Men's Soccer Weekly Report #4

Sept. 17, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Horizon League Player of the Week

Dan O'Brien, Green Bay
Senior * Midfielder * Shoreview, Minn.
O'Brien earned Most Valuable Player honors after leading the Phoenix to the title of the Green Bay Nike Soccer Classic. He set up the match-winning goals in both Green Bay victories (3-0 over Albany and 3-2 over Evansville) and also scored a pair of goals to take over the team scoring lead with seven points for the season.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending September 16

Boris Gatzky, Butler
So. * F * Reulingen, Germany
Gatzky led the Bulldogs to a 1-1-0 weekend, forcing overtime with his goal in the 82nd minute versus Northern Illinois on Sunday. Butler added another marker in extra time to defeat the reigning Mid-American Conference champions 3-2.

Renato Susnja, Detroit
Jr. * M * Dearborn, Mich.
Susnja scored four goals in three contests, including the match-winner in overtime to defeat Central Arkansas on Sunday. He also had the tying tally Wednesday versus IPFW and hit the net in a 4-0 victory over Canisius on Friday before his two-goal effort against UCA.

Pavle Dundjer, UIC
Sr. * M * Belgrade, Serbia
Dundjer hit the net from 40 yards out against Akron on Thursday, tying the score against the #18/16 Zips with his first goal of the season and the 20th of his career.

Michael Ferguson, Loyola
So. * F * Overland Park, Kan.
Ferguson scored a pair of goals, giving him a League-high six for the season. Ferguson's marker with 2:58 left to play gave the Ramblers a 1-1 tie with Valparaiso on Sunday, and he also hit the net versus Eastern Illinois on Wednesday.

Ryan Schwarz, Valparaiso
So. * GK * Rockford, Ill.
Schwarz made eight saves, including two in overtime, to preserve a 1-1 tie with Loyola on Sunday, Valpo's first-ever League contest. He also stopped two shots in a 1-0 loss to DePaul on Friday.

Adam Harp, Wright State
So. * F * Beavercreek, Ohio
Harp netted the Raiders' lone marker of the weekend, tying the game against St. Mary's (Calif.) with his first goal of the season in the season half. SMC later scored the deciding tally in a 2-1 victory.

Previous Player-of-the-Week Honorees:
Sept. 3 -- Frank Patano, Butler
Sept. 10 -- Nick Harpel, Cleveland State

News From Around the League

Ramblers fit to be tied
Loyola starts the week at 2-2-2 following a pair of ties last week. The Ramblers earned a 2-2 draw with Eastern Illinois on Wednesday and opened the Horizon League slate with a 1-1 tie versus Valparaiso at Toyota Park on Sunday.

Sophomore forward Michael Ferguson logged goals in each match, including the tying tally with 2:58 left against the Crusaders. Ferguson leads the League with six goals this season and has already eclipsed his freshman-year mark of five markers.

Sophomore forward Alex Jones had the other goal against Eastern Illinois, his first strike of the season. Jones hit the next six times in his debut campaign last fall.

Loyola out-shot both of its opponents last week, building advantages of 14-7 versus EIU and 22-13 against Valpo. For the season, Loyola owns a 93-61 edge in shots but is even in goals (10-10).

Junior goalkeeper Bryan Byrne recorded five saves to preserve the tie with Valparaiso, following a three-stop effort on Wednesday.

The Ramblers' goal Sunday came with Loyola down a man following a red-card expulsion. The match included nine cautions.

Loyola heads west for two matches in California this weekend. The Ramblers face UC Irvine on Friday before wrapping up the trip against host San Diego on Sunday.

Crusaders open League slate with a point
Valparaiso made its Horizon League debut with Sunday's 1-1 tie versus Loyola at Toyota Park. The Crusaders' 1-4-1 ledger also includes a 1-0 loss to DePaul on Friday.

Sunday's match was Valpo's first League contest in any sport after the school joined the circuit this past summer.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz stoped eight shots in Sunday's contest, giving him 30 saves for the season.

Valpo has not allowed a first-half goal since the season opener at North Carolina State. The Crusaders have outscored opponents 4-1 in the opening 45 minutes this season but have scored just once after the intermission while giving up nine second-half tallies.

