Men's Soccer Weekly Release #5

Sept. 26, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Jason Balach
Senior * Goalkeeper * Noblesville, Ind.
Balach went 2-0-0 with a pair of shutouts last week, extending WSU's winning streak to three matches. Balach stopped eight shots to blank Detroit, 1-0, in the Raiders' League opener on Friday, and added two more saves in a 2-0 triumph over Marshall on Sunday. Balach lowered his season GAA to 1.29 and has not allowed a goal in his last 251:09 of action.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending September 25

Eduardo Garcia, Butler
Freshman * Forward * Lima, Peru
With BU's top two scorers sidelined with injuries, Garcia stepped up to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 victory over Xavier. Garcia had an assist on Butler's second goal in the match and scored the team's third goal on a header from 12 yards out. His three points in the match give him five for the season.

Andrew Ornoch, Detroit
Junior * Forward * Toronto, Ontario
Ornoch scored a pair of goals with one assist in three matches. His second tally of the day was the match-winner to defeat UIC in overtime. He also garnered an assist in the lone Titan tally against Oakland on Wednesday. He now leads the League with six goals and 13 points.

Pavle Dundjer, UIC
Sophomore * Midfielder * Becmen, Belgrade
Dundjer continued his playmaking ways, recording his first goal of the year and adding an assist against Detroit on Sunday. He also nearly avoided overtime with a shot that hit the post with one second left in regulation. The Belgrade native now has six points (one goal, four assists) this season.

Joe Nierzwicki, Loyola
Senior * Forward * Chicago, Ill.
Nierzwicki netted an 87th-minute match-winner, completing the Ramblers' second-half comeback at UIC on Friday. Nierzwicki's header capped the rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit. For the season he has two goals and five points, putting him second on the team in each category.

Tosaint Ricketts, UW-Green Bay
Freshman * Forward * Edmonton, Alberta
Ricketts scored two first-half goals to stake the Phoenix to a 2-0 lead as UWGB defeated Western Michigan, 3-2, on Sunday. The freshman hit the net at 14:10 and again 16 minutes later, the second time this year he has scored twice in a match. He is second on the team with four goals in 2005.

Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee
Freshman * Goalkeeper * Green Bay, Wis.
Fernstrum posted a 0.82 GAA in his first two matches of the season, leading UWM to ties with Oregon State and host Gonzaga over the weekend. The only two goals allowed came on penalty kicks, and the freshman was named Defensive MVP of the Tournament.

News From Around the League

Freshman class leading resurgeance for Phoenix program
UW-Green Bay improved to 5-2-0 overall with a 3-2 victory over Western Michigan in its only match of the week. The Phoenix has already matched the team's victory total for all of 2004 when UW-Green Bay went 5-11-2.

Freshman forward Tosaint Ricketts netted a pair of goals against WMU for his second multi-goal contest of the season. Ricketts, who also had two markers against Cleveland State the previous Sunday, now has four in his last three appearances. He is second on the team in scoring with eight points. Joshua Okoampa has 11 points off five goals plus one assist.

Ricketts isn't the only newcomer contributing to the Phoenix attack. Of the ten UWGB players to hit the scoresheet in 2005, five are freshmen.

Defense the key for Raiders' three-match run
Wright State has rebounded from a 1-4-0 start, winning three in a row to reach .500 overall. The Raiders also stand 1-0-0 in League play after Friday's 1-0 victory over Detroit, with senior goalkeeper Jason Balach making eight saves for the shutout.

Balach added two more stops to blank Marshall, 2-0 on Sunday. WSU has allowed only one goal during its winning streak, outscoring its opponents 5-1.

Jason Tackis set up both goals against Marshall, setting up both Raider goals while also bolstering the WSU defense.

Ramblers persevere for victory versus crosstown rivals
Loyola rallied to defeat UIC, 2-1, on Friday, coming back from a 1-0 halftime deficit. Matt Marek and Joe Nierzwicki hit the net for the LU, which is now 1-0-0 in the League and 2-3-1 overall.

Marek tops the team in scoring with three goals and six points, while Nierzwicki adds two goals and an assist for five points.

Loyola and UW-Milwaukee are the only League teams not to be shut out in 2005, and the Ramblers have scored at least two goals in all but one match this fall.

Bulldogs remain perfect at home despite injuries to top performers
Butler improved to 6-2-0 overall with its 3-0 victory over Xavier on Friday. BU is now 4-0-0 at home after posting its highest goal total and biggest margin of victory this season.

The three-goal output is more impressive considering the Bulldogs were without top scorers Roberto Gallo and John DeVae due to injury. Eduardo Garcia registered a goal and an assist versus XU with Aaron Thompson adding two helpers and freshman Frank Patano recording his first collegiate goal.

Junior goalkeeper Mike Sims posted his first shutout as a Bulldog, filling in for the injured Frank Peabody who sat out the match with a concussion. Sims, a transfer from Eastern Illinois, notched his first collegiate shutout in 2004...versus Butler.

