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MISL 2 Milwaukee Wave

Wave clinches third straight MISL regular season title

April 6, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Milwaukee Wave News Release


(Milwaukee, WI) The players and coaching staff of the Milwaukee Wave will be enjoying some well earned rest after the Wave clinched its third straight Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) regular season title with a 10-9 win over the defending champion Baltimore Blast Saturday (4/3) in Baltimore. Leighton O'Brien's re-start goal with just 3:09 remaining in the fourth quarter broke a 9-9 tie and enabled the Wave (27-9) to edge the Blast (25-11) in the final regular season contest for both clubs. Although both teams had clinched first round byes in the upcoming MISL playoffs, the Wave victory assured Milwaukee of the #1 playoff seed; it also extended Milwaukee's winning streak to four straight and clinched the season series (3-1) in favor of the Brew City squad over the Blast.

Prior Saturday's finale, the Wave wrapped up the home portion of its regular season slate with a 7-2 win over the Philadelphia Kixx on Friday (4/2) in front of 7,747 fans at U.S. Cellular Arena. Forward Greg Howes, the MISL's 2003-04 scoring champion (85 points) recorded his seventh hat-trick of the season (a new team record ) to lead Milwaukee's attack while Goalkeeper Dan Green (16 saves) and the Wave defense kept Philadelphia in check. The Wave finished its first campaign at U.S. Cellular Arena with a mark of 16-2, including seven straight wins on the home turf going into the playoffs.

Coach Keith Tozer's team will resume preparations on Thursday (4/8) for its upcoming playoff match, which will take place on Friday, April 16, 7:35 PM at U.S. Cellular Arena. The winner of that one-game semi-final match-up between Milwaukee and an opponent to be determined (Philadelphia, Kansas City, or Cleveland) will advance to the best-of-five MISL Championship Series, which begins the following weekend (April 23-24).

Individual play-off tickets ($20, $16, and $14) as well as Wave Playoff 4-Packs (two dollar discount per ticket) are available through the Wave Office at 510 W. Kilbourn Ave. (Suite B), or by calling 414-224-WAVE (9283). Anyone who purchases a Wave Playoff 4-Pack will also receive two tickets for the Milwaukee Wave United A-League (outdoor) season opener on Friday, May 14, 7:05 PM v. the Edmonton Aviators at Uihlein Soccer Park.

Tickets for all Wave home games are available at the Wisconsin Center District (WCD) Box Office, located between U.S. Cellular Arena and the Milwaukee Theater at 510 W. Kilbourn Ave., all TicketMaster Outlets, or by phone charge at 414-276-4545. Groups of 10 or more should contact the Wave's Group Sales Dept. at 414-224-WAVE (9283) for group rate discounts.

Also This Week:

Thursday, April 8: Wave Playoff Rally at Champps in Brookfield (1240 Moreland Rd., 262-797-6600) Sponsored by Labatt USA, the "Champps Playoff Rally" will give fans the opportunity to meet and greet players, get autographs, and register to win playoff tickets and other special prizes. Admission is free, and there will also be drink specials on Labatt Blue and Labatt Blue Light. Tickets for the upcoming Wave playoff game will also be on sale.

Saturday, April 10: "Wave Day at Miller Park" as the Brewers take on the Houston Astros at 1:05 PM. The team will be honored for capturing its third straight MISL Regular Season Title (Milwaukee finished 27-9 to win the regular season crown) in a pre-game ceremony prior to the game. Coach Tozer will also toss out the opening pitch as part of the festivities. H2O – the Wave's performance dance team – will also perform during the contest.

**Fans with a ticket stub from the Wave's final regular season home game (4/2 v. Philadelphia) can purchase half-price tickets for the April 10th Brewers game by: presenting the 4/2 ticket stub at Miller Park windows 7-12; ordering tickets over the phone and mentioning "Wave Day at Miller Park;" and purchasing tickets online at www.milwaukeebrewers.com (click "tickets," click "Buy Tickets Now," click April 10th on the calendar and enter "Wave" into coupon window.)

**Fans with a Brewers ticket stub from any game during the Houston series (April 9-11) can also receive a $3 discount per ticket on any Wave ticket for the April 16th match-up. The first 5,000 fans in attendance on April 16th will also receive a "Wave Rally Rag" courtesy of Wauwatosa Savings Bank. The "Wave Rally Rags" are also good for future ticket discounts to the 2004 MISL Champion Series should Milwaukee advance past the semi-final round.

Injury Report: no players listed at the present time

* probable = 75% chance of playing; questionable = 50%; doubtful 25%; out = will not play

**Games Missed due to current injury – Date Last Played

Suspensions: none

Howes Registers MVP Performance: Wave forward Greg Howes capped off an outstanding regular season with five goals and two assists this past weekend (three goals in 7-2 win v. Philadelphia on 4/2, two goals and two assists in 10-9 win @ Baltimore on 4/3) to finish as the MISL's scoring leader with 85 points (57 goals + 28 assists). The 27-year old Howes finished the campaign with a team-record seven hat-tricks, five of which were four-goal outings, another team record. The fourth year pro from Oregon State also topped the league with nine game-winning goals. The "Howitzer" was named MISL Offensive Player of the Week on three occasions (weeks ending 11/2, 12/7, and 3/7) and was also honored as MISL Offensive Player of the Month in both December and February.

