Men's Soccer Weekly Release #7

Oct. 2, 2006

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Joshua Okoampa, UW-Green Bay
Senior * Forward * Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Okoampa had three goals and one assist in a pair of victories this week. He hit the net twice and set up the other Phoenix strike in a 3-0 triumph at Detroit, and then hit the winning goal in the team's 2-0 conquest of Western Michigan. He leads the League with 11 goals and 26 points this season. In the process, he moved into fifth place in school history with 33 career goals.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending October 1

Kyle VondenBenken, Butler
Fr. * M * Sterling Heights, Mich.
VondenBenken led the Bulldogs with four shots (three on goal) in Saturday's 1-0, overtime loss to Cleveland State. He also helped the Bulldogs keep CSU scoreless through 90 minutes of regulation before allowing the extra-time marker.

George Kephart, Cleveland State
Fr. * F * Parma, Ohio
Kephart netted the overtime game-winner at Butler on Saturday, giving CSU its first League victory in three years. He also had a goal taken away when Tuesday's contest at Wright State was suspended due to lightning.

Sasha Boskovic, Detroit
Jr. * GK * Oakville, Ontario
Boskovic stopped nine shots at Michigan to post his fifth shutout of the season, preserving a 0-0 draw in Ann Arbor on Wednesday. He also had two saves in Friday's loss to UW-Green Bay.

Jovan Bubonja, UIC
Fr. * GK * Belgrade, Serbia
Bubonja made six saves against Wisconsin on Thursday, the team's only match of the week. The redshirt freshman now has 35 saves and ranks among the nation's top ten with a 0.41 goals-against average for the season.

Michael Ferguson, Loyola
Fr. * F * Overland Park, Kan.
Ferguson scored a pair of goals in the Ramblers' 3-0 victory over Wright State on Saturday. His goal in the fourth minute proved to be the match-winner, and he added an insurance marker midway through the second half.

Previous Players of the Week:
Aug. 28 -- Tonci Skroce, UIC
Sept. 4 -- Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee
Sept. 11 -- Eric Cervantes, UIC
Sept. 18 -- Jason Massoglia, Detroit
Sept. 25 -- Eric Cervantes, UIC

News From Around the League

Phoenix conquers Titans, claims first place
UW-Green Bay carries a three-match winning streak into the week, improving to 8-3-0 overall with Sunday's 2-0 victory at Western Michigan. The Phoenix also stands 2-0-0 in League play, following a 3-0 triumph at Detroit---the team's first-ever win at Titan Field.

UW-Green Bay is only one victory away from matching last year's (9-10-0) total and claiming its second double-digit total since 1992. UWGB finished 11-9-1 as League runner-up in 2000.

Senior forward Joshua Okoampa had another strong week, scoring three of the team's five goals and setting up a fourth. He played a role in all three strikes at Detroit, and took over the League scoring lead with his 11th marker of the season versus WMU. Okoampa now has 26 points on the year, ranking among the national statistical leaders (updated stats will be released by the NCAA on Monday evening).

The Phoenix boasts the League's highest-scoring attack with 29 goals in 11 contests. Sophomore forward Tosaint Ricketts has five of those markers, while junior Dan O'Brien has matched Okoampa's team-high four assists.

Junior goalkeeper Josh Loyd recorded back-to-back shutouts, extending his personal scoreless streak to 193:27. Loyd lowered his season goals-against rate from 1.54 to 1.20 with his performance, which produced the first back-to-back shutouts for the Phoenix in four years.

Freshmen continue to spark Ramblers
Loyola shares the top spot in the League standings at 2-0-0 following Saturday's 3-0 victory over Wright State. The Ramblers, who had to bounce back after having a five-match winning streak snapped by Northwestern (2-0) on Wednesday, start the week at 7-4-0 overall.

Loyola has already matched its victory total from all of last season (7-9-2), and stands poised to reach double figures for the first time since the 2000 campaign. A pair of freshmen have led the resurgeance, with Michael Ferguson's five goals topping the team charts and Alex Jones adding four markers.

