MISL 2 Milwaukee Wave

Wave ready for game three

April 30, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Milwaukee Wave News Release


Wave Update: Milwaukee enters this weekend's action with an overall record of 28-11 (27-9 regular season, 1-2 post-season) following last weekend's back-to-back losses to the Blast (12-3 on 4/23, 8-4 on 4/24) in Games One and Two of the MISL Championship Series at U.S. Cellular Arena. Last weekend's results marked the first time Milwaukee has ever dropped back-to-back playoff games on its home turf; it was also just the second time this season, and only the third time since the start of the 1995-96 season that the Wave has suffered consecutive setbacks on its home field.

Coach Keith Tozer's squad is attempting to become the first team in the AISA / NPSL / MISL II to come back and win a championship series after dropping the first two at home. Both Detroit (1992) and Cleveland (1997) rallied from 0-2 deficits to claim league titles, but both did it after losing the first two on the road.

Wave on the Road: Milwaukee finished the regular season with the league's best road mark at 11-7. The Wave also posted a league-best 13-5 mark the previous season (2002-03), which stands as the best road record in team history. Entering this weekend, the Wave is also 10-12 all-time at Baltimore (10-11 regular season, 0-1 post-season), including six-wins-in-its-last-ten outings (regular and post-season) at 1st Mariner Arena.

Wave on the Road in the Playoffs: Milwaukee enters this weekend with an all-time playoff road record of 9-16. The Wave had dropped its last two playoff games on the road (11-4 @ Phi on 4/27/02, 15-12 @ Bal on 4/13/03) prior to this weekend's action.

Wave in Games Three and Four: Heading into Game Three of this year's series, the Wave is 4-9 all-time in Game Threes, including a 3-4 road record in such games. As far as Game Four is concerned, the Wave is 2-1 all-time with all three decisions coming on the road.

2004 MISL Championship Series Schedule (best-of-five):

Game One Friday April 23 @ Milwaukee Baltimore 12, Milwaukee 3

Game Two Saturday April 24 @ Milwaukee Baltimore 8, Milwaukee 4

Game Three Saturday May 1 @ Baltimore 1st Mariner Arena 6:35 PM CDT

Game Four* Sunday May 2 @ Baltimore 1st Mariner Arena 5:05 PM CDT

Game Five* Saturday May 8 @ Milwaukee U.S. Cellular Arena 7:35 PM

*if necessary

Wave in Back-to-Back Games: 2003-04: Game One = 7-1 Game Two = 6-2 Total = 13-3

2002-03: Game One = 5-2 Game Two = 5-2 Total = 10-4

A look at the Wave's back-to-back schedule / results for the 2003-04 regular season:

10/31 v. Cle W, 8-5 12/13 @ Phi L, 4-6 1/31 v. StL W, 7-1 3/20 v. Dal W, 5-4

11/1 @ Cle L, 6-10 12/14 @ KC W, 7-4 2/1 @ Mon W, 9-6 3/21 @ Dal L, 3-4

11/7 v. Mon W, 7-1 1/23 @ Cle W, 5-4 3/6 v. KC W, 9-7 4/2 v. Phi W, 7-2

11/8 @ StL W, 6-2 1/24 v. Cle W, 6-2 3/7 v. StL W, 10-3 4/3 @ Bal W, 10-9

Wave in Back-to-Back Games v. Same Opponent: 2003-04: Game One = 4-0 Game Two = 1-3

2002-03: Did not have any back-to-back games v. same opp

A look at the Wave's back-to-back schedule / results v. same opponent for the 2003-04 regular season:

10/31 v. Cle W, 8-5 1/23 @ Cle W, 5-4 2/14 v. Dal W, 6-5 (2OT) 3/20 v. Dal W, 5-4

11/1 @ Cle L, 6-10 1/24 v. Cle W, 6-2 2/20 @ Dal L, 3-4 3/21 @ Dal L, 3-4

Injury Report: Pos. Player Injury Status* GM / DLP**

F Michael King hamstring probable 1 / 4/23/04

F Matt Stewart knee probable 4 / 4/2/04

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

**Games Missed / Date Last Played

Suspensions: none

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.

