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 Milwaukee Wave

Wave to host Comets in one-game playoff this Friday

April 13, 2004 - Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Milwaukee Wave News Release


(Milwaukee, WI) For the third time in three seasons, the Milwaukee Wave is preparing to host a one-game Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) semi-final playoff when Coach Keith Tozer's team entertains the Kansas City Comets this Friday, April 16, 7:35 PM at U.S. Cellular Arena. The Wave, which finished with the league's best record at 27-9 (16-2 home / 11-7 road) will be meeting the Comets (18-19 overall, 10-8 home / 7-11 road) for the seventh time this season. The clubs split the six-game regular season slate, with each team winning two-of-three on its home turf. It's also the fourth playoff series / round between the clubs, with the Wave having won two-of-the-previous-three including last season's semi-final victory (20-18 on 4/6/03) in Milwaukee.

The fifth-seeded Comets advanced to the semi-final round by virtue of an 8-5 quarter-final win this past Saturday (4/10) at Philadelphia. Dallas topped Cleveland in the other quarter-final (7-4 on 4/10 @ Dallas) to send the Sidekicks into a match-up against the defending MISL Champion Baltimore Blast in the other MISL semi-final, which will also take place on Friday night (4/16, 6:35PM at 1st Mariner Arena.)

Friday is also Wauwatosa Savings "White Out Night," with fans encouraged to wear white shirts to the contest. The first 5,000 fans will also receive "rally rags" courtesy of Wauwatosa Savings Bank.

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.

This Week:

Day Date Event Time** Place

Mon. April 12 Practice 10 AM U.S. Cellular Arena

Tue. April 13 Practice 10 AM U.S. Cellular Arena

Wed. April 14 OFF

Thu. April 15 Practice / Playoff Media Day 10 AM / Noon U.S. Cellular Arena

FRI. APRIL 16 MISL SEMI-FINAL PLAYOFF 7:35 PM U.S. CELLULAR ARENA

**Practice dates and times are subject to change. Please contact the Wave Media Relations Dept. at 414-908-6338 / 6339 if you plan to cover any session. Uihlein Soccer Park is located at 7101 W. Good Hope Rd. on Milwaukee's northwest side.

2004 Major Indoor Soccer League Playoffs:

Quarter-Finals (one game)

4/10 @ Philadelphia (#5) Kansas City Comets 8, (#4) Philadelphia Kixx 5

4/10 @ Dallas (#3) Dallas Sidekicks 7, (#6) Cleveland Force 4

Semi-Finals (one game)

4/16 @ U.S. Cellular Arena (#5) Kansas City Comets (18-19) at (#1) Milwaukee Wave (27-9), 7:35 PM

4/16 @ 1st Mariner Arena (#3) Dallas Sidekicks (22-15) at (#2) Baltimore Blast (25-11), 6:35 PM CDT

Championship Series (best-of-five)

(weekend of 4/23-4/24) Semi-Final Winners, with Games 1 and 2 at home of higher remaining seed

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

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.

2003-04 Schedule / Results 11/14/03 @ Mil Mil 15, KC 6

12/14/03 @ KC Mil 7, KC 4

1/16/04 @ KC KC 8, Mil 6

2/5/04 @ Mil KC 6, Mil 5 (OT)

3/6/04 @ Mil Mil 9, KC 7

3/12/04 @ KC KC 7, Mil 6 (OT)

Howes Registers MVP Performance: Wave forward Greg Howes capped off an outstanding regular season with five goals and two assists in the final weekend of the regular season (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. As durable as he is talented, Howes enters the post-season with a team-record tying 161 consecutive games played streak (regular and post-season) equaling the mark set by Michael King from 1996-2000.

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, 3/28, and 4/5.

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 Notes: *The Wave is now 124-41 (.752) in its last 165 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 159-of-its-last-179 (.888) 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).

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 57 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.


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