Aug. 31, 2003

Box Score

MADISON, WIS - Dale Weiler sure made his first collegiate goal a memorable one. The freshman forward for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team scored the game's only goal as No. 18 UWM posted a 1-0 win over No. 22 University of New Mexico in the championship game of the Rocky Rococo Madison Classic here Sunday (Aug. 31). The win was the 17th straight regular season win for the Panthers and first over a nationally ranked team since a 3-0 blanking of No. 14 Creighton on Sept. 16, 2001.

The two Top 25 teams played a highly-competitive match with both teams creating scoring chances. New Mexico took five corner kicks to Milwaukee's zero in the first half but UWM freshman netminder Eric Mickschl kept the Lobos scoreless in his first career game. New Mexico goalkeeper Andrew Weber also posted a strong first-half performance as he stopped an Antou Jallow breakaway to keep the game scoreless at half.

Milwaukee began to take control of the game midway through the second half as the Panthers were able to collect eight corner kicks in the frame. One of the corner kicks turned out to be magical in leading to the UWM goal. Weiler, an athletic 6-2 forward, took a lofting corner kick and hammered home an acrobatic, flying bicycle kick for the 1-0 lead. The Panther defense held UNM at bay the rest of the game in moving to 2-0 on the young campaign. The hard-luck Lobos fell to 1-1 with the loss.

"Dale made one of the most spectacular goals you will see in college soccer," added Bennett. "We didn't make it a game of mistakes and we really got the momentum going in the second half. It's unrealistic to expect this team to win games 4-0 all the time, especially when you play a team as good as New Mexico. Both goalkeepers did a great job of stopping good scoring chances. Fortunately for us, we were able to convert when we needed too."

UWM placed four players on the All-Tournament team as Chris Brisson, Bobby Lish, Julian Chang, and freshman Steve Bode were honored. Brisson, a junior was named the tournament's Defensive Most Valuable Player while Lish earned Offensive MVP accolades.

The Panthers will return to Milwaukee and open the home portion of the 2003 season Saturday in the first day of the Coca-Cola/Panther Invitational. UWM hosts Denver at 5:00 p.m. on Sat. (Sept. 6), followed by a Sunday (Sept. 7) showdown with Alabama A&M. Both games are set for 2 p.m. at Engelmann Field.