Wave in the Championship Series:

Season Regular Post Championship Series Final Game Result Att.

1997-98 28-12* 9-2 Beat StL 4-games-to-1 5/12/98 @ Mil Mil 21, StL 10 8,367

1998-99 25-15 1-2 (did not qualify)

1999-2000 31-13* 7-2 Beat Cle 3-games-to-2 5/5/00 @ Mil Mil 19, Cle 6 15,469

2000-01 24-16** 7-1 Beat Phi 3-games-to-0 5/11/01 @ Phi Mil 10, Phi 8 3,205

2001-02 34-10* 2-2 Lost Phi 2-games-to-1 5/3/02 @ Mil Phi 8, Mil 6 16,802

2002-03 28-8* 2-2 Lost Bal 2-games-to-1 4/18/03 @ Mil Bal 13, Mil 12 12,598

* Had league-best record during regular season

**Tied for league-best record during regular season

Wave Title Hopes: Keith Tozer's team is trying to become just the second team in league history to win as many as four championships. The late Canton Invaders, who won five-of-the-league's first six titles (1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, and 1990) are the only AISA/NPSL/MISL squad to win more than three. The Cleveland Crunch / Force has also won three league championships (1994, 1996, 1999).

Aside from Coach Tozer, three players have been members of the Wave since Milwaukee won its first championship in 1997-98. The list includes Michael King, Todd Dusosky, and Pat White. Two-time winners with the Wave include Lovelace Ackah, and Dan Green. Joe Reiniger and Greg Howes have each been a part of one title-winner in Milwaukee.

It Wouldn't Be a Title Series Without a Dusosky: This is the ninth consecutive NPSL / MISL Championship Series that has had at least one of the Dusosky brothers playing in the series. Todd was involved in 1996 (with Cleveland), 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003; Troy took part in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 (all with Cleveland), 2002, and 2003. The brothers were teammates in 1996 (winning over KC), 2002 (losing to Philadelphia), and 2003 (losing to Baltimore). They also played against each other in the 2000 series, won by Todd (Milwaukee) over Troy (Cleveland).

Wave in Post-Season Play:

The 2004 post-season marks the 11th straight time that Milwaukee has qualified for the playoffs, the longest current streak in North American indoor soccer. The streak dates back to Keith Tozer's second season with the Wave (1993-94) and includes three league titles (1998, 2000, and 2001) and five league championship series appearances (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003). Excluding the 1988 AISA Challenge Cup (in which the Wave posted a 6-6 record), Milwaukee enters post-season play with an all-time record of 35-25, including a home mark of 26-9. The Wave has gone 2-2 each of the last two post-seasons, dropping the decisive game of a best-of-three championship series in heartbreaking fashion each time (8-6 to Philadelphia in 2002, 13-12 to Baltimore in 2003).

Wave v. Baltimore in Post-Season Play: This year's match-up marks the third time, and the third consecutive season that Milwaukee and Baltimore have met in a league playoff round or series.

2002 – Semifinals (one game) – Milwaukee wins one-game-to-none

Game Date Venue Result GWG Attendance

Game One 4/19/02 Bradley Center Mil 18, Bal 12 Sipho Sibiya 9,953

2003 – Championship Series (best-of-three) – Baltimore wins two-games-to-one

Game Date Venue Result GWG Attendance

Game One 4/12/03 Bradley Center Mil 19, Bal 12 Brian Loftin 6,029

Game Two 4/13/03 1st Mariner Arena Bal 15, Mil 12 Denison Cabral 7,436

Game Three 4/18/03 Bradley Center Bal 13, Mil 12 Denison Cabral 12,598

2004 – Championship Series (best-of-five)

