Men's Soccer Release #14 -- NCAA Second-Round Preview

Nov. 26, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format

NCAA Championship -- Second-Round Capsule

UIC (11-5-6, Horizon League champion) at (#9 seed) Northwestern (12-4-3)
(Wednesday, 7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET, NU's Lakeside Field - Evanston, Ill.)

A spot in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship's Sweet 16 is on the line Wednesday, when local rivals UIC and Northwestern square off at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill.

UIC advanced after eliminating #11/12 Saint Louis in penalty kicks Friday, winning the shootout 6-5 in eight rounds after playing to a scoreless draw. The Flames are in the second round for the second year in a row, bringing an 11-5-6 record into Wednesday's contest.

The Flames led the nation in goals-against average (0.38) last fall and are riding that defense during another late-season charge in 2007. UIC is unbeaten (5-0-1) in its last six contests, allowing only one goal during that span. A penalty kick in the Horizon League championship match is the only blemish on sophomore netminder Jovan Bubonja's record during that time, as the Flames netminder boasts a 0.16 GAA since Oct. 31. For the season, he ranks ninth in the nation with a 0.54 mark. Bubonja tied his own single-season UIC record with his tenth shutout of the year on Friday.

Senior forward Cesar Zambrano was the Most Valuable Player at the Horizon League Championship, setting up match-winners in the Flames' semifinal- and championship-round victories. Zambrano ranks third in the circuit with 19 points (six goals and a League-best seven assists).

Senior midfielder Pavle Dundjer is the League's first four-time First-Team All-League selection and is tied for second place on the team scoring charts with five goals and 13 points. Freshman forward Matt Spiess has identical numbers and provided the heroics with the deciding PK against his hometown team in St. Louis.

Fellow freshman Charlie Trout boasts four goals and two assists for ten points, with sophomore midfielder Baggio Husidic---one of four Flames on the All-League First Team, along with Zambrano, Dundjer and Bubonja---adding three goals and seven points. Freshman forward Kevin Stoll scored goals in all three League Championship matches after going without a point during the regular season.

Northwestern is one of four Big Ten Conference entries in the national tournament, carrying the ninth seed after a 12-4-3 regular season. The Wildcats, ranked 16th by the NSCAA and Soccer America, finished 3-2-1 in the Big Ten and have been idle since a 1-0 loss to Ohio State in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament on Nov. 9.

NU did not win a match (0-17-1) in 2000, but Wildcat coach Tim Lenahan has turned the program around since taking over the following year. The veteran sideline boss led the Wildcats to the NCAA quarterfinals last year as Northwestern finished 14-8-0 overall. This year's group is eager for a return to that stage, outscoring its opposition 34-12 so far in 2007.

Senior midfielder David Roth leads the team in scoring with six goals and seven assists for 19 points, ranking third in the Big Ten in the latter category. Roth, a unanimous First-Team All-Big Ten selection this fall, was a high school teammate of Spiess at St. Louis' Chaminade Prep.

Freshman midfielder Piero Bellizzi earned the Big Ten's Newcomer of the Year honor and Second-Team All-Conference notice following a four-goal, eight-assist campaign. His eight helpers are second-best in the circuit. Freshman forward Matt Eliason also has 16 points, with five goals and six set-ups.

Sophomore goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal ranks fourth in the nation with a 0.51 goals-against average, boasting seven shutouts in 12 appearances as a Second-Team all-conference selection.

The teams did not meet during the regular season, marking the first time that has occurred since 1990. UIC defeated the Wildcats 1-0 at Flames Field last year (Oct. 11, 2006), while Northwestern claimed the victory in the last meeting in Evanston (2-0 on Sept. 28, 2005).

UIC and Northwestern have six common opponents this year, with NU boasting a 5-1-1 record in those outings, compared to UIC's 3-3-1 ledger. Northwestern defeated Wisconsin twice (3-0 on Oct. 6, 3-1 on Nov. 8) and Western Illinois (2-1 on Oct. 31) while losing to Indiana 1-0 on Oct. 14. The Wildcats are also 2-0-1 against Horizon League teams, defeating Butler (3-0) on Sept. 14 and Loyola (1-0) on Sept. 26 before a 1-1 draw with Green Bay on Nov. 3.

UIC defeated Loyola (1-0 in overtime) on Nov. 3 and split two meetings with Green Bay (losing 1-0 on Oct. 18 and defeating the Phoenix 3-1 for the League title on Nov. 18) and also posted a 2-0 victory over Western Illinois on Sept. 18. The Flames tied Butler (0-0) on Oct. 12 and are 0-2-0 against Big Ten foes, losing at Indiana (1-0) on Oct. 3 and 2-1 to Wisconsin on Oct. 28. That setback to UW is UIC's only home-field loss in the last two years and the team's last setback this year before the current 5-0-1 surge.

UIC Eliminates Saint Louis in PKs, Advances to Second Round

St. Louis, Mo. - Freshman Matt Spiess made a triumphant return to his hometown, converting a penalty kick in a shootout to push visiting UIC into the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The Flames (11-5-6) ousted host Saint Louis (12-2-5) 6-5 in penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless draw at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

Spiess, an adidas High School All-America selection while attending Chaminade Prep in St. Louis, beat Billiken netminder Pat Disbennett in the eighth round of the shootout after UIC goalkeeper Jovan Bubonja stopped Brandon Gasparovic. It was Bubonja's third save in the shootout. His two earlier saves helped give the Flames a 3-1 advantage after three rounds. Bubonja also had the first of those three tallies, with Baggio Husidic and Cesar Zambrano also hitting the net.

But SLU responded with two conversions and Disbennett rejected attempts by Charlie Trout and Pavle Dundjer, setting up sudden-victory rounds. Brian Grazier put the Billikens ahead 4-3, only to see Mike Giffin answer for the Flames. Eric Sweetin and UIC's Brandon Bilbrey each were successful in round seven, setting up Bubonja and Spiess' heroics.

Perhaps PKs was the most appropriate result for the teams, who battled through 110 minutes on even terms, according to the stat sheet. Each team had eight shots and three saves. Two of UIC's attempts came in the final 30 seconds of the second extra stanza.

The Flames held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks, with the Billikens called for 14 of the match's 27 fouls.

UIC was one of only four visiting teams to advance past the 16 first-round contests. Vermont, Oakland and Central Connecticut State were the others.

The Flames extended the Horizon League's run of success in recent history, as the League has had a team advance to the second round in each of the last six national tournaments. Milwaukee won first-round matches for four consecutive years (2002-05) before UIC ousted Western Illinois in the opening round last fall.

Friday's match marked the tenth time in 22 matches this season that UIC has gone past 90 minutes. The Flames are now 4-0-6 in overtime in 2007.

UIC 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Saint Louis 0 0 0 0 -- 0

No scoring



Shootout:
SLU -- Patterson (made), Ream (saved), Holmes (saved), Barklage (made), Hayes (made), Grazier (made), Sweetin (made), Gasparvic (saved).
UIC -- Bubonja (made), B. Husidic (made), Zambrano (made), Trout (saved), Dundjer (saved), Giffin (made), Bilbrey (made), Spiess (made).

Shots: UIC 8, SLU 8
Saves: UIC (Bubonja) 3, SLU (Disbennett) 3
Corner Kicks: UIC 5, SLU 4
Fouls: UIC 13, SLU 14
Offsides: UIC 2, SLU 0