Horizon League opens men's soccer play this week
Aug. 29, 2005 UW-Milwaukee Panthers
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(Last Year: 14-5-3 overall, 6-1-0 Horizon League)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee vies for its fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and extending a run which included a victory over San Francisco in last year's national summit. Coach Louis Bennett faces a different road in 2005, however, as the Panthers must replace four four-year starters who combined to post a lofty 26-1-1 Horizon League mark and a 67-18-5 overall ledger in their tenure. Two-time League Player of the Year Antou Jallow is gone, but junior Steve Sperl returns after tallying the match-winner in that NCAA triumph. Junior midfielder Dale Weiler ranked second in the nation with his 0.73 assists per match last fall, pacing the Horzion League with his 16 helpers to supplement a four-goal output. Weiler finished sixth in the Horizon League with his 24 points. Sophomore defender Steve Bode missed all of 2004 with a knee injury but returns to anchor a back line in front of junior netminder Eric Mickschl, who posted an 0.85 GAA with five shutouts last season. Butler Bulldogs (Last Year: 13-6-1 overall, 6-1-0 Horizon League) BU shared the regular-season League title last season, but was surprised by Detroit in the semifinals of the tournament. That setback leaves coach Joe Sochacki's team with something to prove this fall, although the veteran sideline boss must replace four of the top five scorers off last year's roster. The lone returner among that quintet is senior forward Scott Olsen, whose 26 points topped the BU charts and earned First-Team All-Horizon League honors a year ago. Olsen finished fourth in the League in scoring, and carries a career resume featuring 19 goals and 17 assists for the Blue and White. Senior midfielder John Mariscalco is the only other returning Bulldog to hit the net in 2004. Mariscalco tallied two goals and a pair of assists, but it was his work on the back line which earned the defender First-Team All-League status a year ago. Frank Peabody enters his senior campaign as the Butler netminder. He posted a 0.82 GAA in seven appearances last fall, bolstering a solid defense which yielded just 20 goals in 20 contests. Detroit Titans (Last Year: 14-6-0 overall, 4-3-0 Horizon League) Veteran coach Morris Lupenec has witnessed many highs and lows in his 13 years at Detroit. The veteran sideline boss has high expectations for his team in 2005. First-Team All-League midfielder Vahid Assadpour headlines the group of nine returning starters. The junior tallied four goals with a team-high six assists last fall, making him a key part of the attack which registered 43 goals in 2004. Andrew Ornoch led the way with 12 markers and three assists as a sophomore, giving the midfielder a spot on the Second-Team All-League squad. Teammate Jason Massoglia also was a Second-Team honoree after a ten-point (five goals) campaign for the defender's sophomore campaign. Rounding out the attack for Detroit are junior Michael De Simone and senior Chris Fudge. Each midfielder collected four assists a year ago. Sophomore Sasha Boskovic returns to the net for UDM, following a 2004 debut campaign in which he registered a 1.28 goals-against mark with 76 saves and six shutouts. Wright State Raiders (Last Year: 7-12-1 overall, 3-3-1 Horizon League) Raider coach Mike Tracy enters his fifth season at the helm, welcoming back 14 letterwinners from the 2004 roster as well as a First-Team All-League pick who missed all of last season. Senior forward Paul Anthony Perez takes the field again after being sidelined by an injury last fall. His 12 goals tied for the League lead in 2003, and the veteran striker bolsters the Wright State attack which must replace the 12 markers collected by Tony Strong a year ago. That offense also includes junior midfielder Tony Labudovski, whose 12 points (four goals four assists) drew Second-Team acclaim in 2004. Fellow midfielder Jason Tackis tallied five goals in as a junior 2004, while Josh Zimmerlin was a League All-Newcomer Team choice following a stellar freshman campaign in which he helped anchor the defense last fall. Senior Jason Balach patrols the net for Wright State. The fourth-year netminder