Game Date Venue Result GWG Attendance

Game One 4/23/04 U.S. Cellular Arena Bal 12, Mil 3 Chile Farias 6,204

Game Two 4/24/04 U.S. Cellular Arena Bal 8, Mil 4 Chile Farias 6,792

Wave v. Baltimore – Series History: @ Mil @ Bal Overall

2003-04 2-0 1-1 3-1

2002-03 2-0 2-1 4-1

All-Time – Regular Season 16-4 10-11 26-15

All-Time – Playoffs 2-2 0-1 2-3

2003-04 Schedule / Results 10/18/03 @ Mil Mil 7, Bal 5

12/6/03 @ Bal Bal 9, Mil 8 (OT)

3/14/04 @ Mil Mil 5, Bal 3

4/3/04 @ Bal Mil 10, Bal 9

4/23/04** @ Mil Bal 12, Mil 3

4/24/04** @ Mil Bal 8, Mil 4

**MISL Championship Series

Wave v. Blast: Regular Season Comparison

Mil Bal

Scoring (Avg.) – Rank 235 (6.5) – 2nd 241 (6.7) – 1st

Defense (Avg.) – Rank 161 (4.5) – 1st 192 (5.3) – 4th

Home Scoring For-Against 129-69 (7.2 – 3.8) 124-83 (6.9 – 4.6)

Road Scoring For-Against 106-92 (5.9 – 5.1) 117-109 (6.5 – 6.1)

Shots For (Avg.) – Rank 1101 (30.6) – 4th 1156 (32.1) – 2nd

Shots Against (Avg.) – Rank 1012 (28.1) – 2nd 976 (27.1) – 1st

Shot Margin – Rank 2.5 – 2nd 5.0 – 1st

Power Plays (Pct.) – Rank 32-64 (50.0) – 1st 34-69 (49.3) – 2nd

Penalty Killing (Pct.) – Rank 38-66 (57.6) – 4th 37-58 (63.8) – 2nd

Restart Goals For – Rank 30 – 5th 34 – 3rd

Restart Goals Against – Rank 24 – 3rd 25 – 4th

First Goals (Record) – Rank 21 (17-4) – 1st 20 (16-4) – 2nd

1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total Off. Avg. Def. Avg.

Scoring by Quarter (For-Against) Mil 53-35 57-45 63-35 60-43 2-3 235-161 6.5 4.5

Bal 56-40 64-59 52-40 67-49 2-4 241-192 6.7 5.3

Leading Scorers – Regular Season Mil. Bal.

Greg Howes – 13 pts. David Bascome – 6 pts.

Joe Reiniger – 6 pts. Chris Handsor – 6 pts.

Michael King – 6 pts. Lee Tschantret – 6 pts.

Leighton O'Brien – 5 pts. Chile Farias – 6 pts.

Todd Dusosky – 4 pts. Denison Cabral – 6 pts.

Giuliano Oliviero – 4 pts. Danny Kelly – 4 pts.

Marcelo Fontana – 3 pts. Giuliano Celenza – 3 pts.

Goalkeeping Dan Green 2-1, 6.46 GAA Scott Hileman 1-3, 7.08 GAA

Nick Vorberg 1-0, 5.00 GAA

Wave v. Blast: 2003-04 Game Summaries

10/18 @Milwaukee Wave 7, Blast 5 Attendance – 6,069

Scoring Shots Blocks Fouls CK PP GK (W/L, Rec.) SF-SA

Baltimore 2-2-1-0=5 35 1 14 1 2-4 Hileman (L, 1-2) 12-5

MILWAUKEE 4-0-1-2=7 13 15 13 0 0-2 Vorberg (W, 2-0) 20-15

Bal MIL Per. Time Goal (Season Total) – Assist

1 1 0:35 Oliviero (2) – King

1 1 0:52 Handsor (1) – Bascome

2 1 1:12 Morman (2) – Rivillo

2 1 1:35 Wakefield (1) – Bader

3 1 1:51 Troy Dusosky (1) – Howes

4 1 11:31 Troy Dusosky (2) – Howes

3 2 3:41 Tschantret (2) – Cabral

4 2 13:16 Bascome (3) – PK

5 3 2:45 Cabral (3) – Farias (PPG)

