Men's Soccer Weekly Release #8

Oct. 17, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Jeff Engelbrecht, UIC
Sophomore * Goalkeeper * Peoria, Ill.
Engelbrecht registered back-to-back shutouts, helping the Flames to a 1-0-1 mark in League action during the week. The sophomore became the first goalkeeper to shut out UW-Milwaukee this season, posting seven saves in a scoreless draw on Wednesday. He came back with two stops in UIC's 1-0 victory over Butler on Sunday.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending October 16

Joe Hess, Detroit
Sophomore * Midfielder * Canton, Mich.
Hess scored a pair of goals in UDM's 3-2 victory over League foe Cleveland State, hitting the net on his only two shots of the day. He now has three goals this season.

Bill Metzger, Loyola
Senior * Forward * Wilmette, Ill.
Metzger scored one goal and assisted on another in helping the Ramblers to a pair of overtime wins. He hit the match-winner to defeat Butler and set up the tying tally versus UW-Green Bay.

Ray Hibbler, UW-Green Bay
Freshman * Forward * Janesville, Wis.
Hibbler scored his first collegiate goal Sunday, hitting the net against Loyola.

Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee
Freshman * Goalkeeper * Green Bay, Wis.
Fernstrum extended his personal shutout streak to five consecutive matches, blanking UIC and Northern Illinois in a 1-0-1 week. He has not allowed a goal in his last 502:44 of action.

Tony Labudovski, Wright State
Junior * Midfielder * Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Labudovski netted the match-winner versus IUPUI, hitting the net with 1:40 left in regulation Sunday. His PK was also the only Raider tally in a 5-1 loss to IPFW on Friday.

News From Around the League

Titans doing just enough to get by
Detroit ran its winning streak to six consecutive matches with two victories last week, improving to 8-3-2 overall and taking over the top spot in the League standings at 4-1-0. All six of those victories have come by one goal apiece, including a trio of 3-2 decisions and two 2-1 triumphs.

Detroit has overcome its early-season struggles on offense, posting 20 goals in its last eight contests and eight in its last three outings. Each of the team's last three matches has seen a Titan player post a two-goal perfornance (Vahid Assadpour twice and Joe Hess on Sunday).

Andrew Ornoch's assist gives him 58 points in his Titan career, moving the junior forward into eighth place on the school's all-time list.

Panthers shutting down the opposition
UW-Milwaukee and freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum continue to post outstanding defensive numbers, helping the Panthers to an 8-2-4 record. Fernstrum extended his personal scoreless streak to 502:44 with shutouts versus UIC and Northern Illinois last weekend, His streak is the third-best in school history and includes five consecutive whitewashes en route to a 0.26 goals-against average for the season.

The Panthers have now recorded five consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1979. None of the players on the current roster was born when that feat was achieved by a team which finished 15-3-4 and ranked 16th in the nation.

UWM completed a difficult stretch with a 2-0-1 record against three teams ranked in their respective regions. Butler was ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Region before falling 2-0 last Sunday, while UIC carried a No. 10 ranking in the Midwest Region into Wednesday's tie. Junior Craig Mallace's penalty-kick conversion handed Northern Illinois a 1-0 loss, knocking NIU from its No. 2 perch in the Midwest. Mallace now leads the League with 17 points (four goals plus nine assists).

Ramblers break out of scoring slump to remain perfect in League play
A pair of 2-1 overtime victories last week lifted Loyola to 3-0-0 in the League and 6-5-2 overall. The Ramblers outlasted Butler and UW-Green Bay in extra time. Five of the team's last six contests have required more than 90 minutes.

Sophomore midfielder Keum Sung KIm posted his fifth goal of the season versus UW-Green Bay, tying him for third in the League in that category. He is also tied for fourth with his 14 points (five goals and four assists). Four other Ramblers have scored three goals apiece: Bill Metzger, Joe Nierzwicki, Matt Marek and Javier Lopez.

Freshman goalkeeper Brad Sommer lowered his season GAA to 1.75. Since taking over the starting role in mid-September, he has logged 47 saves in ten matches.

Flames dousing opponents' offense, as well
UIC jumped to 7-3-2 on the season after a scoreless draw versus UW-Milwaukee and a 1-0 triumph over Butler. After dropping three consecutive contests to end September, UIC is now 4-0-1 in October, outscoring its opponents 13-2 in the month.

The two shutouts also give UIC five for the season, eclipsing the team's total for the past two seasons combined. The Flames had a total of only four shutouts in 2003 and 2004.

Junior midfielder Tonci Skroce and sophomore midfielder Pavle Dundjer continue to provide heroics for the Flames. Skroce's goal versus BU was his fifth of the season, with four of the five turning out as match-winners. Dundjer's helper on that marker was his eighth of the season. He is one behind UWM's Craig Mallace's League-high total on that chart and also in points (16 off four goals and eight assists).

