Nov. 16, 2001
Tighe Dombrowski Leads UWM Over Wright State, 1-0
MILWAUKEE - The UWM men's soccer team (18-3) advances to the Horizon League Championship with a 1-0 victory over Wright State (12-7-1) Friday afternoon at Engelmann Field. The Panthers will meet Butler (10-8), who advanced with a convincing 3-0 victory over UIC, in the tournament final on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Engelmann Field.
"We did a good job," UWM coach Louis Bennett said. "It wasn't pretty, but it was effective. It's the first times in six games we didn't allow a goal. We played tactically smart considering how well they are on the dribble, and then had to take advantage of our opportunities."
UWM capitalized early on a chance created by sophomore midfielder Tighe Dombrowski to give the Panthers the lead in the ninth minute. Dombrowski stole the ball in Wright State's defense and ripped a right-footed shot from 30 yards out, hitting the upper right corner of the goal.
The Panthers kept the momentum going in the first half after Dombrowski's goal, but were unable to capitalize on a few more chances. A good opportunity came midway in the half when Ryan Seymour headed a cross from B.J. Blake, hitting it just wide of the near post.
Milwaukee didn't put much pressure on Wright State offensively in the second half, but played steady defensively to shut down the Raiders.
"We had to compress the field because they're a very individualistic team that likes to dribble. The plan was to defend well, break and then go forward. We did that well in the first half and got some good chances on goal. In the second half, we defended well, but then were inconsistent in going forward."
The Panthers didn't keep much possession going forward, which resulted in Wright State getting the ball more and creating chances in the second half. Most of the Raiders' shots came unthreatening outside the box, with the exception of midfielder Ryan Azuogu's shot that hit the post in the 53rd minute.
"To ask our young players to play disciplined for 90 minutes is a lot to ask," Bennett, the 2001 Horizon League Coach of the Year, said. "But they did what we asked them to do, and they were very effective."
UWM finished with the 13-12 advantage on shots, while junior goalkeeper Brad Swenby recorded three saves for the Panthers. WSU goalkeeper J.R. Nelson tallied two saves before suffering a back injury in the 56th minute, and was replaced by Chris Schiavone who recorded one save on the remainder of the game.
The Panthers meet Butler in the championship game, having already posted a 3-2 overtime victory on the road in the regular season. Butler heads into the tournament final after defeating UIC, 3-0, in the semifinal prior to UWM's game.
Junior Michael Mariscalco led Butler with two unassisted goals and an assist, all in the first half. The Bulldogs took an early advantage of a flat UIC squad, who was missing head coach Sasha Bergovic because of a red car issued in the quarterfinals. UIC applied more pressure in the second half and finished with an 18-11 advantage on shots, though the Flames never looked dangerous on goal.
Mariscalco scored in just the second minute when he hit a 30-yard shot from the center of the field, and then gave Butler the 2-0 lead when he scored off a 35-yard free kick in the 19th minute. He and teammate Andrew Pancio assisted on a header goal scored by Nick Pantazzi in the 24th minute.
"Butler played exceptionally well against UIC," Bennett said. "Mariscalco is an exceptional player and has a team with guys who are prepared to work hard. But this is a difficult place to play against us, so they'll have to play well-as will we."
