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MISL 2 Milwaukee Wave

Milwaukee advances to MISL Championship Series Finals

May 3, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Milwaukee Wave News Release


MILWAUKEE (May 3, 2005) – The Milwaukee Wave defeated the St. Louis Steamers in the semifinal round of the 2005 postseason to advance to the 2005 Major Indoor Soccer League Championship Series Finals. This marks the sixth consecutive Finals appearance for the Wave and the seventh in the last eight years. Wave head coach Keith Tozer has led his team to a postseason berth the last 12 straight years and has won the League title three times in his 13 year tenure (1997-98, 1990-2000, 2000-01). Milwaukee swept St. Louis in the two-game series, 4-3 on Friday night (4/29) in St. Louis and 6-5 on Sunday (5/1) at "The Cell."

The Cleveland Force defeated the Philadelphia KiXX in the other semifinal series to also advance to the Finals. The Wave and Force will meet in Game One of the Championship Series Finals on Saturday, May 14 at "The Cell," and Game Two on Saturday, May 21 at Savvis Center in St. Louis.

This Week's Itinerary:

Monday, May 2 – Weight training 1:00 p.m.

Tuesday, May 3 – Day Off

Wednesday, May 4 – Practice 10 a.m. @ Uihlein Soccer Park

Thursday, May 5 – Practice 10 a.m. @ Uihlein Soccer Park

Friday, May 6 – Practice 10 a.m. @ Uihlein Soccer Park, weight training 1:00 p.m.

*Subject to change

MISL FINAL STANDINGS (as of 4/24/05)

W-L PCT GB *X - Milwaukee Wave 24-15 .615 --- X - Cleveland Force 23-16 .590 1.0

X - Philadelphia KiXX 22-17 .564 2.0

X - St. Louis Steamers 20-20 .500 4.5

Kansas City Comets 18-21 .462 6.0

Chicago Storm 18-21 .462 6.0

Baltimore Blast 15-24 .385 9.0

*2004-05 MISL Regular Season Champions

X-Clinched playoff berth

Last Time Out: 4-29 @ St. Louis - The Milwaukee Wave collected two goals in the final three minutes of the game to take a 4-3 decision against the St. Louis Steamers in Game One of the Major Indoor Soccer League Semifinals. The Wave gave up three early goals by the Steamers before holding St. Louis scoreless for the remaining 43 minutes of the game. The Steamers converted the first goal of the match as Jeff Davis fed Justin McMillian in the middle of the box for the goal past Wave goalkeeper Nick Vorberg at 4:50 of the first period. A minute later the Steamers increased its lead as Joe Reiniger sent a midfield pass to Mariano Bollella for the goal at 5:51. The Wave got on the board at 8:29 of the first period as Pat White found Lovelace Ackah on the right side. The Steamers increased its lead back to two off a restart goal that deflected off a Wave defender and into the back of the net at 2:02 of the second quarter. Milwaukee tallied the first and only goal of the third quarter when Todd Dusosky fed Greg Howes in the middle of the box. Howes slid the ball through the defense and past Steamers goalkeeper Brett Phillips at 3:01. The Wave tied the game at 3-3 with just less than three minutes to play when Marcelo Fontana found Todd Dusosky on the low post for the score at 12:14. Milwaukee then took its first lead of the day only 22 seconds later when Matt Schmidt rocketed a shot past Phillips at 12:36.

5-1 vs. St. Louis - Greg Howes tallied four goals to lead the Milwaukee Wave past the St. Louis Steamers 6-5 in Game Two of the Major Indoor Soccer Semifinals. Todd Dusosky added two goals and two assists on the day, and goalkeeper Nick Vorberg stopped 19-of-24 shots faced between the posts for Milwaukee. Late in the first period of play, Milwaukee took advantage of the restart opportunity as Greg Howes scored the first goal of the game at 10:22. After a St. Louis penalty, Howes took the long shot that bounced off the cross bar to land in goal just behind Steamers' goalkeeper Brett Phillips. With nearly one minute left, St. Louis's Sterling Wescott got on the board with a goal past Wave keeper Nick Vorberg after accepting a pass from player/coach Daryl Doran. Howes collected a hat trick to open the scoring for the second period at 8:19. Following a penalty on Lovelace Ackah for dangerous play at 11:43, the Steamers got a lucky bounce by Mariano Bollella for a second St. Louis goal before the half. Following a scoreless third period, Howes began the fourth quarter of regulation with his fourth goal only 14 seconds into play, assisted by Todd Dusosky. Dusosky then scored a goal from the right corner close to the box less than one minute later (1:06) off a pass from Lovelace Ackah. St. Louis came back with another goal by Bollella (2:39), after receiving a pass from teammate Matt Caution. Milwaukee answered back with a power-play, restart goal by Dusosky, off the assist from Giuliano Oliviero (11:58). St. Louis collected sixth attacker goals by Joe Reiniger and Carols Farias in the final minutes; however, the Wave defense held strong to preserve the win.