posted a 1.71 goals-against average with 80 saves and three shutouts last season. UIC Flames (Last Year: 5-12-2 overall, 3-3-1 Horizon League) John Trask takes the reins in Chicago, trying to resurrect a Flame program which posted back-to-back League titles in 1999 and 2000 before eventually falling to a 5-12-2 overall mark last fall. Trask, whose resume includes a stint as an assistant to Indiana University legend Jerry Yeagley, inherits a team with plenty of experience on its roster. Nine starters are back from the 2004 squad, paced by a pair of First-Team All-Horizon League perforrmers in Eric Cervantes and Pavle Dundjer. Cervantes tallied a team-best six goals last fall and returns for his junior campaign to anchor the midfield for the Flames. Dundjer, an attacking midfielder, scored four goals and dished out two assists en route to the League's Newcomer of the Year award. Kenneth Nightingale added four goals and five helpers for 13 points as a sophomore a year ago, and fellow junior Tonci Skroce matched that goal output in 2004. Jeff Englebrecht patrols the net. Englebrecht registered 85 saves and a 1.81 GAA last fall. UW-Green Bay Phoenix (Last Year: 5-11-2 overall, 2-4-1 Horizon League) Seven starters are among 12 returning letterwinners for coach Tom Poitras, providing plenty of reason for optimism entering the 2005 campaign. First-Team All-League selection Joshua Okoampa tops that list, entering his junior campaign after posting nine goals a year ago. Okoampa paces an attacking unit which also features three-year starting midfielder Bati Tola, who set up five markers despite nagging injuries. Michael Lepera plus sophs Glenn Herzog and Lati Ziba all received League All-Newcomer Team honors a year ago, with Lepera finishing fourth on the team with three goals and two helpers as a sophomore. Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree Adam Ben-Zikri and three-year starter David Chin anchor the Phoenix backline. Ben-Zikri also provides a spark on offense, tallying match-winners in back-to-back contests and adding five assists for nine points last season. Senior Dave Palmer and sophomore Josh Loyd will battle for the goalkeeper job this season following the graduation of veteran Pat Czuprynski. Loyola Ramblers Last Year: 3-14-1 overall, 2-5-0 Horizon League) For the first time in 25 years, legendary coach Ray O'Connell will not be on the Rambler sidelines. A new era begins as former assistant Brendan Eitz takes the helm with nine starters and 15 letterwinners returning. Loyola's attack features senior forward Joe Nierzwicki, whose five goals and 11 points were recognized with Second-Team All-League status last fall. Senior midfielder Eric Spiess was a First-Team All-League choice, combining his attacking skills (four goals) with a strong defensive presence for the Ramblers. Senior Dino Melitas joins Nierzicki up front following a 2004 campaign which included a goal and an assist. Seniors Bill Metzger (three goals in 2004), Lee Zarzecki and sophomore Tony DeLuca round out the experienced group of midfielders. Junior Sean Bond and freshman Brad Sommer compete to watch the Rambler net. Bond played in nine contests a year ago, posting a 2.98 GAA with 35 saves. Cleveland State Vikings (Last Year: 5-12-2 overall, 0-6-1 Horizon League) To say that the Vikings are in a youth movement would be a bit of an understatement for head coach Pete Curtis. The CSU roster lacks a senior for the first time since 1999 and includes players who tallied only two of the team's 21 goals last season, but that does not mean that the team will be deprived of leadership. Junior defender Mark Zambra leads the defensive unit which also features 2004 Second-Team All-League choice Craig Coleman plus All-Newcomer pick Cormac Finn as well as sophomore Tom Sadd, who returns after an injury-plagued 2004 campaign. Finn and Sadd each found the net once last season for the Vikings, with Vincent Rosati and Nick Weiner poised to play significant minutes in the midfield. Up front, head coach Pete Curtis has high expectations for a group of newcomers which includes junior-college transfer Ismail Ismail and local talent Nenad Stojkovic plus freshman John Emery.
Sophomore Chris Black collected 13 saves in limited duty last fall and battles two newcomers for the starting netminder role.