5 3 10:32 Rivillo (1) – King

6 4 2:30 Morman (3) – Schmidt (GWG)

7 4 5:53 Schmitt (1) – King

12/6 @ Baltimore Blast 9, Wave 8 (OT) Attendance – 6,415

Scoring Shots Blocks Fouls CK PP GK (W/L, Rec.) SF-SA

Milwaukee 0-5-3-0-0=8 30 19 16 1 1-3 Green (L, 2-1) 30-21

BALTIMORE 2-1-1-4-1=9 49 17 19 3 1-1 Hileman (W, 7-2) 13-5

Mil BAL Per. Time Goal (Season Total) – Assist

1 1 10:00 Tschantret (5) – unassisted

2 1 11:18 Celenza (6) – Farias

1 2 0:40 Howes (11) – Stewart

2 2 6:15 Howes (12) – unassisted (RSG)

3 2 11:24 Handsor (4) – Kelly (RSG)

3 2 11:39 Howes (13) – unassisted

4 2 12:42 Oliviero (5) – Howes (RSG)

5 2 13:56 King (11) – Fontana

6 3 5:31 Reiniger (7) – unassisted (RSG)

7 3 10:47 Howes (14) – King (PPG)

8 3 12:30 Mesanovic (1) – Oliviero

4 3 14:48 Gilbert (2) – Cabral

5 4 1:59 Handsor (5) – Garcia

6 4 5:33 Bascome (7) – Kelly (RSG)

7 4 7:02 Farias (5) – Hileman

8 4 8:39 Handsor (6) – Celenza

9 OT 14:59 Bascome (8) – Kelly (PPG, GWG)

3/14 @ Milwaukee Wave 5, Blast 3 Attendance – 8,055

Scoring Shots Blocks Fouls CK PP GK (W/L, Rec.) SF-SA

Baltimore 0-2-1-0=3 32 18 17 5 3-4 Hileman (L, 21-8) 15-11

MILWAUKEE 1-1-1-2=5 33 17 25 1 1-3 Green (W, 13-3) 15-12

Bal MIL Per. Time Goal (Season Total) – Assist

1 1 12:28 Todd Dusosky (20) – Reiniger (RSG)

1 2 5:46 Farias (16) – Bascome (PPG)

2 2 12:59 Celenza (29) – Bascome (PPG)

2 2 14:47 Troy Dusosky (11) – Todd Dusosky

3 3 11:42 Howes (49) – Green

3 3 12:18 Cabral (29) – SOG

4 4 0:27 Howes (50) – Reiniger (PPG, GWG)

5 4 14:52 Todd Dusosky (21) – Reiniger (VS6)

4/3 @ Baltimore Wave 10, Blast 9 Attendance - 6,648

Scoring Shots Blocks Fouls CK PP GK (W/L, Rec.) SF-SA

Milwaukee 2-3-1-4 31 13 27 2 3 Green (W, 18-3) 21-12

BALTIMORE 2-2-2-3 34 8 20 0 1 Hileman (L, 24-10) 23-13

Mil BAL Per. Time Goal (Season Total) – Assist

1 1 3:24 Kante (1) –unassisted (RSG)

1 1 4:24 Fontana (15) – O'Brien

2 1 5:05 Wakefield (21) – Handsor

2 1 9:17 Fontana (16) – unassisted

3 2 2:11 Kelly (9) – PK

4 2 2:57 Walker (18) – Tschnatret

3 2 3:50 Reiniger (27) – O'Brien (RSG)