Sophomore defender Steve Shively scored his first goal of the year against the Ramblers. Of his five career markers, it was the first that did not prove to be a match-winner.

Freshmen Jake Freisinger and Adrian Ortiz earned assists on Shively's marker, with Ortiz taking over the League lead with his fourth helper of the season. Those four points also top the team scoring charts.

Valpo visits former Mid-Continent Conference/Summit League foe Western Illinois on Friday before hosting in-state rival Butler on Sunday. The match against the Bulldogs opens a stretch featuring four League matches in ten days.

Bulldogs gain split in tough weekend trip
Butler moved to 3-1-2 after splitting two matches at the adidas/Baymont Inn Invitational. The Bulldogs fell to #10/12 Northwestern 3-0 on Friday before rallying to defeat defending Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois 2-1 in overtime on Sunday.

Freshman midfielder Dustin Mares netted the winning goal in the 108th minute Sunday, his first collegiate marker. Sophomore forward Boris Gatzky put the Bulldogs on the board with an unassisted goal with 7:51 left in regulation.

Butler leads the League with 12 goals scored this season and has scored at least three goals in half of its six contests so far in 2007. Seven different players have scored goals for the Bulldogs already this season.

BU also has gone to overtime three times this fall, once more than the team's total for the entire 2006 season.

Junior forward Frank Patano ranks second in the League with four goals and nine points despite being held scoreless Friday and sitting out Sunday's match due to a red-card suspension.

NIU's goal just before halftime was only the second first-half marker allowed by Butler this season. BU has outscored its opponents 6-2 prior to intermission this season.

The Bulldogs host Dayton at Kuntz Stadium on Thursday before heading north to face Valparaiso on Sunday.

Phoenix wins home tournament
Green Bay captured the title of the Green Bay Nike Soccer Classic, defeating Albany 3-0 on Friday and rallying to edge Evansville 3-2 on Sunday to improve to 3-2-1 on the season.

Senior midfielder Dan O'Brien earned tournament MVP honors with two goals and two assists, with both of his helpers setting up match-winning tallies. O'Brien is tied for second in the League with three assists this fall and leads the team with seven points (fourth-best in the League).

Green Bay scored just four goals in its first four matches of the year but broke out for six markers in two home contests. Three players logged their first goals of 2007, with junior forward Tosaint Ricketts and freshman midfielder JC Banks joining O'Brien in that group.

The Phoenix trailed 3-0 at halftime Sunday before coming back with two goals in the first ten minutes of the second stanza to tie the match. O'Brien then found junior midfielder Tyler Rosenberg for the match-winner, lifting Green Bay to 2-1-0 against Missouri Valley Conference foes.

Rosenberg and sophomore midfielder David Znaty are tied for sixth place on the loop scoring charts with two goals and one assists (five points) apiece.

Green Bay continues its homestand this week, hosting Wisconsin on Thursday and Western Michigan on Sunday.

Titans break slump in a big way
Detroit recorded two wins and a tie last week, improving to 2-2-2 on the season. The Titans tied IPFW 2-2 on Wednesday and won the title of the Bowling Green Falcon Classic by defeating Canisius 4-0 on Friday and outlasting Central Arkansas 2-1 on Sunday.

Junior midfielder Renato Susnja earned all-tournament honors, capping a week that featured four goals in the three contests. He logged the tying tally Wednesday and added an insurance marker Friday prior to a two-goal showing Sunday as he opened the scoring in the first half and added the overtime match-winner. He is tied for second in the League with those four goals and stands third with eight points for the season.

Three of Detroit's last four matches have gone to overtime, with the Titans owning a 1-0-2 mark in those contests. After allowing six goals in the season-opener at Cal State Northridge, UDM has given up only four in its last five matches while outscoring its opponents 8-3 in the three most recent contests.

Sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Kloss stopped six shots in each match at Bowling Green, giving him 31 for the season. Kloss has lowered his season goals-against average to 1.62.

Detroit visits Big Ten Conference representative Michigan on Friday before hosting Buffalo on Sunday. UDM opens League play versus Valparaiso on Oct. 3.

Flames drop top-25 showdownUIC starts the week at 1-1-1 after a 2-1 loss at #18/16 Akron on Thursday. Senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer scored the lone goal for the Flames, beating the Akron goalkeeper from 40 yards out to tie the score before the Zips scored the match-winner in the 82nd minute.