Titans split one-goal decisions to open League play
Detroit begins the week with break-even records both overall (3-3-2) and in the League (1-1-0). The Titans dropped a 1-0 decision to Wright State on Friday before rallying to defeat UIC 3-2 in overtime on Sunday.

Andrew Ornoch had two goals versus the Flames, including the winner 2:19 into extra time. Ornoch now has leads the League with six goals and 19 points this season, while his 22 career markers tie him for seventh place in school history.

Detroit's other goal Sunday came from an unlikely source in Aaron Smith. The senior defender scored his first goal as a Titan while playing his 40th match in a UDM uniform.

Flames let leads slip away
UIC led 1-0 at halftime in both of its matches last week but second-half difficulties produced losses versus Loyola (2-1) and Detroit (3-2 in overtime), relegating the Flames to 3-2-1 overall and 0-2-0 in the League.

The weekend featured a series of "firsts" for the flaes, with three players netting their initial goals of 2005. Pawel Otachel hit the net against Loyola, with Pavle Dundjer and Dan Simek producing the markers in Sunday's contest.

Tonci Skroce also had the first assist of his two-year Flame career with a helper on Dundjer's goal. Skroce is second on the team with five points, one behind Dundjer (two goals and two assists).

Panthers fit to be tied after long weekend
UW-Milwaukee extended an unbeaten streak to three matches with 1-1 draws versus Oregon State and Gonzaga over the weekend. The Panthers are now 3-1-3 overall.

Overtime is nothing new to UW-Milwaukee, which has gone to extra time in four of its first seven matches this fall, going 0-1-3. In 2004, the team played a total of six overtime contests (2-1-3).

Junior Craig Mallace had the lone Panther goal versus Gonzaga on Sunday, increasing his career-best point total to nine (two goals, five assists). He had a five-match scoring streak snapped by Oregon State, but sophomore Zeke Dombrowski netted his first point of 2005 with a helper on Steve Bode's tally in that match. He becomes the 12th different Panther to record a point in 2005.

Vikings hope to reverse fortunes at home as skid reaches six
Cleveland State slipped to 0-6-1 overall following a 3-0 loss at Duquesne last Thursday. The Vikings have dropped six matches in a row, and the seven-match winless streak is the longest to open a season in school history.

The news got worse during the week when junior Ismail Ismail, the team leader in shots, suffered a season-ending ankle injury in practice. Ismail had started the team's first seven contests of the year.

Freshman Steve Trapp leads the team with six points (two goals, two assists). Fellow freshman Anthony DeMarco tops the League with 50 saves.

League schedule kicks into high gear soonAs the calendar is about to change from September into October, teams can begin looking toward the (Nov. 5-13) League Championship.

Defending League titlist UW-Milwaukee and Butler open their loop slates this week, the last two teams to play conference matches (UWM on Thursday evening, Butler on Sunday). Both visit Cleveland State while Detroit travels to UW-Green Bay on Friday.

Schedule Notes For The Rest of 2005

By the time plays wraps up this Sunday, the first month of the season will be complete as teams reach the unofficial halfway point of the 2005schedule.

Here's a look at what Horizon League teams still have ahead of them entering October (and the first days of November) prior to the League Championship tournament which opens on November 5 at the homes of the top four seeds:

Butler:
The Bulldogs play all seven League dates in October, including a weekend versus UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 7-9). Outside the League, BU visits top-ranked Indiana on October 19.

Cleveland State:
The Vikings have home matches against UIC (Oct. 9) and Detroit (Oct. 16) while visiting Wright State (Oct. 19) and Loyola (Oct. 30 in the finale). CSU also takes on local foe Bowling Green on Oct. 26.

Detroit:
The Titans are at home for their last three League contests, hosting Cleveland State, Loyola (Oct. 21) and Butler (Oct. 28). The latter two are part of a five-match homestand to end the regular season.

UIC:
The Flames are on the road for League dates at Cleveland State and UW-Milwaukee (Oct. 12) before the showdown versus Butler. UIC meets Wright State in its only other League home date (Oct. 30).

Loyola:
The Ramblers get an early taste of tournament play by ending the regular season with six League matches. That run opens at home versus Butler (Oct. 14) and UW-Green Bay (Oct. 16).

UW-Green Bay:
The Phoenix slate includes road dates at Butler, Wright State (Oct. 9) and Loyola before a home date versus UIC (Oct. 22). Before that date, UWGB plays five consecutive matches on the road.

UW-Milwaukee:
The Panthers also spend much of October away from home, with stops at Wright State (Oct. 7), Butler (Oct. 9), and UW-Green Bay (Oct. 26) around contests with UIC (Oct. 12) and Loyola (Oct. 23).

Wright State:
The Raiders hosts both Wisconsin schools (UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 7, UW-Green Bay on Oct. 9) and Loyola (Oct. 28) but must travel to Butler (Oct. 23) and UIC (Oct. 30) in League play.