4 2 10:10 O'Brien (11) – Howes

5 2 11:54 King (26) – O'Brien

5 3 1:02 Tschantret (23) – Handsor

6 3 5:19 Oliviero (12) – Howes (RSG)

6 3 8:30 Cabral (35) – Farias (SAG, RSG)

7 4 0:19 Tschantret (24) – Nelson (SHG)

7 4 0:38 Reiniger (28) – Todd Dusosky (PPG)

8 4 1:40 Howes (56) – Morman

9 4 2:33 Howes (57) – unassisted

8 4 4:26 Cabral (36) – Farias

9 4 7:26 Tschantret (25) – unassisted

10 4 11:51 O'Brien (12) – unassisted (RSG, GWG)

2004 Championship Series Recap:

Game One: 4/23 @ Milwaukee Blast 12, Wave 3 Attendance – 6,204

Forward Chile Farias scored three goals, including the game-winner during a nine-goal outburst in the second half of Game One of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Championship Series to lead the defending champion Baltimore Blast to a 12-3 win over the Milwaukee Wave Friday night (4/23) at U.S. Cellular Arena. A stunned crowd of 6,204 looked on as the Blast broke open a tight game with two goals late in the third quarter before adding seven more in the fourth. Farias' goal at 11:12 of the third quarter proved to be the game-winning goal; he also added two more goals during the decisive run to finish the match with a game-high five points (three goals + two assists).

The Wave (28-10), which saw its eight-game home winning streak come to an end, had scored twice early in the third period on goals by Greg Howes (1:49) and Giuliano Oliviero (3:13) to even the score at 3-3. However, Farias' leaping back-heel redirection off a long pass from Baltimore goalkeeper Scott Hileman put the Blast on top 4-3 and set the stage for four more unanswered goals over the next 8:21. Down 8-3, the Wave inserted Troy Dusosky as a sixth-attacker in place of goalkeeper Dan Green. However, the strategy backfired when the Blast tallied twice at 7:34 (Farias) and 7:41 (Tarik Walker) to increase its advantage to 10-3.

Milwaukee suffered an additional blow when defender Lovelace Ackah was issued a red card ejection for an elbowing penalty at 8:52 of the fourth quarter. The red card carries an automatic suspension for the next game in the series, which will means Ackah will not be eligible to play in Game Two scheduled for Saturday, April 24, 7:35 PM at U.S. Cellular Arena.

Hileman (2-0) stopped 16-of-19 shots faced to record the victory. The Blast ‘keeper also added a pair of assists to compliment the Baltimore attack. Meanwhile, Wave goalkeeper Dan Green (1-1) registered 13 saves in suffering the loss as Milwaukee endured its most one-sided setback (regular or post-season) in team history.**

**Wave's previous record for worst defeat was an eight-goal loss to the Chicago Power in a semi-final playoff game on 4/13/89 at Milwaukee.

Scoring Shots Blocks Fouls CK PP GK (W/L, Rec.) SF-SA

Baltimore 2-1-2-7=12 36 16 19 0 1-2 Hileman (W, 2-0) 19-16

MILWAUKEE 1-0-2-03 35 13 12 3 0-2 Green (L, 1-1) 23-13

Bal MIL Per. Time Goal (Season Total) – Assist

1 1 0:22 Fontana (2) – Troy Dusosky

1 1 5:27 Eller (2) – unassisted

2 1 9:33 Handsor (1) – Farias (SHG)

3 2 0:37 Walker (2) – Eller

2 3 1:49 Howes (3) – Troy Dusosky

3 3 3:13 Oliviero (1) – Howes

4 3 11:12 Farias (1) – Hileman (GWG)

5 3 13:51 Kelly (1) – Celenza

6 4 0:58 Nelson (1) – Wakefield

7 4 3:35 Cabral (2) – Farias (RSG)

8 4 4:33 Celenza (1) – Hileman

9 4 7:34 Farias (2) – unassisted (VS6)

