Wave United Ready to Fight Fire
August 5, 2003 - A-League (A-League)
Milwaukee Wave United News Release
Series History: First Meeting*
*Milwaukee Rampage (A-League) defeated Chicago 1-0 on 7/17/02 at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in the round of 16 of the 2002 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
How Chicago Advanced: Received a bye directly into Fourth Round
How Milwaukee Advanced: Received a bye into Third Round
Defeated Milwaukee Bavarians (USASA) 4-1 on 7/23/03 at Uihlein Soccer Park
Wave United Update: Milwaukee enters tonight's contest with an overall mark of 12-9-0 (11-9-0 A-League) which includes an 8-4-0 record (7-4-0 A-League) at Uihlein Soccer Park. Wave United has won five-of-its-last-six, including a 6-0 win over the Indiana Blast in its most recent outing this past Sunday (8/3) at Uihlein. This is the final game of a six-game home stand at Uihlein in which Milwaukee is 4-1-0 thus far, including wins over the Milwaukee Bavarians (4-1 on 7/23), the El Paso Patriots (2-0 on 7/25, and 5-1 on 7/27) and Indiana. Wave United's only loss on the current stand occurred last Thursday (7/31) when it fell to the Central Division leading Minnesota Thunder 2-0.
Milwaukee (A-League) U.S. Open Cup History: This is the third consecutive year that a Milwaukee A-League club has participated in the Open Cup, and the fourth time in seven years that a Milwaukee A-League side has been involved. Last year's Rampage squad (the team Wave United replaced in the A-League) made the furthest advance of any Milwaukee professional contingent when it defeated both the New York Freedoms (4-0 on 6/26/02) and the Chicago Fire (1-0 on 7/17/02) to reach the quarterfinals. Milwaukee's run in last year's tournament came to an end when the Rampage fell to the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 on 8/24/02.
Note: The Milwaukee A-League entry has never played a road or neutral site game in the U.S. Open Cup.
Notes: *Goalkeeper Jeff Richey is 4-0-0 in four starts this season, and 6-0-0 in six career starts. He has two shutouts this year and four for his career. In 571 career minutes he has surrendered just three goals (0.47 GAA).
*Goalkeeper Jim Larkin has six shutouts so far this season which is third on Milwaukee's all-time A-League shutout list. The single season record for Milwaukee A-League goalkeeper shutouts is eight set last season by current LA Galaxy goalkeeper Dan Popik.
*Forward Todd Dusosky scored the fastest goal in Milwaukee A-League history when he found the back of the net just 44 seconds into the match on 8/3 v. Ind. He is currently tied for the Wave United team scoring lead with Dino Delevski. Both players have eight goals and five assists for 21 points.
*Milwaukee is 6-0-0 when Todd Dusosky scores. Todd also has six game-winning goals.
*Forward Greg Howes has scored at least one goal in five of his last six outings, including the 7/23 Open Cup match against the Bavarians.
Midfielder Dino Delevski has had two multi-goal games so far this season: 6/8 v. Por, (two goals) 8/3 v. Ind (two goals).
*Forward Digital Takawira's two goals on 8/3 v. Ind were his first two A-League tallies this season. He is Milwaukee's all-time A-League goal scoring leader with 40. Takawira still ranks third on the Kansas City Wizards (MLS) all-time list with 28 goals from 1996-99.
*Midfielder Steve Bernal was forced to leave the 7/23 match v. the Bavarians with a left knee injury sustained in the 78th minute. He has not played since.
*Wave United's 3-2 win @ Cin on 7/19 was the 100th regular season victory in Milwaukee A-League History (1997-Present)
*Wave United has been awarded just two penalty kicks so far this season, both resulting in successful conversions (Dino Delevski, 7/18 @ Ind and Digital Takawira 8/3 v. Ind). Milwaukee has yielded just one PK attempt, an unsuccessful try by Minnesota's Johnny Torres in the season opener (5/16).
*Rookie defender Joe Hammes (Cedarburg, WI / St. Louis U.), who did not play in the season opener v. Min on 5/16, has played every minute of every game (1713 minutes) since. He tops the club in minutes played followed by Matt Schmidt (1686) and Troy Dusosky (1667).
Fire Update: Under first year coach Dave Sarachan, Chicago currently sports an 8-4-4 record (28 points) which ties the Fire with the NY/NJ MetroStars (8-5-4) atop the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Chicago has not played since 7/26 when it defeated the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 at Cardinal Stadium in Naperville, IL. Although the Fire has been idle since the aforementioned date, several Chicago players did take part in the recent MLS All-Star Game in Los Angeles this past Saturday (8/2). Among the Fire stars who participated were: forward Ante Razov; midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Chris Armas; defender Carlos Bocanegra; and goalkeeper Zach Thornton. All but Thornton played in the contest, with Razov (goal), Beasley (goal), and Bocanegra (assist) each making noteworthy contributions in the MLS All-Stars 3-1 victory over Chivas of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Chicago is currently in the midst of a four-game MLS home stand in which it has won two straight following a 2-1 loss to D.C. United on 7/12. The Fire bounced back to beat the New England Revolution 3-1 on 7/19 before its most recent win over Kansas City. Chicago, which is 3-3-2 on the road in MLS play, has not played away from home since 7/5 when it battled to a scoreless draw with Earthquakes at San Jose.
The Fire, which has won the U.S. Open Cup on two occasions (1998 and 2000), will be looking to atone for last year's loss to Milwaukee in similar circumstances. The A-League team then known as the Rampage defeated the Fire 1-0 on 7/17/02 at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex on a second half goal by Ranko Golijanin. The winner of tonight's match will take on the winner of the Colorado â Kansas City match on August 25 or 27. (8/25 if Milwaukee wins â 8/27 if Chicago wins.)
