MISL 2 Milwaukee Wave

Milwaukee Wave Weekly

April 12, 2005 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Milwaukee Wave News Release


MILWAUKEE (April 12, 2005) – The Milwaukee Wave and Philadelphia KiXX split a home-and-home series this weekend, with the visiting team recording the win in both games. The KiXX took the first game 6-3 at U.S. Cellular Arena before the Wave rebounded with a 6-3 victory at Wachovia Spectrum. The Wave maintained its first place spot in the Major Indoor Soccer League standings and a two-game lead over the second place KiXX.

This week the Wave will travel to St. Louis for an afternoon game on Saturday against the Steamers before returning home to host the Cleveland Force on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. This second to last regular season home game is Wisconsin Dells day with the first 5,000 children 12 & under receiving a free Wisconsin Dells Kids Card. Sunday is also the 13th annual Mascot Game presented by Wisconsin Dells, with more than 20 local mascots competing in a halftime soccer game.

**Milwaukee's magic number for clinching the 2004-05 MISL Regular Season Championship is 2, with any combination of Wave wins or Cleveland Force losses.

This Week's Itinerary:

Tuesday, April 12 – Day Off

Wednesday, April 13 – Practice 10 a.m. @ Uihlein Soccer Park, weight training 1:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 14 – Practice 10 a.m. @ Uihlein Soccer Park

Friday, April 15 – Practice 10 a.m. @ Uihlein Soccer Park

Saturday, April 16 – Wave @ Steamers, 1:00 p.m. – Savvis Center

Sunday, April 17 – Wave vs. Force, 1:00 p.m. – U.S. Cellular Arena

*Subject to change

Injury Report:

Player Injury Status Troy Dusosky Knee Out - IR

Chris Morman Knee Questionable

Wave vs. St. Louis Steamers 2004-05 Series: 4-3

Overall: 10-3

Saturday's contest in St. Louis will mark the eighth and final meeting between the Wave and Steamers in the regular season. Milwaukee holds a slight advantage in the season series at 4-3, following a 6-4 victory on March 20 at "The Cell". Greg Howes had two goals and two assists, and Todd Dusosky added a goal and an assist to lead the team. The teams last met in St. Louis on March 3, with the Steamers recording a 6-5 win. Joe Reiniger collected two goals and an assist, and Daryl Doran recorded a goal and an assist in his return to the Steamers line-up following arthroscopic knee surgery. The Steamers also recorded a 5-4 victory at U.S. Cellular Arena on February 4. On December 3, the Wave recorded a 6-4 win and on December 11, a 3-2 victory, before falling on January 7, 6-5 in double overtime.

Wave vs. Cleveland Force

2004-05 Series: 2-1

Overall: 28-19

The two teams met last just two weeks in Cleveland, with the Wave taking a 5-2 decision over the Force. Lovelace Ackah and Greg Howes each had two goals to lead the team, and Nick Vorberg stopped 17-of-19 shots faced between the posts.

Cleveland won the second match of the season between the two teams, 4-3 in overtime at "The Cell" on January 22. The teams traded goals throughout regulation, but the Force caught a break in the first overtime period, when a Wave clearance deflected off the back of Cleveland's Robbie Aristodemo and into the back of the net past a helpless Vorberg. The Wave won the first match between the two clubs on November 13 at U.S. Cellular Arena by a score of 6-5. Greg Howes led the Wave, collecting two goals and an assist, while Marcelo Fontana added two goals, including the game-winner in the overtime period. Nick Vorberg recorded the win in goal for Milwaukee, stopping 11-of-16 shots faced. Sunday's contest marks the fourth and final meeting between the teams in the regular season.

Last Time Out: 4-8 vs. Philadelphia KiXX – The Milwaukee Wave and Philadelphia KiXX started the game out with three quick scores, giving Philadelphia a 2-1 lead just three minutes into the game. The KiXX got on the board first with a goal by forward Joel Shanker past Wave keeper Nick Vorberg at the 12 second mark. Ptah Myers tallied the unassisted goal for Philadelphia at 2:37. The Wave battled back into things as Greg Howes slipped a pass across the mouth of the goal to Michael King for the score at 3:19. The Wave took its first and only lead of the game off of back-to-back goals by Marcelo Fontana (5:43) and Johnny Torres (7:21). Philadelphia's Pat Morris sent a rocket shot past Vorberg for the unassisted goal at 12:22 of the third to tie the score at 3-3. The KiXX regained the lead at 4-3 at the 11:22 mark of the final period, as player/coach Don D'Ambra was able to send a header through the hands of Vorberg for the score. Milwaukee inserted Lovelace Ackah as the sixth attacker; however, Philadelphia capitalized as Pappas made a save and sent the outlet all the way into Milwaukee's empty net at the other end of the field. Shanker added the insurance goal at 14:35 to secure a 6-3 victory for the KiXX.

