Oct. 15, 2004

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Antou Jallow scored three second-half goals to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 3-1 victory over Wright State University in Horizon League men's soccer action here Friday (Oct. 15). The Panthers scored three unanswered goals in the second half to win their second straight game while improving to 5-4-3 on the season and 3-1-0 in league play. With the loss, Wright State falls to 5-8-0 overall and 2-3-0 in league action.

"I am proud of the way we played in the second half and how we responded to a very physical game," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "Sure, we scuffled some early but I wanted to go with the guys who have been there before and they all came through in a big way."

Neither team could create much offense in the early going of a very physical game. Wright State had a goal disallowed in the first half due to a hand ball foul while another golden chance was cleared off the line by UWM defender Trent Furtsch. Both teams took five shots in the first half while the visiting Raiders took three corner kicks to UWM's zero.

Wright State wasted little time in grabbing the lead in the second half thanks to a goal just 46 seconds in. Troy Azuogu launched a long pass to the streaking Ricky Strong. Strong beat his mark and rifled home a shot from 12 yards out to give the Raiders the 1-0 cushion.

Milwaukee had three golden chances to tie the game in the next five minutes but some acrobatic saves by WSU's Jason Balach kept his team in front. Neil Dombrowski drilled a free kick from just outside the penalty box that Balach stopped on a diving save. Troy Spielmann then pounced on the rebound but his five-yard shot was stuffed by Balach. The senior made one more solid play when he eventually corralled UWM's third shot on goal in the sequence, this time coming from Dale Weiler.

The Panthers continued to push forward and eventually netted the game tying goal in the 66th minute. Cliff Ellsworth went streaking down the right side before playing a ball to the middle of the field. Spielmann then one touched the ball to Jallow who beat Balach far post from a very tough angle.

UWM kept the momentum and run of play and eventually took the lead in the 80th minute. Dale Weiler carried the ball near the endline and sent the ball towards the penalty box. Zeke Dombrowski tapped the ball to Jallow who flicked home a shot to the open net.

Jallow put things out of reach less than three minutes later when he recorded his third career hat trick in the 83rd minute. Panther keeper Kirk Thode launched a long kick that bounced past midfield. A WSU defender overran the ball where Jallow collected it, took two touches, and beat Balach to the near post.

"I think Troy Spielmann really changed the dynamic of the game," Bennett noted. "He brings a smoothness and craftiness to the game and as he adjusts to the speed of the college game he will get better and better. It was also nice to see Antou get rewarded for his solid work rate."

Wright State took some long range shots in the final minutes but couldn't muster any real scoring chances. The Panthers ended up outshooting the Raiders 13-11 on the game with a seven to five advantage in shots on goal. Thode made three saves on the game to improve his season record to 2-1-2.

Milwaukee will face the Alumni in a 2:00 p.m. match on Sunday (Oct. 17) before returning to action the following week. UWM will host Northern Illinois on Friday (Oct. 22) at 3 p.m. at Engelmann Field.

Game Notes

* The three-goal game was the ninth multiple-goal game of Antou Jallow's career

* Jallow now has 49 career goals, good for a second-place tie with Pete Knezic (1977-80) for second-place all-time

* UWM ran its Horizon League home unbeaten streak to 10 games

* Dale Weiler leads the Horizon League with seven assists in 12 games

* Senior forward Cliff Ellsworth left the game in the 79th minute with an apparent knee injury. His status for the remainder of the season is uncertain