Last Outing for Wave United:
Sun. 8/3 @ Milwaukee Wave United 6, Blast 0 Attendance: 1,592
A rainy night at Uihlein Soccer Park did not dampen the spirits of Milwaukee Wave United as the Wave's A-League (outdoor) team rung up a season-high six goals in defeating the Indiana Blast 6-0. The victory improved Milwaukee's regular season record to 11-9-0 (33 points) while the Blast fell to 3-18-2 (11 points) The win also brings Wave United within four points of the Central Division leading Minnesota Thunder (12-6-1, 37 points) while increasing Milwaukee's lead to six points over El Paso (8-12-3, 27 points) and Cincinnati (9-14-0, 27 points) in the race for the division's final playoff spot.
Forward Todd Dusosky opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the match when he received a pass from Josh Timbers and maneuvered past a defender to score from 10 yards out against goalkeeper Matt Reiswerg. It was the fastest goal ever recorded by a Milwaukee A-League side.
The teams battled somewhat evenly for the next 20 minutes when Indiana's Ben Higginbotham was red-carded for a late hit on Matt Schmidt in the 21st minute. From that point on, Wave United dominated the match against the short-handed Blast.
Greg Howes scored in the 38th minute off a cross to the far post from Josh Timbers to make it 2-0. Following the Indiana kick-off, Milwaukee came right back to score again when Howes set up Dino Delevski from the right wing to the top of the penalty area to put Wave United on top 3-0.
Milwaukee scored again in the 69th when Digital Takawira converted a penalty kick against second half goalkeeper Armando Femia after he was taken down in the box by Indiana defender Jeff Samples. Delevski made it 5-0 when he scored his second of the night just inside the box off a touch from Takawira.
Takawira closed out the scoring with an unassisted goal in second half stoppage time after a turnover by the Blast in its defensive end. All told, Milwaukee out-shot Indiana 27-8.
Jeff Richey picked up the win for Milwaukee to improve to 4-0-0 this season, and 6-0-0 for his two-year A-League career. Richey was forced to make just one save, a 60th minute blast by Indiana's Mali Walton from 20 yards out, to preserve his second shutout of the season (the eighth for Wave United).
Milwaukee now leads the season series 2-1-0, with the two teams slated to meet in the regular season finale Sunday, August 31 at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis.
Last Open Cup Outing:
Wed. 7/23 v. Milwaukee Bavarians Wave United 4, Bavarians 1 Attendance: 4,161
Forward Greg Howes scored a pair of goals in the first 19 minutes and Milwaukee Wave United never looked back as the A-League club defeated the Milwaukee Bavarians of the US Adult Soccer Association (USASA) 4-1 in a Third Round match in the 2003 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament July 23 at Uihlein Soccer Park. A season high crowd of 4,161 saw the professional team top the three-time U.S. Amateur Cup Champions in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.
Howes' first goal came as the result of a poor goal kick by Bavarians goalkeeper Chris Dadaian, whose short kick deflected off of teammate Chris Jahr directly to Howes. Howes deposited the shot into the empty net from 20 yards out to give Wave United a 1-0 lead. Howes tallied again in the 19th minute on a header from the top of the box off a cross from the right wing by Todd Dusosky.
Midfielder Dino Delevski extended Wave United's lead to 3-0 in the 61st minute when he chipped one into an empty net after stripping the ball from Bavarians goalkeeper Matt Schmidt. Schmidt (no relation to Wave United midfielder Matt Schmidt), a second half substitute, had attempted to dribble out of defensive pressure from Todd Dusosky when Delevski stepped in to steal the ball then chip it in from 26 yards out.
Forward Digital Takawira came off the bench to finalize Wave United's scoring when he converted from the middle of the box off a left wing cross from Steve Bernal. The Bavarians registered their only tally in the 85th minute when Dominic DaPra scored in close after receiving a cross from Jake Provan. Wave United played a man down for the last 12 minutes after midfielder Steve Bernal left due to a knee injury in the 78th minute â the team had used up its allotment of four substitutes.
Tickets: All Wave United home games are played at Uihlein Soccer Park, 7101 W. Good Hope Rd. on Milwaukee's northwest side. General Admission tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for kids under 12. Reserved seating at Uihlein Soccer Park is limited to season ticket holders â call the Wave / Wave United Office at 414-224-WAVE (9283) for more information. Tickets for all Wave United home games are available at the Wave / Wave United Office, 1040 N. Water St. in downtown Milwaukee, the Uihlein Soccer Park Ticket Office, all TicketMaster outlets, and through phone charge at 414-276-4545. Groups of 10 or more should contact the Wave / Wave United Group Sales Dept. at 414-224-WAVE for group rate discounts.
Wave Camps: The 2003 Milwaukee Wave / Wave United Summer Soccer Camp program continues with 58 sessions in 34 locations throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. Call the Wave Office at 414-224-WAVE for a camp brochure and registration form, or register on-line at www.milwaukeewave.com
Wave MISL (indoor) Season Set to Begin October 11 / Home Opener at U.S. Cellular Arena October 18: The Wave will begin its 20th season (its third in the Major Indoor Soccer League) October 11 against the San Diego Sockers at San Diego. Milwaukee returns for its home opener October 18 v. the Baltimore Blast. All Wave home games will be played at the U.S. Cellular Arena at the corner of 4th St. and Kilbourn Ave. in downtown Milwaukee. Call the Wave / Wave United Office at 414-224-WAVE for more information, or visit www.milwaukeewave.com.
A-League Stories from August 5, 2003
- Busy Week for the Blast - Indiana Blast
- Wave United Ready to Fight Fire - Milwaukee Wave United
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