4-9 @ Philadelphia KiXX - The Philadelphia KiXX got on the board first for the second straight night against the Wave with a goal by Kevin Sloan (10:08) off a long pass from defender Pat Morris. The Wave evened up the scoring early in the second period as Greg Howes (1:57) was able to send in a low bouncer past KiXX keeper Peter Pappas. Philadelphia regained the lead as Daniel Antoniuk found Pat Morris at the low post for the score at 13:30. Milwaukee killed a tripping penalty on Chad Dombrowski and responded with back-to-back goals by Matt Schmidt and Giuliano Oliviero to take a 3-2 lead late in the third. The Wave took a two-goal lead just 32 seconds into the final period as Todd Dusosky slipped the ball to Rivillo who blasted the shot home. Milwaukee collected its fourth unanswered goal at the 5:58 mark as Dusosky sent the ball out to Oliviero for his second goal of the night. Pat White collected the insurance goal at 12:53 off the assist from Michael King against Philadelphia sixth attacker Pat Morris. The KiXX collected a goal with just 20 seconds remaining as Don D'Ambra found Sloan who was able to beat the defense for the score.

Wave Clinches Spot in 2005 Playoffs: The Milwaukee Wave has secured a spot in the 2005 Major Indoor Soccer League postseason for the twelfth consecutive season under the direction of head coach Keith Tozer. In those twelve years, the Wave has won three league titles (1997-98, 1999-2000, 2000-01) and has made six Championship Series appearances. The Wave currently boasts the best record in the MISL at 21-12 and holds a two-game lead over the second place Philadelphia KiXX. Milwaukee and Philadelphia are the only two teams to clinch a spot in the 2005 playoffs thus far. This season the playoffs take on a new look, with the top four teams qualifying. The four teams will compete in a two-game, home and away series (April 29-May 1), with the No. 4 seed drawing the No. 1 seed and the No. 2 meeting the No. 3. The higher seed reserves the right to choose home field for either game one or game two. Should the semifinalists split their two games, a "golden-goal" overtime period determines the series winner, which advances to the MISL Championship Series Finals.

**Milwaukee's magic number for clinching the 2004-05 MISL Regular Season Championship is 2, with any combination of Wave wins or Cleveland Force losses.

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 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.

Morman Records Number 300: Milwaukee Wave defender Chris Morman recorded his 300th career block in Friday night's contest against the KiXX. The Brentwood, Tennessee native currently leads the team and is second in the MISL with 51 blocks. He also is the team's third leading scorer with 27 points, on 12 goals and 15 assists.

Howes Looks to Repeat as MVP: Howes once again has been an instrumental part of the Wave's success, his stats make that clear. In the 12 Wave losses this season, the 27-year-old has only collected eight 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 23 Wave wins this season, he has knocked in 51 points, including 16 games in which he has scored at least two points or more. The Tacoma, Washington native leads the MISL in points (59), goals (35) and is tied for first place in game-winning goals (5). 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 has tallied 24 goals and 12 assists in his last 12 appearances.

Goalkeeper of the Year in the Making: Wave goalkeeper Nick Vorberg has been impressive in goal all season for the Wave, but as of late has surged ahead of his fellow MISL keepers, making him a likely candidate to win ‘Goalkeeper of the Year.' It would be the first such honor in Vorberg's six-year career. The 29-year-old earned his league leading 20th win between the posts on Saturday, April 9 against Philadelphia and continues to lead the league in goals against average (3.68) and save percentage (.768). He has won 11 of his last 14 games in goal for Milwaukee, including a six-game winning streak that helped Milwaukee vault into the top spot in the MISL. Vorberg was also named the ‘Goalkeeper of the Month' in December and February.

King Closes in on 1600 Career Points: Milwaukee Wave team captain, Michael King is closing in on yet another bench mark in his illustrious MISL career as he needs just four points in order to reach the 1600 career points mark (includes seasons with multiple point and single point scoring). He currently is tied for fourth in team scoring with 26 points on 14 goals and 12 assists. The 41-year old also appeared in his 700th regular season game on December 3, 2004 against the Chicago Storm, making him just the fourth player to reach the milestone. He holds several Wave records, including games played (451), points (1314), goals (515) and assists (302). His career totals are games played (721), points (1596), goals (688) and assists (395).

Wave Defense Holds Strong at Top of the League: Milwaukee currently boasts the top defensive attack behind MISL leading goalkeeper Nick Vorberg with a 3.68 goals-against average. Vorberg has recorded 20 wins in 28 appearances between the posts for the Wave. The team also leads the league in goals against average, allowing opponents to convert just 4.3 goals per game on average; the next lowest teams are Philadelphia (5.1) St. Louis (5.4) and Chicago (5.4). Milwaukee is also the most effective in the league on the man down team, killing an opponent's power play 68% of the time. The Wave has also held opponents to just 50 goals in its last 12 games, while Milwaukee's offense has exploded for 82 goals.

Check out the Milwaukee Wave Statistics



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 12, 2005


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