Nov. 16, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Strong defense, good midfield play and a penalty kick was all the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team needed for a 1-0 win over Butler University in the championship match of the 2003 Horizon League Tournament here Sunday (Nov. 16). Thanks to the victory, UWM earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, the third straight for the program. The Panthers (15-5-1) will await the NCAA Selection show on Monday (Nov. 17) to find out the date and time of their next opponent. With the loss, Butler's season ends with a 12-6-3 overall record.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet but it's great to get back to the NCAA Tournament," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "It's amazing. This three-year run has been the best three-year run in the program's history. This senior class has been the most successful class that has ever been through UWM."

The visiting Bulldogs took control of the game early on, as midfielder Ryan Marques registered two shots in the game's first 15 minutes. UWM withstood the early Bulldog onslaught and gained control of play in the following minutes. The increased offensive pressure led to a corner kick in the 22nd minute. Midfielder Kyle Zenoni drilled a corner kick to the front of the net where Neil Dombrowski appeared to beat his defender. However, Marques grabbed Dombrowski's jersey and was whistled for a foul inside the UWM penalty area. Senior forward Bobby Lish stepped up and scored the eventual game-winner on the ensuing penalty kick. The goal was the third of the tournament for Lish and team-leading tenth of the season.

"I made a fake on the guy marking me and I had a pretty good scoring chance," Dombrowski said. "I had him beat in the air and he grabbed my jersey. Fortunately we got the PK and Bobby stepped up and delivered."

Milwaukee's impressive defense and ball control proved to be the story the remainder of the game as the Bulldogs mustered very little offensively. The UWM backline of Trent Furtsch, Khaled El-Ahmad, Steve Bode, and Adam Gehrt helped stop most BU chances which helped goalkeeper Kirk Thode notch his third straight shutout and ninth of the year.

UWM placed five players on the All-Tournament team, headlined by Most Valuable Player Kyle Lance. The senior forward was joined on the squad by UWM's Lish, Furtsch, Tighe Dombrowski, and Antou Jallow, Butler's Chance Ernst, Cory Edgington, and David Wyrick, Detroit's George Kithas and Ablaye Camara, and Ryan Azuogo of Wright State.

The Milwaukee players and coaches will meet at the Gasthaus in the basement of the UWM Student Union on Monday to watch the NCAA pairings live on ESPNEWS. The gathering will begin at 2:00 p.m. with the pairings set to be announced at 3:00 p.m.