Green Among Favorites for Goalkeeper of the Year: Wave goalkeeper Dan Green has put himself in solid position for the 2003-04 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year Award. The 31-year old Waukesha, WI finished the regular season as the league's top ‘keeper as he posted a 18-3 record to go along with a 4.02 PAA. Now in his fifth season with the Wave, the former Northern Illinois University star has won a career high eight straight decisions (2/22 – 4/3), topping an earlier streak in which he won six-in-a-row from 12/14 – 1/10. He was also named the league's Goalkeeper of the Week for the weeks ending 1/4 and 3/28.

Morman Emerges as Defender of the Year Candidate: Wave defender Chris Morman established himself as a legitimate Defender of the Year Candidate in his first season with Milwaukee. The fourth year pro from the University of South Carolina helped anchor the Wave's league leading defense with 55 blocks (second on the team behind Lovelace Ackah, who had 67) and was among the league's top scoring defenders with 15 goals and 6 assists for 21 points. The 26-year old Morman was also second on the squad with four game-winning tallies.

Other Highlights from the 2003-04 Regular Season:

*The Wave's 27-9 record gave Milwaukee its third-best winning percentage mark (.750) in the club's 20-year history. Only the 2002-03 (28-8, .778) and 2001-02 (34-10, .773) squads finished with higher winning percentages. The 1995-96 squad also finished at .750 (30-10).

*Forward Todd Dusosky enjoyed another banner season with 24 goals and 36 assists for 60 points, which was second-best on the team and sixth-best in the MISL. Todd's 36 assists were also second in the league behind Baltimore's Chile Farias, who posted 43 helpers. Todd, who was the league's top playmaker last season with 42 assists, also played in his second straight All-Star Game 2/29 in St. Louis; he was one of six Wave players who participated in the game along with Howes, Morman, Ackah, Michael King and twin brother Troy Dusosky.

*The Dusosky twins combined for 35 goals and 45 assists for 80 points. Defender Troy Dusosky was also fourth on the team with 43 blocks (Ackah 67, Morman 55, Pat White 45). The Wave's "Twin Tandem" is now eighth on the all-time indoor soccer brothers scoring list with 623 points (Todd 461 + Troy 162).

*Now in his 11th season with the Wave and his 18th overall, forward Michael King enjoyed another outstanding season. The Wave's team captain and all-time leading scorer finished fourth on the team scoring list with 42 points (26 goals + 16 assists). The 40-year old King proved that advanced age is no barrier to success – he increased his production by nine points over the previous season.

*Coach Keith Tozer concluded the regular season with a 20-year career mark of 560-351 (.615), including a 341-182 (.652) record in 12 seasons with the Wave. Tozer, the winningest coach in the history of North American indoor soccer, also made his eighth all-star coaching appearance on 2/29 @ St. Louis, leading the U.S. MISL All-Stars to a 10-1 win over the International MISL All-Stars.

Wave on Radio: All Wave games home and away may be heard live on 540 AM, WRRD ("The Word") with air time for each broadcast approximately 20 minutes prior to kick-off.

"Wave Insider" TV Show: The Wave's weekly half-hour television show "Wave Insider" may be seen on TV-41, WMLW (Channel 7 on Time Warner Basic Cable) every Saturday morning from 9:00 – 9:30 AM throughout the remainder of the indoor season, as well as throughout the upcoming Wave United outdoor season. The weekly half-hour show will include highlights and analysis from past games, previews of upcoming games, and interviews with Wave players, coaches, and other Wave / Wave United personalities. (This week (4/10): Wave players learn the art of physical rehabilitation at the Froedtert and Medical College Sports Medicine Center, as well as the art of mattress making at a Verlo Mattress Factory Store.)

Wave Notes: *The Wave is now 123-41 (.750) in its last 164 regular and post-season outings.

*The Wave's 2003-04 Central Division title marks the fifth consecutive year that Coach Keith Tozer's team has captured a regular season division or conference crown. It's also the third straight season that Milwaukee has finished with the league's best regular season record.

*Milwaukee finished second in scoring average (6.5 goals per game), first in defensive average (4.5 goals per game) and first in scoring margin (+2.0 goals per game). The Wave also topped the league in power play percentage at .500 (32-for-64) and was fourth in penalty killing at .576 (38-of-66).

*The Wave finished the regular season 10-0 against the MISL's first-year clubs (6-0 v. StL, 4-0 v. Mon.). Milwaukee also swept the season series from San Diego (4-0) to go 14-0 against the league's non-playoff qualifiers.

