Nov. 23, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - It may have taken 30 years, 584 games, and four coaches, but the No. 10 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer program finally has its first-ever NCAA Tournament win thanks to a 2-1 defeat of Oakland University here Saturday (Nov. 23). UWM needed a second-half goal from Kyle Zenoni and the ability to keep the visitors out of the net despite playing a man down the last 12 minutes to advance to the second round of the 2002 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Milwaukee, now 19-1-1 on the season, set a school, single-season record for wins while improving the nation's longest winning streak to 19 games. Meanwhile, Oakland, the Mid-Continent Conference champs, ended its season 10-8-3.

"This was a highly competitive game and exactly what we expected from an NCAA Tournament contest," UMW head coach Louis Bennett said. "I'm so happy and pleased that we were able to withstand the trials and tribulations of the game and advance to the second round. This is a special moment for our university, the players, coaches, and alumni."

Milwaukee's Khaled El-Ahmad ran the full gamut of emotions on the day as the senior went from jubilation in the first half to frustration late in the second half. The sophomore defender put UWM ahead 1-0 just 4:42 in the game when he headed home a Kyle Lance corner kick for the first goal of his career. However with 12:54 left in the game El-Ahmad put his team in a difficult situation when he was ejected from the game after receiving his second yellow card of the match. As a result, UWM had to play a man down the final 12:54 of the contest.

After the early goal from UWM, Oakland turned up the offensive pressure and controlled much of the pace of play in the first stanza. OU's persistence eventually paid off in the 24th minute when the Golden Grizzlies notched the equalizing goal. UWM's Chad Dombrowski attempted clear from an Oakland corner kick hit the far post. As a result, OU's Philip Braathen, the 2002 Mid-con Player of the Year, pounced on the loose ball and found the back of the net for the match-tying tally.

The two teams opened up the second half aggressively as the game picked up both emotionally and physically. The high-scoring Panther offense, which had been stifled by a staunch OU defense most of the game, finally found some room to operate and created more and more chances to score. Freshman midfielder Kyle Zenoni, who provided a huge spark off the bench for Coach Bennett, was the beneficiary of the increased offensive pressure as he corraled a loose ball in the penalty box and buried the eventual game-winner past OU keeper Jeff Wiese. Zenoni's marker, his third of the season, came at the 60:37 mark and was the second game-winner of his career.

"We work on loose ball plays like that a lot in practice so that definitely helped," Zenoni said. "Basically once I saw the ball I knew I just had to get the job done. I was able to settle and bury the shot. It's a good feeling."

With a 2-1 lead UWM took a more defensive stance for the remainder of the game and snuffed out any apparant OU run. Things got a little hairy for the Panthers in the 78th minute when El-Ahmad received his second yellow card and was ejected from the game. However, the solid Milwaukee defense held strong for the game's last 12 minutes to clinch the school's first-ever NCAA victory.

"There wasn't a second of the game where Oakland didn't battle," noted Bennett. "You have to give them credit. They came here and played us very tough. They are a very good team, as are all NCAA Tournament teams. Today's game was an indication of how tournament soccer is played."

UWM now advances to the second round where it will face Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. on Wednesday (Nov. 27). CU, who advanced to the tournament from the Missouri Valley Conference, have Final Four berths in 1996 and 200 to its credit. The Panthers, who will be without the services of El-Ahmad on Wednesday, defeated the Bluejays 3-0 last year in Omaha. Gametime is set for 6:30 p.m. CST at Tranquility Field.