Oct. 17, 2001
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MILWAUKEE- The No. 16 UWM men's soccer team won its sixth-consecutive match after rolling past Northern Illinois, 3-0, Wednesday afternoon at Engelmann Field. Playing in their traditional cup game against the Huskies, the Panthers (12-2, 3-0 Horizon) retained possession of the John Lewang Memorial Cup trophy.
"It was not the most stylish of performances, but it got the job done," UWM coach Louis Bennett said. "It was a rare occasion where we came out flat, as did they. But NIU wanted to play a certain way or tempo, and we kind of fell into that."
Junior midfielder Kevin Roethe scored the game-winner in the 21st minute off an assist from Kyle Lance. Roethe's initial header off the cross was saved by NIU goalkeeper Rashih Pala, but Roethe headed the rebound in to score from six yards out. UWM took the 1-0 lead into halftime.
"At halftime, we said that we could either make it easier or harder for ourselves," Bennett said. "We needed to concentrate on the details. We really didn't have any spark in the game until the second goal."
The Panthers got a lift when freshman forward Mark Krstich subbed into his first game of the season and scored a goal on only his second touch of the match. The Huskies tried to clear the ball from the box after Chad Dombrowski headed a corner kick, but Krstich one-timed the ball from 20 yards out to give UWM the 2-0 lead in the 68th minute.
Dombrowski added the Panthers' third goal when he headed in a cross from freshman Chris Brisson in the final minute of the game.
UWM collected 16 corner kicks while outshooting the Huskies, 15-5. Junior goalkeeper Chris Dadaian recorded four saves in the game and his fifth shutout on the season.
"We had only 12 healthy and qualified players to select from, so it was good that we could still put an effective performance together," Bennett said.
UWM retained the John Lewang Cup after winning last year's match, 4-2. Possession of the cup gives Milwaukee its third and final cup of the season, the first time since 1996 that the Panthers captured all three trophies in the same season. UWM also holds the Milwaukee Cup and the Chancellor's Cup after beating Marquette and Green Bay a couple of weeks ago.
The Panthers aim to extend their six-game winning streak when they travel to Ohio for matches against Akron and Cleveland State this weekend. UWM plays Akron on Friday at 7 p.m. before its league game against the Vikings on Sunday at 1 p.m.
