Men's Soccer Weekly Report #6

Oct. 1, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

JC Banks, Green Bay
Freshman * Forward * Milwaukee, Wis.
Banks continued his torrid scoring pace, notching back-to-back match-winners in a pair of 1-0 victories last week. He hit the net in the 81st minute to push the Phoenix past Valparaiso in Green Bay's League opener on Wednesday and scored the golden goal on a one-time volley off a throw-in in the 109th minute to defeat previously-ranked Ohio State on Saturday.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending September 30

Frank Patano, Butler
Jr. * F * Franklin Park, Ill.
Patano scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season on a six-yard header late in the first half of Sunday's 3-2 overtime loss to Evansville. Patano has scored five of his six goals on the road this year.

Robert Refai, Milwaukee
Fr. * F * Uppsala, Sweden
Refai scored the first goal of the match in Friday's 1-1 draw against Valparaiso. He knocked in a rebound from six yards out to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead at the 14:56 mark. The goal was the first of his collegiate career.

Charlie Trout, UIC
Fr. * M * Nottingham, England
Trout netted the match-winner with four minutes remaining in the first overtime Saturday, sending UIC to a 1-0 victory at Bradley. The goal was Trout's third of the year, all coming in the team's last four matches.

Ryan Schwarz, Valparaiso
So. * GK * Rockford, Ill.
Schwarz made four stops in a 1-0 loss to Green Bay on Wednesday and preserved a 1-1 tie with nine saves against Milwaukee on Saturday. Schwarz lowered his goals-against average for the season to 1.58.

Previous Player-of-the-Week Honorees:
Sept. 3 -- Frank Patano, Butler
Sept. 10 -- Nick Harpel, Cleveland State
Sept. 17 -- Dan O'Brien, Green Bay
Sept. 24 -- Michael Ferguson, Loyola

News From Around the League

Phoenix shutting down the opposition
Green Bay extended its unbeaten streak to seven matches (5-0-2) with a pair of 1-0 victories last week. The Phoenix edged Valparaiso to open League play on Wednesday and outlasted Ohio State in a battle of regionally-ranked teams Saturday night.

Freshman forward JC Banks scored the deciding goal in each contest, increasing his team-best totals to five goals and 11 points for the season. Four of those five markers have come in his last three outings.

Junior goalkeeper Adam Stikl has not allowed a goal in his last 422:27 of action, since Sept. 16. Stikl's four stops Saturday lowered his goals-against average to 0.94. Green Bay has recorded four consecutive shutouts, the program's longest run since a (then-)NCAA-record ten in a row during the 1992 campaign.

Junior midfielder Tyler Rosenberg had a hand, literally, in both Green Bay goals last week with long throw-ins to set up Banks' winning strikes. Rosenberg is tied for third place on the team scoring charts with seven points (two goals and three assists). Senior midfielder Dan O'Brien second at nine points (two goals and five helpers).

Green Bay tries to continue its streak with a pair of League matches this week. The Phoenix visits Wright State on Friday before a Sunday matinee at Butler.

Bulldogs fall to in-state rivals
Butler slipped to 4-4-2 on the season following two losses to in-state foes. The Bulldogs allowed two goals in a 4:23 span of the second half for a 2-0 loss to #19/23 Indiana on Wednesday and let a lead get away in the 90th minute Sunday, losing to Evansville 3-2 in overtime.

Butler is now 1-3-0 inside the borders of Indiana, but 3-1-1 when crossing state lines.

Junior forward Frank Patano scored his team-high sixth goal of the season Sunday, giving BU a 2-0 first-half lead with his six-yard header. Patano ranks second in the League with those six goals and 13 points this season.

Sophomore forward Boris Gatzky assisted on both goals Sunday, giving him five helpers for the year. Gatzky is tied with Green Bay's Dan O'Brien for the League lead in that category.

Butler leads the League with 20 goals scored, but it's been a tale of two halves for BU so far in 2007. The Bulldogs have outscored their opposition 10-3 in the first half this season but have given up 15 second-half tallies (plus one in overtime).

Freshman goalkeeper Fabian Knopfler was injured in a collision in front of the net midway through the second half on Sunday. Reserve Nick Hegeman was in goal when UE scored the tying and winning goals.

