantage in the final 30 minutes of regulation and overtime. Senior Eric Cervantes was the difference Friday, knocking in a rebound with 31 seconds remaining to give UIC its fourth victory over a Top-25 team---all on the road---during the past two seasons. The Flames currently are ranked 22nd in the nation by the NSCAA and 18th by Soccer America, with this week's rankings to be released on Tuesday.

Senior Tonci Skroce netted the equalizer versus UCSB, his team-best third goal of the season. The other two were match-winners, versus Saint Louis and Bradley. Nine other Flames have notched at least one point in 2006.

Freshman goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja leads the League with a 0.58 goals-against average and .857 save percentage.

Freshmen leading Raider resurgeance
Wright State carries a 4-2-0 record into the week, out-scoring Jacksonville and Central Florida by identical 3-2 margins over the weekend. WSU's 15 goals are the most in the Horizon League, with freshman Braden Fleak topping the loop charts with six markers already.

Fleak netted the deciding marker with 5:11 remaining in regulation versus Central Florida. Sophomore Josh Grossman set up that strike and also scored a goal for WSU.

Fleak has hit the net in five of six contests as a Raider, including a two-goal effort in his collegiate debut versus IPFW. Fellow freshman Adam Harp also boasts two goals, one of four Raiders to make that claim.

Friday's win over Jacksonville was the 50th for head coach and WSU alum Mike Tracy, who reached the .500 mark for his career on Sunday. He is now 51-51-3 in six seasons at his alma mater.

Wright State has out-scored opponents 8-2 in the first half of matches this season. The Raiders also have tallied two or more goals in four consecutive outings.

The Raiders continue a six-match road trip with Sunday's stop at Bowling Green. WSU opened its season by splitting two contests at its own adidas Cup, but won't return home until a Sept. 24 match-up with Butler to begin the Horizon League schedule.

Butler drops two to Big Ten competition
Butler slipped to 2-3-1 overall after a difficult weekend at the Michigan Invitational. BU suffered a 3-1 setback to the host Wolverines on Friday and was shut out 2-0 by Michigan State on Sunday.

Senior midfielder Tom Turner staked the Bulldogs to a 1-0 lead just 2:09 into the match versus Michigan but BU could not hold off the Wolverines, who out-shot Butler 19-4 in the match. Michigan State scored 2:11 into Sunday's contest and held on for that victory as Butler was held scoreless in the second half for the third consecutive match.

After allowing only one goal in their 2-0-1 start to the season, the Bulldogs have now yielded seven in the past three outings.

Sophomore forward Frank Patano continues to lead the team in scoring with four goals this season, tying him for second place on the League scoring charts. He also stands third in the circuit with eight points. Patano registered two goals and two assists for the entire 2005 campaign.

Turner's goal versus Michigan was his second of the season. Sophomores Eduardo Garcia and Danny Akl also have two goals apiece for the Bulldogs.

Butler visits Xavier on Wednesday before finally making its home debut on Sept. 18 versus Western Kentucky.

Titans open League play vs. UW-Milwaukee
Detroit remains at 2-2-0 overall and ends a 12-day layoff Friday versus UW-Milwaukee. The League-opener for both schools, the contest is a re-match of the 2005 League Championship which UWM won 1-0. The Titans' 2-1 victory over the Panthers in Milwaukee during the regular season was Detroit's first in the series since 1997, with UW-Milwaukee owning a 10-5-2 edge all-time.

Junior forward Mark Djurovski has scored three of the team's four goals this season, with senior defender Jason Massoglia netting the other. The transfer from Oakland University is also one of five Titans with one assist in the early part of the schedule. Junior netminder Sasha Boskovic owns a 1.25 goals-against average and two shutouts in four starts in 2006.

UDM welcomed a new player last week in freshman midfielder Michael Jonca. The newest Titan had one shot in his debut and created several scoring opportunities.