Force and Wave in Championship Series: The Wave and Force have only met once in the postseason: in 2000, the teams advanced to face one another in the Championship Series. Down 2-1 in the five-game series, the Wave defeated the then Cleveland Crunch to force a game five on Milwaukee's home turf. The Wave offense exploded for 19 points and the defense held Cleveland to just six points, as Milwaukee claimed the 2000 Championship. The Force led the regular season series this year between the Wave and Force, winning 3-of-5 games. The Wave holds the advantage overall, winning 28 matches, while the Force has claimed 21 of the meetings.

Vorberg Stands Tall Between the Posts: Wave goalkeeper Nick Vorberg was solid in goal this weekend, stopping 29-of-37 shots faced in the two semifinal games against St. Louis. The 30-year-old gave up three quick goals in Friday night's (4/29) contest before he and his defensive line rallied to hold the Steamers scoreless for the final 43 minutes of the contest. Sunday (5/1) he turned away 19-of-24, including eight saves in a scoreless third quarter. In the two games, the Grants Pass, Oregon native averaged 4.0 goals per game, with a .784 save percentage.

Howes and Dusosky Breakdown Steamers: Wave forwards Todd Dusosky and Greg Howes were instrumental in the two Wave wins this past weekend, collecting eight of Milwaukee's ten goals. In Friday's (4/29) game, Howes tallied a goal early in the third period to cut the Steamers lead to one and Dusosky collected the equalizer at 12:14 of the fourth to set the stage for the Wave win. Howes was unstoppable on Sunday afternoon (5/1), converting four goals on five shots. The reigning MISL MVP recorded the first four Wave goals of the contest, before Dusosky stepped in to take the last two scores to secure the Wave victory. Dusosky and Howes top the postseason scoring list at number one and two respectively; Dusosky has tallied three goals and three assists for six points, while Howes has five goals for five points.

Milwaukee to Host MISL Championship Game One: Milwaukee Wave Chief Operating Officer Mike Lafferty and the Major Indoor Soccer League announced that the city of Milwaukee has been chosen to host the first match in the 2005 MISL Championship Series Finals between the Milwaukee Wave and Cleveland Force on May 14 at 7:35 p.m. at "The Cell," U.S. Cellular Arena. The format for the finals is a two-game series in which the city of St. Louis has been chosen to host the second match on May 21 at the Savvis Center. If the two teams in the Championship Series Finals split the series, a "golden-goal" overtime period will determine the 2005 MISL Champion.

Three Wave Players Selected All-MISL: Forward Greg Howes was the only player in the MISL to be unanimously named to the first team. Goalkeeper Nick Vorberg and defender Chris Morman were named to the second team. Other MISL Regular Season Awards will be released at a later date. Howes led the league with 73 points, 41 goals and 32 assists collected in 36 games played. This honor marks his third career All-MISL selection. Vorberg earns his first selection in his career after leading the league this season in goals against average (3.96), save percentage (.762) and wins (22). Morman also earned his first All-MISL honor by recording 29 points (5th on team) and leading the Wave with 52 blocks in 32 appearances this season.

Howes Looks to Repeat as MVP: Howes once again has been an instrumental part of the Wave's success, his stats make that clear. He led the league in several categories, including points (73), goals (41) and assists (32). It marks the second straight season in which the Tacoma, Washington native has led the league in both points and goals. In the 15 Wave losses this season, the 27-year-old has only collected thirteen points, in four of the losses he had no points and he did not play in one because of U.S. National Futsal team commitments. In the 24 Wave wins this season, he knocked in 60 points, including 18 games in which he scored at least two points or more. The forward surged to the top of the rankings following a 12-point weekend in back-to-back games (2/25, 2/26) against Kansas City. In total, he tallied 30 goals and 20 assists in the last 15 games of the regular season.

2005 Summer Soccer Camps Just Around the Corner: The Milwaukee Wave and Wave United, Wisconsin's premiere soccer organizations, announced the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Wave Summer Soccer Camp Program. The program began in 1984, skipping only one summer, and has provided quality, personal instruction to soccer enthusiasts for 20 years. The dates and locations for the 2005 Wave Summer Soccer Camp Program presented by Piggly Wiggly were also released.

For more information and to receive a camp brochure or registration form, contact the Milwaukee Wave at 414-224-WAVE (9283). Campers can also register online at www.milwaukeewave.com by following the Camps & Clinics link on the left-side navigation bar. The online registration site is secured through VeriSign.

Check out the Milwaukee Wave Statistics



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from May 3, 2005


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