Butler hosts Milwaukee on Friday prior to Sunday's showdown with Green Bay.

Flames salvage split on Peoria trip
UIC moved to 4-2-2 on the season by splitting two matches against Missouri Valley Conference foes. The Flames fell to Missouri State 2-1 on a goal in the 87th minute Friday but outlasted host Bradley for a 1-0 victory Saturday.

Freshman midfielder Charlie Trout scored the deciding tally against the Braves, his third goal of the year. All three of those have come in the last four matches, as Trout has tied senior forward Cesar Zambrano and freshman forward Matt Spiess for the top spot on the Flame goal charts.

UIC has dominated the statistical battle this season, with a 121-57 advantage in shots through eight matches. The Flames outshot Missouri State 23-5 but could not avoid a loss in that contest.

Saturday marked the second year in a row UIC defeated Bradley in overtime. The 2006 verdict (2-1 on Sept. 3) ended BU's NCAA-record24-match unbeaten streak in extra time.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja did not play Friday as reserve Jeff Engelbrecht got the call in his hometown. Bubonja notched his third shutout of the year Saturday, stopping three shots to lower his League-best goals-against average to 0.71.

UIC has a busy week with road matches at Indiana (Wednesday), at Cleveland State (Friday) and at Detroit (Sunday).

Ramblers come up short at Northwestern
Loyola dropped to 4-3-2 with a 1-0 loss at #3/5 Northwestern on Wednesday, the Ramblers' only match of the week. The shutout was the first suffered by LU this season.

The Wildcats scored just over six minutes into the contest, ending a 231:36 shutout streak by junior goalkeeper Brian Byrne. The Rambler netminder stopped three shots, reducing his season goals-against average to 1.14. Byrne is tied for second in the League with three shutouts in 2007.

Sophomore forward Michael Ferguson was held off the scoresheet for only the third time this year. Ferguson tops the League charts with seven goals and 15 points.

Ferguson, who has scored 58 percent of the team's 12 goals in 2007, has already eclipsed his six-goal total for all of last year. Sophomore midfielder Eric Gehrig is the only other Rambler with more than one goal so far in 2007, hitting the net twice.

Loyola is undefeated (4-0-0) when scoring first this season. Northwestern's goal marked the first time LU had allowed a first-half tally since Sept. 12. Four of the 11 goals yielded by the Ramblers this season have come in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

The Ramblers return to League play, traveling to Detroit on Friday prior to a Sunday match at Cleveland State.

Titans experience ups and downs of 1-0
Detroit split its two matches last week to move to 4-4-2 overall. The Titans edged Xavier 1-0 on Friday but dropped a 1-0 verdict against in-state foe Western Michigan on Sunday. Each of UDM's last three contests have finished with 1-0 scores.

Freshman midfielder Jake Munchiando netted the match-winner against XU, his second strike of the year. Fellow freshman Matt Spencer set up the goal for his second helper of 2007.

Sophomore goalkeeper Bryan Kloss stopped four shots in each match and moved into a tie for the League lead with his fourth shutout of the year against the Musketeers. He also lowered his season goals-against average to 1.28.

Detroit allowed six goals in its season-opening loss Cal State Northridge, but has outscored its opposition 10-7 in the last nine outings.

Junior midfielder Reanto Susnja leads the team with four goals and nine points this fall, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively, in those departments. Munchiando and freshman midfielder Ken Simon have two goals apiece.

The Titans face a busy schedule, opening League play with three home dates in a five-day span this week. Detroit meets Valparaiso on Wednesday before a weekend slate against the Chicago schools as UDM faces Loyola on Friday and UIC on Sunday.

Vikings stop skid
Cleveland State ended a four-mach losing streak with a 1-0 victory over Canisius on Sunday in the team's only match of the week. The Vikings improved to 3-5-1 on the year.

Sophomore forward George Kephart scored the lone goal, his first points of the season. Kephart entered the season as the team's top returning scorer after his five goals and 12 points earned Second-Team All-League honors in 2006.