*The Wave's back-to-back home losses to KC on 2/5 and Phi on 2/8 were the first consecutive home losses for Milwaukee since it dropped its first two home games of the 2000-01 season. Prior to that, the Wave had not lost consecutive home games since the 1994-95 campaign.

*The 12/31 contest v. Monterrey was Coach Keith Tozer's 500th game as coach of the Wave. Now in his 12th season with Milwaukee, Tozer is just the third coach in North American indoor soccer history to guide one team for as many games. Only Kenny Cooper (751 games with Baltimore) and Ron Newman (701 games with San Diego) have coached more games with a single franchise.

*Assistant Coach Steve Morris made his professional head coaching debut on 12/6 @ Bal. He stepped in for Keith Tozer, who was coaching the U.S. Futsal Team in Anaheim, CA.

*Milwaukee's 9-8 (OT) loss on 12/6 @ Bal broke a five-game overtime winning streak for the Wave dating back to the 2001-02 campaign. Milwaukee was 4-0 in extra-session games last year and 1-1 the year before.

*The Wave's 6-5 (2OT) win on 2/14 v. Dal was eighth double OT game in team history – the Wave is 3-5 in such contests (3-1 at home).

The Wave's 7-6 (OT) loss on 3/12 @ KC dropped Milwaukee's overtime record to 2-3 this season and 26-32 all-time (7-21 on the road).

*The 15 goals on 11/14 v. KC is the fourth highest total in team history. The Wave team record for most goals in a contest is 18, set on 12/6/98 v. Cle.

*Michael King's goal on 2/8 v. Phi was the 668th of his career moving him past Andy Chapman into sixth place on the all-time indoor soccer list of goal scorers. (Cleveland's Hector Marinaro is the all-time leader with 1220.) King also scored his 500th regular season goal as a member of the Wave on 3/21 @ Dal.

*Giuliano Oliviero recorded the 500th point of his career with an assist on 3/12 @ KC. He became the 70th player in North American Indoor soccer history to reach that plateau.

*Troy Dusosky and Marcelo Fontana each scored a goal to record the 150th point of their respective careers (regular season) in Milwaukee's 6-2 win over Monterrey on 12/31 @ Mil.

*After enduring a six-game goalless streak, Todd Dusosky scored the 200th goal of his career on 3/6 v. KC.

*Joe Reiniger tallied at least one point in 25-of-33 regular season games to give him at least one point in 356-of-377 career NPSL / MISL regular season contests. Reiniger still holds the league's second longest scoring streak at 105 straight games (ended on 3/17/02).

*Greg Howes current indoor consecutive games played streak is currently 161 straight (regular season and playoffs) tying him with Michael King for the longest streak in team history.

*Defender Pat White registered his 400th career block on 3/27 @ StL. White is the Wave's all-time leading shot blocker.

*Goalkeeper Dan Green set a personal record by not allowing any goals in the Wave's 7-1 victory over St. Louis on 1/31 at U.S. Cellular Arena. The 31-year old Waukesha, WI native stopped all six shots that he faced in the contest; however, the Steamers scored while he was in the penalty box. Green's scoreless streak eventually ended at 78:13 on 2/8 v. Phi.

Upcoming Regular Season Milestones:

Player Milestone Needs All-Time Rank

2-Matt Stewart 50 points / 100 blocks 19 / 44

3-Lovelace Ackah 100 points / 300 blocks 43 / 31

6-Johnny Torres 50 goals / 50 points 21 / 11

7-Leighton O'Brien 50 goals / 50 points 24 / 4

8-Matt Schmidt 50 points / 100 blocks 20 / 25

9-Greg Howes 200 goals / 250 points 47 / 19

10-Pat White 200 points / 500 blocks 35 / 98

12-Chris Morman 100 points / 300 blocks 25 / 51

13-Michael King 700 goals / 1100 points 26 / 43 Goals: 6th (5th = 690) Points: 8th (7th = 1156)

17-Todd Dusosky 250 goals / 500 points 43 / 39

19-Troy Dusosky 100 goals / 400 blocks 8 / 68

20-Marcelo Fontana 100 goals / 200 points 8 / 37

21-Joe Reiniger 600 goals / 900 points 37 / 1 Goals: 10th (9th = 574) Points: 14th (13th = 931)

23-Giuliano Oliviero 300 goals / 550 points 21 / 44

Current Streaks: Games

Greg Howes 161 straight regular and post-season games (Wave)

Greg Howes 108 straight indoor / outdoor games combined (Wave and Wave United)

Matt Schmidt 80 straight regular and post-season games (Wave)

Matt Schmidt 108 straight indoor / outdoor games combined (Wave and Wave United)

Michael King 74 straight regular and post-season games (Wave)

Current Streaks: Points (regular season)

Greg Howes 11 straight

Joe Reiniger 10 straight

Leighton O'Brien 6 straight

Check out the Milwaukee Wave Statistics

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Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 6, 2004


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