Friday's outing versus UW-Milwaukee also starts a four-match homestand for UDM, which has a Sept. 27 date at Michigan as its only action outside Detroit until Oct. 6.

Ramblers keep rolling
Loyola has won three of its last four matches (including two last week) to climb back to .500 at 3-3-0 on the season. Loyola edged Buffalo 2-1 on Friday before posting a 2-0 shutout at Eastern Illinois on Sunday.

Freshman forward Michael Ferguson accounted for all the LU scoring versus Buffalo, notching the first two goals of his career. He became Loyola's first true freshman to have a multiple-goal game since Tony DeLuca netted two amrkers versus Detroit in 2004. Ferguson also set up Matt Marek's match-winner at EIU, and his five points this season are one behind fellow freshman Alex Jones (three goals) on the Rambler scoring charts.

Senior goalkeeper Sean Bond logged three saves at Eastern Illinois for his third career shutout. Bond has a 1.00 goals-against average and 3-1-0 record since assuming the starting role.

Five of Loyola's six matches this season have been tied at halftime. Rambler matches have featured only four first-half goals (three by the opposition), compared to 11 (six by Loyola) after intermission.

Panthers' overtime woes continue
UW-Milwaukee suffered a pair of one-goal defeats last week, falling to Creighton 1-0 on a goal with 3:34 left in regulation on Friday and dropping a 2-1, overtime decision to sixth-ranked Washington on Sunday to slip to 2-4-0 overall despite outscoring opponents 8-7 so far in 2006. The Panthers have also out-shot their opponents 90-77 through six matches.

The OT loss to Washington continues a trend for the Panthers, who are now 0-5-5 in their last ten extra-time contests. One of those five ties also resulted in the team's elimination from the last two NCAA Championships when New Mexico ousted the Panthers in penalty-kicks following a 2-2 draw in 2005 and UC Santa Barbara outlasted UWM for a 2-1 victory in 2004.

Senior Steve Sperl, junior Martin Castro and sophomore Colin Baker each have two of the team's eight goals and share the Panther scoring lead with five points apiece.

Wednesday's home date with cross-town rival Marquette also marks the return of former coach Louis Bennett, who posted a 136-63-17 record in ten seasons at UW-Milwaukee. Bennett guided the Panthers to five NCAA Tournament appearances in his tenure there.

Vikings drop League opener
Cleveland State starts the week on a three-match losing streak, falling to 2-3-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the League after a 3-1 home-field loss to UW-Green Bay on Saturday. The Vikings also dropped a 1-0 decision to Marshall on Wednesday.

After scoring seven goals in going unbeaten (2-0-1) in their first three matches of the year, CSU has now managed only one marker in its last four outings. Freshman Bryan Henson's late goal versus UW-Green Bay snapped a 346:50 scoreless drought for the Vikings.

Henson leads the team with two goals this season while fellow freshman Andrew Gutting has one marker and three assists for a team-high five points.

The Vikings' top four scorers are all freshman newcomers, with George Kephard and Marco DiFranco each adding a goal and an assist for three points. Sophomore Kasey Gray, who played only 90 minutes in the Viking nets last season, owns a 1.11 goals-against mark in 405 minutes of action this fall.

Valparaiso stepping up
Valparaiso, which officially joins the Horizon League in 2007, stands at 4-2-0 overall and is only two wins away from matching last year's victory total. The four wins are also halfway to Valpo's highest single-season total in veteran coach Mis' Mrak's 16 years at the school.

Five Crusaders have scored at least two goals this season, with Valpo recording 15 goals in six contests so far in 2006. In contrast, Valpo did not score its 15th goal last year until Oct. 15, in the team's 12th match of the season.

Senior forward D.J. Catrow and sophomore midfielder Paul Leitelt lead the way with four goals apiece, with Leitelt's ten-point total topping the team charts. Senior forward J.J. Eschenburg has two goals and three assists for seven points. Both of Eschenburg's goals are match-winners, including the first tally in a 2-0 victory over Western Michigan on Friday.