The freshmen combined for all three goals in the victory over WSU. Ferguson hit the net twice, including his third match-winner of the season, while Jones provided insurance with a first-half strike. Those two first-year players have combined for nine of the team's 14 goals this season, while senior Matt Marek has three goals and three assists for nine points. Junior Keum Sung Kim---the team's leading scorer with six goals last season---hasn't found the net yet in 2006, but has set up four goals.

At the other end of the field, senior goalkeeper Sean Bond leads the League with his six shutouts. Bond, who entered the season with one clean sheet in his career, also carries a 0.66 goals-against average after yielding six goals in 818 minutes of action.

Flames' magic run comes to an end
UIC had its season-opening nine-match unbeaten streak stopped Thursday with a 1-0 loss at Wisconsin. The Flames enter the month of October at 7-1-2, prior to Tuesday's showdown versus UW-Milwaukee. That contest represents UIC's first home match since Sept. 3.

The Flames reached No. 7 in the NSCAA poll and No. 9 in the Soccer America rankings prior to the UW match. That marked the highest-ever status for the program.

Freshman goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja has allowed only four goals in 874 minutes of play, ranking among the nation's top ten netminders with his 0.41 goals-against average. He had six saves against the Badgers.

The Flames have relied on a balanced attack, with five players each scoring three or more of the team's 18 goals this season. Senior Tonci Skroce, junior Cesar Zambrano and senior Eric Cervantes have four apiece, with senior Brodey Simkins and junior Pavle Dundjer each adding three. Skroce's 11 points top the team's charts, with sophomore Dan Simek equalling Skroce's team-best total of three assists.

UIC has out-scored its opponents 13-1 after halftime this season. UC-Santa Barbara (Sept. 13) has been the only opponent to score after intermission.

The Flames' six shutouts are the most for the program since the 2002 team had six.

Bulldogs suffer overtime setback
Butler dropped its only match of the week, slipping to 4-6-1 overall (1-1-0 in the League) with a 1-0 overtime loss to Cleveland State on Saturday. BU out-shot the Vikings 15-7 but could not dent the net against the Vikings.

The Bulldogs have now played three overtime matches this season, going 0-2-1 in those conests. Butler lost 2-1 at Evansville on Sept. 3 after beginning the season with a 1-1 draw at St. Mary's (Calif.) on Aug. 25.

Sophomore forward Frank Patano continues to lead the team with five goals and one assist for 11 points. Senior Tom Turner and sophomores Eduardo Garcia and Danny Akl share second place on the Butler charts with two goals and one assist (five points) apiece, while senior John DeVae has two goals and four points this season.

Senior goalkeeper Frank Peabody has a 1.32 goals-against average with three shutouts in 2006.

Butler has out-scored its opponents 16-15 so far this season, despite being out-shot by a composite 150-115.

This week is a critical one for the Bulldogs, who have three League contests scheduled in a six-day span. Butler opens the week Tuesday at home versus Loyola before venturing northwest for matches at UW-Green Bay (Friday night) and UW-Milwaukee (Sunday).

Vikings break out for League victory
Cleveland State improved to 4-6-1 overall with Saturday's 1-0, overtime victory at Butler. The triumph also was the Vikings' first in League play in three years as CSU improved to 1-2-0 in the circuit this season. Cleveland State's last loop conquest came on Sept. 20, 2003, when the Vikings won a 5-4 overtime shootout over UIC.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kasey Gray had a season-high nine saves to gain the shutout, his second on the year. As a team, CSU now has three clean sheets this season---the most by a Viking squad since the 1997 team had four.

Freshman George Kephart netted the overtime strike to give Cleveland State the victory. It was his third goal of the season, giving him seven points on the year. He trails senior David Stewart (four goals) and freshman Andrew Gutting (one goal and six assists) on the team scoring charts.

Gray's nine-save outing lowered his season goals-against average to 1.17. He anchors a defensive group which has allowed only 15 goals in 11 contests, compated to 65 in 18 matches during last year's 0-18-1 campaign.