Sophomore defender Mitch Boyer added the assist to take over the team scoring lead with a modest total of four points. All of those have come on assists; CSU's eight goals have come from seven different players (one each) and an own-goal.

Kephart's strike came in the 78th minute, only the second time a Viking has scored after halftime this season.

Freshman goalkeeper Nick Harpel posted his third shutout of the season, as the Cleveland State defense kept Canisius at bay so Harpel was not forced to make a save in the match. The freshman lowered his season goals-against average to 1.11, the third-best mark on the League charts.

Cleveland State play their next seven matches against Horizon League foes, beginning Friday with its League opener against UIC and Sunday versus Loyola.

Crusaders come back for a point
Valparaiso fell to 2-6-2 overall and 0-2-2 in League play, dropping a 1-0 decision to Green Bay on Wednesday before rallying for a 1-1 draw with Milwaukee on Saturday.

Sophomore defender Steve Shively netted his team-leading third goal of the year in the 78th minute to salvage the tie in Milwaukee. Shively also had the lone Crusader strike in a 1-1 draw with Loyola on Sept. 16 and leads the team with three goals for the year.

Valparaiso has outscored its opposition by a 5-4 count in the first half of matches this year, but the Crusaders have had difficulty closing matches. Valpo's ten opponents own a 13-4 margin after the break, including an 11-2 margin after the 60th minute of play. Valpo has been tied at halftime in seven of its ten contests, but is just 1-5-1 in those matches.

Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz made nine saves Saturday, lowering his season goals-against average to 1.80. Schwarz is tied with Wright State's Tebias Mason for the League lead in saves (51).

Valpo closes its first wave of League competition Wednesday at Detroit before a Sunday trip to Eastern Illinois. The Crusaders will have played five League contests before some teams play their first, but Valpo steps out of loop play until Oct. 28 when three League matches cap the regular season.

Raiders looking for offense
Wright State fell to 2-6-0 on the season with a 1-0 loss to cross-town foe Dayton on Friday. The Raiders have now lost five matches in a row, being outscored 9-1 during that span and 12-4 for the season. WSU's six losses include five shutouts.

Senior goalkeeper Tebias Mason kept the Raiders in contention with three saves, giving him a League-best 51 for the season (tying Valpo's Ryan Schwarz atop the League charts but in two fewer matches). Mason, who topped the circuit with 105 saves last season, also owns a 1.43 goals-against average for the year.

Mason's play has been overshadowed by WSU's lack of scoring punch. The Raiders have been out-shot 70-40 in their last four outings (12-9 on Friday) and have yet to score in the first half of a match this season, being out-scored 8-0 before intermission.

Senior midfielder Tony Labudovski has both overtime golden goals for the Raiders. Junior midfielder Milovan Milosevic and sophomore midfielder Adam Harp have the only other markers for Wright State in 2007.

Wright hosts Akron in a final tuneup Wednesday before opening League play this weekend. The Raiders entertain Green Bay on Friday and close a busy week with a match against Milwaukee on Sunday. Wednesday's contest is the first of six consecutive League encounters for WSU.

Panthers stop slide, win a point
Milwaukee ended an eight-match losing streak with a 1-1 tie versus Valparaiso on Saturday. The tie pushed UWM to 0-8-1 on the season (0-0-1 in League play) and ended the longest slide in the program's history.

The tie marked only the second time in the last eight years that the Panthers didn't open League play with a victory.

Freshman forward Robert Refai staked UWM to a 1-0 lead with his first collegiate goal in the 15th minute. The Panthers took a lead to halftime for only the second time this season, but allowed the tying tally with 12:08 left in regulation.

Milwaukee continues to hold leads in several statistical categories, including shots (120-100, including a season-high 24 attempts Saturday) and corner kicks (51-35). But those advantages haven't carried over onto the scoreboard where opponents have out-scored the Panthers 16-6.

Six of the eight losses have come by one goal apiece, continuing a trend for Milwaukee as 14 of the team's last 17 losses (since the start of the 2006 campaign) have come by one goal.

Junior goalkeeper Ryan Germann logged three saves against the Crusaders. He also lowered his season goals-against average to 1.65.

The Panthers hit the road for road matches at Butler (Friday) and Wright State (Sunday).