Dundjer's goal was the 20th of his career and gives him 50 points for his career. Dundjer had eight markers last season to lead the team in that department.

The two goals allowed marked the first time UIC had given up multiple goals in a match since a 3-0 loss to Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship on Nov. 5, 2005. The Flames' had allowed only nine goals in their last 23 contests before Thursday.

Sophmore goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja ranks second in the League with a 0.93 goals-against average. He was fourth in the nation in that category last fall.

The Flames have played only three matches in the first three weeks of the season but will take the field three times this week. UIC opens the busy stretch Tuesday at home versus Western Illinois in a re-match of the teams' showdown in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Championship---a 3-0 UIC victory. The Flames then travel to south Florida for a Friday-night at Florida International and a Sunday matinee at Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday.

Vikings come up empty in California
Cleveland State dropped both matches of its California trip, falling to 2-3-1 on the season following a 2-0 setback against Cal State Northridge on Friday and a 1-0 defeat at Cal Poly on Sunday.

The Vikings have scored only five goals this season, with one being an own-goal. No Cleveland State player has more than one goal or three points this season, and the two shutouts extend CSU's scoreless streak to 266:50 as play begins this week.

Freshman midfielder Marco DiFranco tops the team charts with three points, with sophomore defender Steve Trapp, sophomore midfielder Bryan Henson and senior Midfielder Roshard Gilbert owning the team's other markers.

Sophomore Dan Duric got the call in net Sunday, his first action since starting the season-opener versus St. Bonaventure. Freshman Nick Harpel had played the previous four contests and leads the League with a 0.64 goals-against average.

Cleveland State posted a 2-2-1 record in its five-match road swing and returns home to face Notre Dame (Ohio) on Wednesday. That match is the Vikings' second (and final) non-League home match of the season.

CSU goes back on the road Sunday to face Duquesne and opens the League schedule at home versus UIC on Oct. 5.

Raiders lose first half of West-Coast swing
Wright State slipped to 2-3-0 on the season with a 2-1 loss at St. Mary's (Calif.) on Sunday, the first stop of a two-match swing in the Golden State. The Raiders visit Cal Poly on Tuesday before heading back to Dayton to make their home-season debut Sunday against Bowling Green.

Sophomore midfielder Adam Harp hit the net for the first time this season, tying the score in the 59th minute. St. Mary's came back five minutes later to score the go-ahead goal.

Wright State has scored only four goals in its first five outings this fall and has yet to record a goal in the first half. WSU has been outscored 3-0 in the opening 45 minutes but has played even (2-2) in the second half and has won both of its overtime matches so far in 2007. Senior midfielder Tony Labudovski has both OT golden goals for the Raiders. He is the only League player with two match-winners so far this year.

Senior goalkeeper Tebias Mason logged nine saves Sunday as WSU was out-shot 23-12 by the Gaels. Mason leads the League with 35 stops this season after topping the circuit charts with 105 a year ago.

Sophomore forward Braden Fleak has now gone six matches without a goal (dating back to the end of last season). Fleak ranked second in the League with 13 goals and 29 points in 2006 but is scoreless so far in 2007.

Panthers' slide continues
Milwaukee carries an 0-6-0 mark into the week after two 2-1 losses over the weekend. Drake edged the Panthers on Friday before #20/12 Gonzaga posted the same result on Sunday. UWM's streak is the longest in school history.

Despite the record, Milwaukee holds season advantages over its opponents in shots (70-63) and corner kicks (29-19). However, the Panthers have managed only four goals while allowing 11.

Five of the six losses have come by one goal apiece, continuing a trend for Milwaukee as 13 of the team's last 15 losses (since the start of the 2006 campaign) have come by one goal.

Junior forward Colin Baker recorded his first goal of the season in Friday's match, with senior defender Chris Linz hitting the net on Sunday. Senior midfielder Zeke Dombrowski has the team's two other tallies this season and leads the team with four points.

Junior goalkeeper Ryan Germann stopped three saves in each contest over the weekend, giving him 17 saves in four outings this year. He owns a 1.73 goals-against average for the season.

The Panthers head east for the Dartmouth Classic this weekend. UWM faces the host school on Friday before a Sunday match-up with Yale.