Titan offense comes up empty in two tries
Detroit dropped to 5-4-1 overall and 1-2-0 in the League after a scoreless draw at Michigan on Wednesday and a 3-0 loss to UW-Green Bay on Sunday. The Titans have now been shut out in three consecutive matches since a 2-0 victory over IPFW on Sept. 20.

Michigan fired 34 shots in Wednesday's draw, the most ever allowed by a Titan team. Detroit yielded 30 shots in a 4-0 loss to Maryland in 1988 and also during a 3-1 loss to UIC in 2001, but junior goalkeeper Sasha Boskovic preserved a tie this time around with nine saves. Boskovic stopped two breakaway attempts in overtime to record his fifth clean sheet of the year and the 18th of his career.

Junior Mark Djurovski and senior Jason Massoglia continue to share the team scoring lead with five goals and 12 points apiece. The duo has combined for ten of the team's 12 goals this season. Senior Vahid Assadpour is fourth on UDM's all-time list with 23 career assists, including five in 2006.

The loss to UW-Green Bay ended Detroit's seven-match win streak versus the Phoenix.

Panthers fall short, give up Cup
UW-Milwaukee suffered a 1-0, overtime loss to Northern Illinois on Sunday, dropping the Panthers to 3-7-1 on the season. The Panthers also lost the John Lewang Memorial Cup, a traveling trophy between the teams that UWM had held since 2000.

UW-Milwaukee is now 0-6-6 in its last 12 overtime decisions. In addition, six of the team's seven losses this year have come by one goal apiece.

The six setbacks have come against teams with a combined record of 47-22-7 (.664 pct.).

Sunday's loss was also the Panthers' first in four home matches this season. UW-Milwaukee fell at Engelmann Field for the first time since a 2-1 loss to Detroit on Oct. 2, 2005.

UWM is off to its slowest start since 1982 when the Panthers were 2-7-2 after 11 contests. The team's four-game winless streak (0-3-1 since defeating Marquette 3-2 on Sept. 13) is the school's longest since 1999.

A total of 11 different Panthers have combined to score a total of 14 goals this season, with senior Steve Sperl, sophomore Colin Baker and junior Martin Castro owning two apiece.

Wright State loses one on field, one to storm
Wright State starts the week at 6-4-0 overall and 0-2-0 in League play after a 3-0 loss to Loyola on Saturday. The Raiders also had a match suspended for the second time this year when lightning halted Wednesday's match with Cleveland State. That contest, which was tied 1-1 at halftime, will be re-scheduled and replayed from the beginning at a later date.

The loss to Loyola marked the first shutout against Wright State since Oct. 7, 2005, when UW-Milwaukee blanked the Raiders, 2-0. WSU had scored in each of the next 18 matches and was one contest short of tying the school record set in 1989.

Freshman Braden Fleak was held without a shot by the Rambler defense, only the second time in 11 matches that he has failed to score a goal. Fleak, who had entered the match ranked sixth in the nation in scoring, still is second in the League with ten markers and 22 points.

Junior goalkeeper Tebias Mason stopped seven shots at Loyola, giving him a League-high 53 on the year. Mason entered last week ranked 19th in the nation with an average of 5.11 saves per outing.

Valpo on verge of school history
Valparaiso, which officially joins the Horizon League in 2007, improved to 6-4-0 on the season with a 1-0 victory at Oakland on Saturday. The Crusaders have already matched their victory total from 2005 (6-10-2) and are approaching the school record of nine, set in 1997.

A pair of freshmen led the way for Valpo, with Steve Shively hitting his third goal of the season (all match-winners) and goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz earning the shutout with three saves. Schwarz is one clean sheet away from the school single-season record of five, set in 2002 by Jeff Oleck. He has already moved up to sixth place on the school's career shutouts list.

Valpo's balanced attack has five different players---Jon Brighton, D.J. Catrow, Paul Leitelt, J.J. Eschenburg and Jeremy Stacy---with at least three assists. Catrow also leads the team with five goals for a total of 13 points.