Men's Soccer Weekly Release #9

Oct. 24, 2005

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Horizon League Player of the Week


Neil Dombrowski, UWM
Senior * Midfielder * West Allis, Wis.
Dombrowski tied a school and Horizon League record with four goals in the Panthers' 4-1 victory over Loyola on Sunday. Dombrowski posted the ninth four-goal outing in UWM history and the first since Antou Jallow hit the net four times versus UIC on Oct. 2, 2002. Dombrowski now shares the Horizon League lead with eight goals this season.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending October 23

Andrew Ornoch, Detroit
Junior * Forward * Toronto, Ontario
Ornoch scored both of his team's goals during the week, including the match-winner in Detroit's 1-0 victory over Loyola on Friday. He also hit the net for the eighth time this year versus Oral Roberts.

Pavle Dundjer, UIC
Sophomore * Midfielder * Becmen, Belgrade
Dundjer scored the game-winning goal in the fifth minute of overtime to give UIC a key road victory at UW-Green Bay, 2-1. Dundjer's goal was his fifth of the season and gives him 18 points in 2005.

Joshua Okoampa, UW-Green Bay
Junior * Forward * Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Okoampa scored a pair of goals in a 3-0 victory over IPFW on Wednesday. The junior now shares the Horizon League lead with his eight goals this season, adding two assists for 18 points.

Tony Labudovski, Wright State
Junior * Midfielder * Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Labudovski netted two goals last week, opening the scoring in the Raiders' victories over Cleveland State and Butler. The junior now has a team-high seven goals this season.

News From Around the League

Titans take command in chase for top seed
Detroit can wrap up the regular-season League title and the top seed in the League Championship tournament with a victory or a tie versus Butler on Friday. The Titans enter the week at 9-4-2 overall and 5-1-0 in League play after defeating Loyola 1-0 on Friday. Andrew Ornoch netted the only goal of the match.

The Titans had a seven-match winning streak snapped with a 2-1 non-conference loss to Oral Roberts on Sunday. Ornoch's eighth goal of 2005 staked the Titans to a 1-0 lead but UDM couldnot hold that advantage. It was the team's tenth consecutive match to be decided by one goal. Detroit has also played six overtime contests, going 3-1-2 in those matches.

Ornoch now leads the Horizon League in scoring, boasting 20 points off those eight goals and four assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Sasha Boskovic rates second in the League with 73 saves and fourth with a 1.08 goals-against average.

Panther attack steps into spotlight
UW-Milwaukee rode a stifling defense for most of 2005, but senior Neil Dombrowski showed that the Panthers have a strong attack as well. Dombrowski matched a school and Horizon League record with his four goals to defeat Loyola 4-1 on Sunday, raising the Panthers to 9-3-4 overall and 4-1-1 in the League. UWM needs one more victory to reach double digits for the seventh consecutive year and the 12th time since 1993.

Dombrowski's four-goal effort was the ninth in school history, but only the second since 1984. Antou Jallow was the last Panther to score four goals in a game, accomplishing that feat versus UIC on Oct. 2, 2002. Dombrowski now leads the team with 18 points (second on the League charts), including a League-high eight goals.

Freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum saw his scoreless streak---the second-longest in school history---end at 584:48 in Thursday's 2-1 loss at Michigan. Fernstrum still boasts a 0.51 goals-against average, including a 0.24 mark in four Horizon League matches this season.

Flames hitting their peak at right time?
UIC posted two more overtime victories last week, outlasting DePaul (2-1 on Wednesday) and UW-Green Bay (2-1 on Saturday) to improve to 9-3-2 overall. The win in Green Bay also raised the Flames' League ledger to 3-2-1.

UIC starts the week riding a seven-match unbeaten streak, the school's longest since a nine-match run in 2001. Since a 2-0 loss to Northwestern on Sept. 28, the Flames are 6-0-1 in the month of October. UIC also boasts a 4-1-2 mark in overtime matches this season.

UIC has at least three chances (two in the regular season, one in the tournament) to post a tenth victory of the season and reach double digits for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.

Sophomore midfielder Pavle Dundjer ranks second in the League with eight assists and is tied for second with his 18 points (including five goals). Sophomore Jeff Engelbrecht stands third on the League goals-against charts with a 0.86 rate.

Raiders streaking toward finish
Wright State's 2005 campaign could be compared to a roller coaster ride---a 1-4 start, followed by the climb to four victories, then the drop of four consecutive losses. Now, it's back up the hill for the Raiders, winners of three matches in a row. So perhaps it's only appropriate that WSU starts the week at .500 (8-8-0), including a 3-2-0 League ledger after Sunday's 2-1 win at Butler.

