Oct. 31, 2004

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Perseverance certainly paid off for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team as it claimed a 1-0 overtime victory over Cleveland State University in the regular season finale here Sunday (Oct. 31). The Panthers, who took 17 shots overall and 13 in the second half and overtime, got a deflected Kyle Zenoni goal in the 94th minute to claim the win.

With the victory, UWM will share the 2004 Horizon League regular season title with Butler but will gain the No. 1 seed and hosting rights to the entire tournament thanks to Friday's 2-1 victory over BU. Milwaukee wins for the seventh straight time while improving to 10-4-3 overall and 6-1 in the league while CSU falls to 5-10-2 overall and 0-6-1 in league action.

"We had a huge opportunity to take care of things in the first half but we didn't take advantage of it," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "Cleveland State came here to keep it close and try to steal a victory and they almost did that today."

Milwaukee came out a bit sluggish in the first half and neither team could create many solid scoring opportunities. Milwaukee did get two shots on target in the first half but couldn't find the net while Panther keeper Kirk Thode needed just one save in the frame to keep it scoreless at the half.

UWM made numerous position and tactical changes to begin the second half which rejuvinated its offensive attack. The Panthers controlled the ball for much of the final 45 minutes while creating shot after shot. Forward Dale Weiler nearly found the net twice in the 23rd minute but his line drive shot from the right flank was stopped on an acrobatic save by CSU keeper Amir Kettani before his 25 yard free kick from the left side curled in, hit the inside of the far post, and squibbed across the goal mouth untouched.

UWM's Antou Jallow narrowly missed an a pair of chances in the second half while a Steve Sperl header at the 18:08 mark was saved on another nice play by Kettani. The two teams finished the 90 minutes of regulation in a 0-0 tie.

The Panthers continued to play the aggressor in the first overtime and eventually found the back of the net in the 94th minute. CSU attempted to clear a ball but it was played to Zenoni on the right side. The midfielder took a few dribbles towards the middle and rifled a 15-yard shot that deflected off a pair of players and inside the far post for the game-winner.

Thanks to the Zenoni goal UWM claimed at least a share of the Horizon League title for the fourth consecutive season. Meanwhile, Milwaukee will host the postseason league tournament for the fourth consecutive year as well. Milwaukee, the No. 1 seed, will host Cleveland State, the No. 8 seed, Saturday (Nov. 6) at 1:00 p.m. If UWM wins, the rest of the tournament will be played at Engelmann Field with two semifinal games on Friday (Nov. 12) with the title game scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 14).

Game Notes

* UWM has won seven consecutive games, the longest streak since the 2002 season

* The Panthers are 7-1 at home this season and 36-4-1 at home in the last four seasons

* Senior forward Antou Jallow is tied for the Horizon League record with 54 career goals

* Today's game was senior day, the final regular season home game for UWM seniors Kirk Thode, Antou Jallow, Khaled El-Ahmad, Cliff Ellsworth, Ian Hoelker, Trent Furtsch, Adam Gehrt and Chris Brisson