MISL 2 Milwaukee Wave

Blast Fends Off Wave In Spirited Game 2, 14-13

April 20, 2008 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Milwaukee Wave News Release


MILWAUKEE (April 20, 2008) -- The Milwaukee Wave fought with the kind of heart and grit that would make their departing captain proud, but scoreboards don't know intangibles. They know only points, and the Wave just couldn't squeeze out enough of those on Sunday in Game 2 of their MISL semifinal against the Baltimore Blast.

Baltimore held off an undermanned Wave squad 14-13 to sweep the series 2-0 and advance to the Time Warner Cable MISL Championship Final next Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

On his 45th birthday, the retiring Michael King scored once, set up a shootout with a fantastic individual effort and was "running past guys 20 years younger than him," said Wave head coach Keith Tozer. However, Milwaukee failed on that shootout, down by one with 3:36 to go, and went 0-for-3 on the power play in the game.

Without the injured Marcio Leite and the suspended Troy Dusosky, the Wave led 5-2 early, gave up eight consecutive points and then rallied again. It was 14-13 late and the Wave had both that shootout chance and a sixth-attacker series, but could not crack the goal line. The Wave's season ended in the semifinals for the third consecutive year.

Marcelo Fontana gave the Wave their largest lead at 5-2 in the second period with one of the most impressive solo runs of the season. The Wave blocked a Blast restart chance, and Fontana took the deflection and barreled down the field 1-on-3. Outside the 3-point line on the right wing, he fired a low shot that beat Sagu to the far side and hurtled himself atop the dasher boards to further incite the partisan playoff crowd.

Baltimore took command of the game temporarily with three goals in a 2:22 span of the third quarter to lead 10-5, but the Wave did not die.

It was 14-9 midway through the fourth quarter when Anthony Maher redirected a corner kick from Greg Howes past Sagu to draw the Wave within 14-11. King scored the final goal of his incomparable career with 4:18 to go to make it 14-13, and then created a shootout by stealing a ball in the Blast's defensive half, then drawing a penalty on Billy Nelson. Referees awarded a shootout, but Howes was unable to convert.

Tozer felt Robbie Aristodemo crossed the midfield stripe too early and that shootout should have been awarded again, but the referees did not agree. Baltimore then killed the ensuing power play.

Howes came on as the sixth attacker with 1:25 remaining and the Wave put on pressure. Joe Hammes' 3-pointer was the most notable strike, banging just wide off the far boards. Overall, the Wave squeezed off 43 shots. Sagu made 21 saves.

Howes had a goal and two assists to lead the offense, and had nine points in the series. Giuliano Oliviero scored the Wave's first goal to notch the 1,000th overall point of his career.

The Wave started the season with seven rookies and all-star target Todd Dusosky sidelined with an ankle injury, yet the group jelled to finish 22-8 and tied with Detroit for the best record in the league.

"Our youth hurt us as far as our lack of experience, which hurt us at some points in the game," said Tozer, who still termed the season successful.

The Time Warner Cable MISL Championship Final kicks off at 6 p.m. Saturday from the U.S. Cellular Arena. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Check out the Milwaukee Wave Statistics



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 20, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central