Senior Tony Labudovski has led the recent surge, scoring a goal in each of his last four matches to give him seven on the year. That puts him fourth on the League charts, while senior netminder Jason Balach is third in the League with his 61 saves.

Josh Grossman added a pair of goals, including the match-winner, in Wednesday's 2-1 victory at Cleveland State. The freshman has moved into second place on the team scoring charts with nine points, while senior Jason Tackis is tied for third place in the League with his five assists.

Ramblers looking for offense
Loyola dropped a pair of critical League matches last weekend, falling at Detroit (1-0 on Friday) and at UW-Milwaukee (4-1 on Sunday). Those setbacks leave the Ramblers at 6-7-2 overall and 3-2-0 in League play.

Loyola scored 19 goals and was not shut out in its first nine matches of the year, but the Ramblers have had difficulty scoring lately. The team has suffered three shutouts since Oct. 9, scoring only five goals in that span. At the other end of the field, freshman Brad Sommer had allowed just one goal in each of his previous three outings before the UW-Milwaukee contest.

Sophomore Keum Sung Kim notched the lone LU tally against the Panthers, hitting the net for the sixth time this season. After going without a goal for all of 2004, Kim is now tied for fifth in the League this season.

Phoenix try to regain Cup
UW-Green Bay brings a 7-7-0 record into the week, including a 2-4-0 mark in League play after Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to UIC. After a 3-0-0 start, the Phoenix have not won back-to-back games, and not dropped more than two in a row at any point this season.

Junior forward Joshua Okoampa netted a pair of goals in the team's 3-0 victory over IPFW on Wednesday. Okoampa now has a League-high eight goals and ranks second in the League with his 18 points (including two assists). He tallied nine goals without a helper last season. Senior Bati Tola is third on the League assist charts with five this year. Tola has 13 points---all assists---in 54 career appearances.

The Chancellor's Cup is on the line when UWGB hosts UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday night. The Panthers have held the trophy between the state rivals for the past four years.

Bulldogs look for ways to stop slide
Butler opens the week on a five-match losing streak, a run which has cast a shadow on the team's 9-2-0 start to the season. Butler is on its longest skid since a five-outing run in 2000, with the current slide dropping BU to 9-7-0 overall and 2-4-0 in the League.

Butler has scored only two goals in those last five matches, but the notable difference comes at the defensive end. The Bulldogs had allowed only four goals in their first 11 matches of 2005 but have now given up 13 in those last five outings, including six in a 6-0 loss to Indiana on Wednesday.

Senior goalkeeper Frank Peabody, who has been sidelined since Oct. 7 with an elbow injury, began light workouts with the team this week, and could be available for action this weekend. He led the nation in goals-against average (0.25) at the time of his injury.

Vikings seek initial victory of 2005
Cleveland State opens the week at 0-14-1, looking for its first victory since Oct. 15, 2004 (a 1-0 triumph over Buffalo). The Vikings lost a 5-2 decision to Valparaiso on Sunday.

Freshman forward Nenad Stojkovic is finishing the regular season on a strong note, scoring in both matches last week to lift his team-leading scoring total to 11 points. Stojkovic has scored a goal in four of his last six matches, giving him five on the year.

Freshman goalkeeper Anthony DeMarco leads the League with 96 saves this season, needing four 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.

Seeds Up For Grabs In Final Week of League Play

With five League games left in the regular season, only one team know its seeding for the League Championship tournament which begins on Saturday, Nov. 5.

Cleveland State will be the eighth seed regardless of its result at Loyola on Sunday, but many of the other seven teams will have to wait until Sunday to discover the identity of their first-round opponents.

Detroit can clinch the top seed with a victory or a tie at home versus Butler on Friday. The Titans own the tie-breaker edge over UW-Milwaukee., but a loss to Butler would leave Detroit at 15 points and open the door for the Panthers, who visit UW-Green Bay on Wednesday attempting to add to their 13-point total.

UIC's tie at UW-Milwaukee gives the Flames a one-point lead on Wright State and Loyola (3-2-0, nine points apiece), although Sunday's match with WSU is the only League date left for UIC (3-2-1 in the loop). Loyola hosts Wright State on Friday.

Butler and UW-Green Bay currently share sixth place on the League ladder at 2-4-0 (six points), although the Phoenix owns that tiebreaker by virtue of a 1-0 victory in Indianapolis on Oct. 7. UWGB would also own the positioning edge over Wright State (after defeating the Raiders 3-2 on Oct. 9) but not Loyola in the event those teams end up at 3-4-0. Loyola edged the Phoenix 2-1 on Oct. 16 to keep that advantage.