Phoenix coming up short in close matches
UW-Green Bay starts the week at 6-6-0 overall after dropping two one-goal decisions to Marquette (1-0) and Loyola (2-1) last week. The Phoenix is used to close decisions, with ten of the team's 12 matches decided by one goal. UWGB is 4-6-0 in those contests, including four 1-0 losses.

Junior forward Joshua Okoampa recorded an assist Sunday, setting up freshman Ray Hibbler's first collegiate goal against Loyola. The set-up gives Okoampa 14 points (six goals and two helpers) on the season. He is tied for fourth on the League scoring charts.

UW-Green Bay wraps up a five-match road swing Wednesday at IPFW. The team's contest versus UIC on Saturday marks the team's first appearance at Santaga Stadium since Sept. 30.

Bulldogs stumble at inopportune times
Butler picked the worst time for its current three-match losing streak as the consecutive setbacks to UW-Milwaukee (2-0 last Sunday), Loyola (2-1 in overtime Friday) and UIC (1-0 on Sunday) have dropped the Bulldogs to 2-3-0 in the League standings as part of a 9-5-0 overall ledger. The three-game losing streak is the school's longest since a four-match skid early in the 2002 campaign.

Friday's loss at Loyola represented the Butler's first overtime contest since a 1-1 tie against Cincinnati on Oct. 12, 2004. BU had not dropped an overtime match since a 2-1 decision to those same Bearcats on Oct. 8, 2003.

The first team to score has won all 14 of Butler's matches this season. Twelve of the Bulldogs' contests have been decided by shutout, with BU posting an 8-4-0 mark in those matches.

Raiders waiting for scoring opportunities
Wright State snapped a four-match losing streak with a 2-1 victory over IUPUI on Sunday, improving to 6-8-0 overall. The Raiders are 1-2-0 in League action, wrapping up the regular season with four consecutive League matches.

Sunday's contest featured late heroics as Tony Labudovski hit the match-winner off a pass from Kyle Bryan with 1:40 remaining in regulation. The junior midfielder connected for the fifth time this fall and continued a season-long trend for the Raiders. Of the team's 15 goals this fall, six have come in the final 15 minutes of regulation.

The Raiders are now 4-1-0 when scoring two or more goals this season, but have suffered five shutouts in 2005.

Vikings looking toward the future
Cleveland State skips one collegiate tradition in this Sunday's home finale versus Valparaiso. Senior Recognition Day festivities will be skipped since the Viking roster includes no seniors. The line-up features two juniors (Burke Schultz and Ismail Ismail) along with eight freshmen and nine sophomores.

CSU's 0-12-1 record includes an 0-5-0 mark in League play, but the Vikings are not playing like the typical last-place doormat. Three of the team's League losses have come by one goal, including Sunday's 3-2 loss to current League front-runner Detroit and a 2-1 setback to defending League titlist UW-Milwaukee on Sept. 29. Last year's CSU crew went 0-3-1 in loop contests decided by one goal.

Freshman goalkeeper Anthony DeMarco raised his season total to 90 saves with 13 stops last week. He needs ten more to become the tenth player in Viking history to post 100 in one season. He has registered eight or more stops in six of his last nine appearances.

Horizon League Heads Toward Tournament Time

Only two weeks remain in the regular season before eight teams begin the quest for the Horizon League Championship. Here is a look at what's happened in League play so far this season, and at what remains on the horizon:

UW-Green Bay's Joshua Okoampa has scored eight points in League play, hitting the net three times with two assists. Detroit's Joe Hess is second on the League-only scoring chart, as Sunday's two-goal effort versus Cleveland State gives him seven points (three goals and one helper) in five loop appearances.

Hess and UIC's Tonci Skroce each have two match-winning goals in League play. Skroce netted the deciding tally in Flame victories over Cleveland State and Butler, while Hess achieve the feat in triumphs over UW-Green Bay and CSU.

UW-Milwaukee netminder Grant Fernstrum has not allowed a goal in 290 minutes against Horizon League competition. Loyola's Brad Sommer is next on the GAA list with a 0.92 mark in loop action. Fernstrum also has a League-high three shutouts within the circuit, one more than UIC goalkeeper Jeff Engelbrecht. Eric Mickschl's whitewash of Cleveland State gives the Panthers four in five League contests as UWM has outscored its League opponents, 6-2.

Cleveland State's Anthony DeMarco has 42 saves in five League matches (8.40 per appearance). Detroit's Sasha Boskovic is next on the per-game chart with 5.00 per outing.

Loyola and Detroit control their own fate in terms of seeding for the tournament. Detroit currently sits atop the League standings with 12 points (4-1-0) and hosts the Ramblers on Friday. UDM closes the loop schedule at home versus Butler on Oct. 28.

The Ramblers are 3-0-0 in League play entering that showdown at Titan Field, with four conference matches still on Loyola's agenda. LU also must visit UW-Milwaukee on Sunday before wrapping up the regular season versus Wright State and Cleveland State.

UW-Milwaukee must travel to local rival UW-Green Bay on Oct. 26 to conclude its League schedule. The Phoenix could play a big role in the final standings, as UW-Green Bay also hosts UIC on Oct. 22.