Horizon League features nation's top 1-2 punch in goal

Oct. 18, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- When the 2005 men's soccer season began, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee freshman Grant Fernstrum was a back-up goalkeeper, looking to the future for his opportunity to take the field. Now just seven weeks later, the Panther netminder is looking down on the rest of Division I -- at least in terms of statistical rankings.

Fernstrum's current streak of five consecutive shutouts has lowered his overall goals-against average to 0.261, putting the Green Bay, Wis., native second on the statistical charts released by the NCAA on Monday (Oct. 17). Only Butler University senior Frank Peabody owns a lower mark at 0.250, but the Bulldog netminder will miss the next three weeks due to an elbow injury.

Fernstrum has not allowed a goal in the last 502:44 since taking over the starting role from Eric Mickschl, and has yielded only two penalty-kick conversions in his 690 minutes of action this season. He is one shutout short of matching the school record for a freshman, while his 0.26 GAA is less than half the current school standard (0.54, set by Chris Dadaian in 2002).

Two other Horizon League netminders are ranked among the nation's leaders in another category, as Cleveland State University goalkeeper Anthony DeMarco stands fourth in the nation with his 6.92 saves-per-game pace which includes three contests with ten or more stops. In addition, University of Illinois at Chicago sophomore Jeff Engelbrecht is 19th in save percentage at .836 (51 saves, 10 goals allowed). Engelbrecht's back-to-back shutouts of UWM and Butler earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors this week.

UW-Milwaukee also boasts one of the nation's top playmakers with junior Craig Mallace tied for 13th in the nation at 0.64 assists per game (nine helpers in 14 appearances). His match-winning goal versus Northern Illinois on Sunday (Oct. 16) gives Mallace a League-high 17 points, one ahead of UIC sophomore Pavle Dundjer. The Flame midfielder claims an advantage in one area, however, as his eight assists have come in only 12 contests, a 0.67 per-game clip which ties him for tenth-best in the nation. Dundjer also has four goals for a total of 16 points this season.

As a team, Butler is 16th in the nation with a 0.64 goals-against-average. Peabody plus back-up netminders Mike Sims and Nick Hegeman have combined to yield only nine goals in 1,264 minutes this season. The Bulldog trio also stands tied for 17th in save percentage, stopping 48 shots while allowing nine goals for a .842 rating.

NCAA Individual Statistical Leaders
through matches of Oct. 16, 2005

Assists Per GameGPAAPG
1.Ryan Solle, Wake Forest12121.00
2.Sascha Kljestan, Seton Hall13120.92
3.Scott Jones, UNC Greensboro12100.83
4.Rodrigo Hidalgo, South Florida1190.82
5.Jorden Holder, Central Connecticut State970.78
T10.Pavle Dundjer, UIC1280.67
T13.Craig Mallace, UW-Milwaukee1490.64

Goals Against AverageGPMin.GAGAA
1.Frank Peabody, Butler872020.250
2.Grant Fernstrum, UW-Milwaukee769020.261
3.Eric Reed, UCLA1090130.300
4.Tally Hall, San Diego State12115140.313
5.Steve Goletz, Northern Illinois12110350.408

Saves Per GameGPSvs.SPG
1.Donnie Henderson, Centenary11837.55
2.Eric Sullivan, Niagara12877.25
3.Todd Dohlman, Missouri-Kansas City11797.18
4.Anthony DeMarco, Cleveland State13906.92
5.Felipe Carvalho, Georgia State12816.75

Save PercentageGPSvs.GAPct.
1.Tally Hall, San Diego State12444.917
2.Eric Reed, UCLA10323.914
3.Kevin Trapp, James Madison9334.892
4.Steve Goletz, Northern Illinois12385.884
5.Justin Burse, Fordham9345.872
19.Jeff Engelbrecht, UIC115110.836

NCAA Team Statistical Leaders
through matches of Oct. 16, 2005

Goals-Against AverageGPMin.GGAA
1.San Diego State12116050.39
2.New Hampshire13121060.45
3.Akron13119060.45
4.UCLA12112060.48
5.James Madison12110560.49
16.Butler14126490.64

Save PercentageSvs.GAPct.
1.San Diego State445.898
2.Towson7310.880
3.UCLA416.872
4.California477.870
5.James Madison406.870
T17.Butler489.842