Oct. 28, 2001

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Chad Dombrowski's goal in the 11th minute of overtime Sunday sent UWM to a 3-2 win over Butler and its first outright regular season conference championship since 1997.

Dombrowski's finish came from about 15 yards out following a pass across the box from brother Tighe Dombrowski. It was easily the best chance for either team in the first extra period. The goal capped a day of comebacks for the 23rd-ranked Panthers (15-3, 6-0 Horizon League), who trailed 1-0 and 2-1 during regulation.

"Simply fantastic," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said of the team's regular season league title. "When you look at us at 6-0 as of now, you might think that was easy. It wasn't easy. We've clinched the conference championship by playing five league games away and just one at home so far. It's just phenomenal, absolutely fantastic."

The championship secures home-field advantage for the Panthers throughout the Horizon League Tournament. The quarterfinals will be played Nov. 10 on the home fields of the top four regular season finishers, while the semifinal and finals will be played Nov. 16 and 17. If the Panthers would win their quarterfinal on the 10th, they would host the semifinals and finals at Engelmann Field.

"It was a day of resilience," Bennett said. "We have a lot of players that bend, but don't break. When you bend but don't break in a game you can always rebound. We snatched victory from the jaws of defeat."

The Panthers nearly lost the match in regulation. Butler regained a 2-1 advantage on a Michael Mariscalco goal following a defensive giveaway in the 65th minute. UWM pressed forward but had few stellar opportunities in the following 20 minutes. Then, on a corner kick in the 86th minute, Marc Pehowski sent the ball across the box, where Khaled El-Ahmad headed the ball back across to the strong side and Ryan Seymour finished, drawing the Panthers level at 2-all and forcing the extra time.

Butler opened the scoring in the 11th minute following a Panther turnover in midfield. Ryan Marques captured possession and sent a driven cross into the box, where Nick Pantazi finished to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage. The game remained 1-0 at halftime, but UWM tied the match at 1-all on a Seymour goal off a pass from Pehowski in the 59th minute.

"We didn't have a ton of opportunities," Bennett said of his team that collected 20 shots but forced Butler goalkeeper Curt Edwards into only five saves, few of them challenging. "Our mindset was to stay close and rigid in our defensive system and that may have cramped our offense some."

But, the Panthers came through late in the match and again in overtime, not unlike they did in winning at UW-Green Bay earlier this month. With it, the Panthers accomplished one of the goals laid out at the beginning of the season.

"This championship - the first-ever Horizon League regular season championship - falls into the tradition that has been built over the years at UWM," Bennett said. The UWM soccer program has also won championships in the Big Central, Mid-Continent and, most recently, the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.

UWM's 15 wins are the most since the 1995 season, when the Panthers also won 15 matches. UWM finishes the regular season Nov. 3 at Engelmann Field against UIC, which won last year's conference title. The Panthers will be seeking to wrap up their first undefeated conference season since 1993, when UWM went 8-0 in winning the Mid-Continent Conference.