Oct. 6, 2002

Box Score

DEKALB, IL - When a winning streak is on the line, very few things matter. Style points. Margin of victory. Goals scored. As a result, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team is more than pleased with a 1-0 road victory over old-conference rival Northern Illinois University here Sunday (Oct. 6). Despite the close final margin, UWM controlled the majority of the match and outshot the hosts 31-9 in the process.

Milwaukee improves to 7-1-1 on the year while running its current winning streak to seven games. The stretch is the longest for a Panther team since the 1996 squad won seven consecutive matches. With the loss, NIU falls to 2-8-1 on the campaign.

"Soccer can be a strange game," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "This was a game that we dominated from start to finish but just couldn't find the back of the net. But, we didn't panic, we stayed disciplined, and we finally got a goal. On the road, a win is a win."

Playing without the nation's leading goal scorer, Antou Jallow, UWM created scoring chance after scoring change in the game, only to find its many shots sail just wide, high, or into the keeper's hands. Jallow, whose 30 points and 13 goals lead the nation, missed the game due to a sore right groin. With Jallow out, the Panthers still took 17 shots and 11 corner kicks in the first 90 minutes while holding the Huskies to one shot and zero corner kick opportunities.

The two teams continue to played to a scoreless tie until early in the second half when the Panthers finally capitalized on one of their many scoring opportunities. Kyle Lance, who has been solid all season up top despite being held without a goal, finally broke through when he tapped home a shot at the 66:10 mark. Lance's first goal came when a Kevin Roethe shot hit both posts and sat in front of the net for the junior to tap in.

"We have players who can score goals in addition to Antou but they just haven't been scoring a lot lately," added Bennett. "It is good to see Kyle get a score because he has been working so hard."

Milwaukee earned its fourth shutout of the season, all with Chris Dadaian in net. With his four blankings in 2002, Dadaian has 16 for his career,which puts him third on the all-time charts. The senior now has 32 wins in his four years, just one away from second-place on the all-time wins list.

The Panthers will put their winning streak on the line next weekend with a pair of matches in Milwaukee. UWM will host the University of Akron on Friday (Oct. 11) at Uihlein Soccer Park at 7 p.m. before Wright State University comes to town for a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday (Oct. 13).