10 4 7:41 Walker (3) – unassisted (VS6)

11 4 10:01 Celenza (2) – unassisted (PPG)

12 4 10:56 Farias (3) – unassisted

Game Two: 4/24 @ Milwaukee Blast 8, Wave 4 Attendance – 6,792

The Baltimore Blast became the first team to beat the Wave in back-to-back playoff games at Milwaukee when the Blast handed the Wave an 8-4 setback in Game Two of the 2004 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Championship Series Saturday night (4/24) at U.S. Cellular Arena. Coupled with Friday's (4/23) 12-3 triumph over the Wave, the defending champion Blast now leads the best-of-five series two-games-to-none, with Game Three slated for Saturday, May 1, 6:35 PM CDT at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena. Game Four, if necessary, would be played Sunday, May 2, 5:05 PM CDT at 1st Mariner Arena.

Baltimore jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Lance Johnson (11:38 of the first quarter) and Billy Nelson (8:08 of the second quarter). Todd Dusosky accounted for Milwaukee's only goal in the first half with an unassisted restart goal at 8:17 of the second quarter.

Blast defender Danny Kelly extended Baltimore's lead to 4-1 with consecutive goals (2:27 and 4:02) early in the third quarter. After the Wave's Marcelo Fontana scored off a restart pass from Joe Reiniger at 4:20, the Blast responded with goals from Chile Farias (4:52) and Denison Cabral (5:17) to go up 6-2, the latter coming on a shootout following a tripping penalty to the Wave's Troy Dusosky. The teams traded goals from that point on, with P.J. Wakefield's goal at 11:26 of the fourth quarter against Wave sixth attacker Troy Dusosky accounting for the final score (8-4).

Blast goalkeeper Scott Hileman (3-0) stopped 13-of17 shots to post the victory, while Wave ‘keeper Dan Green (1-2) took the loss despite a fine effort in which he saved 18-of-25 shots.

Scoring Shots Blocks Fouls CK PP GK (W/L, Rec.) SF-SA

Baltimore 1-1-5-1=8 37 16 28 1 2-3 Hileman (W, 3-0) 17-13

MILWAUKEE 0-1-2-1=4 33 11 25 1 0-1 Green (L, 1-2) 25-18

Bal MIL Per. Time Goal (Season Total) – Assist

1 1 11:38 Johnson (1) – Tschantret

2 2 8:08 Nelson (2) – Handsor

1 2 8:17 Todd Dusosky (2) – unassisted (RSG)

3 3 2:27 Kelly (2) – Farias

4 3 4:02 Kelly (3) – unassisted

2 3 4:20 Fontana (3) – Reiniger (RSG)

5 3 4:52 Farias (4) – unassisted (RSG)

6 3 5:17 Cabral (3) – SOG

3 3 5:28 Morman (1) – Reiniger (RSG)

7 3 14:24 Celenza (3) – Walker (PPG)

4 4 5:28 Troy Dusosky (2) – Todd Dusosky

8 4 11:26 Wakefield (1) – Tschantret (VS6)

Milwaukee's Regular Season Record and Post-Season Finishes:

Season 1st Half Rec. 2nd Half Rec. Final Rank Playoffs

1984-85 9-11 4-16 13-27 6th of 6 did not qualify

1985-86 5-15 6-14 11-29 6th of 6 did not qualify

1986-87 8-13 4-17 12-30 8th of 8 did not qualify

1987-88 4-8 7-5 11-13 3rd of 4 third in Challenge Cup

1988-89 11-9 13-7 24-16 2nd of 7 lost in semifinals

1989-90 13-7 8-12 21-19 3rd of 8* lost in semifinals

1990-91 14-6 9-11 23-17 3rd of 9* lost in quarterfinals

1991-92 10-10 8-12 18-22 7th of 9 did not qualify

1992-93* 6-14 11-9 17-23 10th of 13 did not qualify

1993-94 12-8 8-12 20-20 6th of 12 lost in quarterfinals

1994-95 10-10 13-7 23-17 4th of 12* lost in quarterfinals

1995-96 14-6 16-4 30-10 3rd of 13 lost in quarterfinals

1996-97 11-9 15-5 26-14 3rd of 15* lost in first round

1997-98 12-8 16-4 28-12** 1st of 13 won championship

1998-99 13-7 12-8 25-15 2nd of 13 lost in quarterfinals

1999-2000 15-7 16-6 31-13 1st of 12 won championship

2000-01 9-11 15-5 24-16** 1st of 10* won championship

2001-02 17-5 17-5 34-10** 1st of 6 lost in finals

2002-03 13-5 15-3 28-8 1st of 8 lost in finals

2003-04 14-4 13-5 27-9 1st of 9 ??????????????????

*Tied for position

Wave Notes: *The Wave is now 125-43 (.744) in its last 168 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.

*The Wave celebrated its first regular season at U.S. Cellular Arena by posting a 16-2 mark on its home field, including wins in its first nine and last seven home games. Combined with its previous eight seasons at Bradley Center, Milwaukee has now won 160-of-its-last-180 (.889) regular season home games. The Wave is also 20-6 (.769) at home during post-season play since the 1995-96 campaign.

*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. "Kinger, who turned 41 on April 20th, also had a 76 consecutive games played streak snapped on 4/24 v. Bal when he did not dress due to a hamstring injury.

*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 164 straight (regular season and playoffs) breaking the previous record set by Michael King (161 straight) 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.

Current Streaks: Games

Greg Howes 164 straight regular and post-season games (Wave)

Greg Howes 111 straight indoor / outdoor games combined (Wave and Wave United)

Matt Schmidt 83 straight regular and post-season games (Wave)

Matt Schmidt 111 straight indoor / outdoor games combined (Wave and Wave United)

Current Streaks: Points (regular season) Points (including post-season)

Greg Howes 11 straight

Joe Reiniger 10 straight

Leighton O'Brien 6 straight

Chris Morman 4 straight

Todd Dusosky 2 straight

Marcelo Fontana 2 straight 5 straight

Troy Dusosky 3 straight

Coach Keith Tozer: Now in his 12th season as Head Coach of the Wave (his 20th overall as a professional head coach) Keith Tozer is the winningest coach in the 25-year history of North American indoor soccer. Tozer, who became the first and only coach to reach the 500 win plateau on 4/12/02, currently sports a combined regular and post-season record of 561-353 (.614), including a 342-184 mark (.650) as coach of the Wave. The 47-year old Grosse Pointe, MI native, who is also Milwaukee's Vice President – Soccer Operations overseeing both the Wave indoor and Wave United outdoor teams, began his coaching career as a player-coach with the Louisville Thunder in 1984 following a six-year career in the original MISL. He has led Milwaukee to three league titles and five championship series appearances in the last six seasons. He is also a five-time NPSL / MISL Coach of the Year award winner (1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003.) Tozer also has a 5-3 record in eight all-star coaching appearances including a win as U.S. coach in the 10-1 triumph over the International squad in the 2004 MISL All-Star Game on 2/29 @ StL.

Reg. Season Playoffs

Wave Record (1992-Present) 310-163 32-21

NPSL / MISL Record 453-246 45-33

Indoor Record (1984-Present) 516-316 45-37

Championships 1998, 2000, 2001

Wave All-Time Leaders: Regular Season (STILL ACTIVE WITH WAVE in CAPS)

Games Played Goals Assists Points Blocks

1. KING-416 KING-501 KING-290 KING-791 WHITE-402

2. Nogueira-374 Morris-190 Morris-232 Morris-422 Carbonara-387

3. WHITE-332 TODD DUSOSKY-188 TODD DUSOSKY-224 TODD DUSOSKY-412 Mobley-360

4. Morris-325 REINIGER-162 Knezic-120 REINIGER-267 Tyma-305

5. TODD DUSOSKY-270 HOWES-153 Richardson-110 Pastor-238 Morris-271

6. Carbonara-221 Pastor-153 REINIGER-105 HOWES-231 ACKAH-269

Goalkeepers:

Games Played Minutes Wins Losses GAA

1. Nogueira-374 Nogueira-21154 Nogueira-252 Nogueira-111 Nogueira-5.13

2. Pierce-178 Pierce-9393 Pierce-71 Pierce-83 Pierce-5.17

3. GREEN-79 GREEN-3702 GREEN-36 GREEN-24 GREEN-5.79

Playoffs (STILL ACTIVE WITH WAVE in CAPS)

Games Played Goals Assists Points Blocks

1. Nogueira-50 KING-39 KING-35 KING-74 Carbonara-76

2. KING-50 Morris-36 TODD DUSOSKY-27 Morris-60 WHITE-71

3. WHITE-47 TODD DUSOSKY-28 Morris-24 TODD DUSOSKY-55 Morris-45

4. TODD DUSOSKY-44 Loftin-22 Loftin-16 Loftin-38 ACKAH-38

5. Morris-42 REINIGER-16 REINIGER-16 REINIGER-32 KING-33

Goalkeepers:

Games Played Minutes Wins Losses GAA

1. Nogueira-50 Nogueira-2920 Nogueira-31 Nogueira-19 5.65

Wave Record Breakdown - Regular Season

The Wave's 446 regular season victories are second-most in North American indoor soccer history. Only the Wichita Wings (493 wins from 1979-2001) have registered more regular season triumphs.

Season Home Road Overall

2003-04 16-2 11-7 27-9

2002-03 15-3 13-5 28-8

BC Era (1988-2003** 233-69 139-163 372-232

Tozer Era (1992-Present)*** 201-40 112-127 313-167

All-Time 280-113 166-227 446-340

** includes home games played at the Milwaukee Arena (2-2 in 1988-89) and Nashville Arena (1-0 in 2001-02)

***includes games coached by Art Kramer (1-0 home, 2-3 road) and Steve Morris (0-1 road)

Wave Record Breakdown - Playoffs

Season Home Road Total

2003-04 1-2 0-0 1-2

2002-03 2-1 0-1 2-2

BC Era (1988-2003)** 26-9 9-16 35-25

Tozer Era (1992-Present)** 23-8 9-13 32-21

All-Time 27-11 9-16 36-27

*won league title in 1998, 2000, and 2001

**includes home games played at the Arena in 1995-97 (2-2)

Wave United to Open 2004 A-League Campaign on May 14, 7:05 PM at Uihlein Soccer Park: Milwaukee Wave United, the Wave's A-League (outdoor) team will kick-off the 2004 season on Friday, May 14, 7:05 PM when it hosts the Edmonton Aviators at Uihlein Soccer Park. Coach Art Kramer's team, which finished the 2003 campaign with the league's best regular season record (18-10-0, 54 points) will once again feature many players from the current Wave indoor squad during the upcoming outdoor season. Call the Wave / Wave United Office at 414-224-WAVE (9283) for tickets or more information, or visit www.milwaukeewaveunited.com.

Wave Camps: The 2004 Wave / Wave United Summer Camp Program begins the week of June 14 with camps at five different locations. All told, the 2004 Camp Program will include 58 different sessions in 33 locations throughout Southeastern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. Highlighting this year's summer camp schedule is the second annual Wave European Academy (held in conjunction with Queens Park Rangers FC) July 23-August 1 in London, England. Call the Wave / Wave United Office at 414-224-WAVE (9283) to request a camp brochure and registration form, or visit www.milwaukeewave.com. Campers may also register online at www.milwaukeewaveunited.com.

Check out the Milwaukee Wave Statistics



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from April 30, 2004


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