Nov. 14, 2004

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Antou Jallow scored two goals and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee held off a determined University of Detroit-Mercy squad to claim a 3-2 victory in the championship game of the 2004 Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament here Sunday (Nov. 14). The Panthers won their tenth straight game and third straight league tournament and will advance to their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament with a 13-4-3 record. The Titans of Detroit ended the season with a 14-6-0 mark.

"This is just really fantastic," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "This has been one of the toughest championships for us because we had to play the tournament without injured seniors Khaled El-Ahmad and Cliff Ellsworth. But you have to give Detroit credit. They are a very good team and they play tough, clean soccer. (Head coach) Morris Lupenic has done a great job with that team."

In a wild game that saw 32 total shots, six cautions, and three penalty kicks, UWM took a 1-0 lead in the first half and never trailed en route to the one-goal victory. Detroit came out of the gates as the aggressor and controlled play for much of the first 15 minutes. The Titans had four early shots in the game but could get just one on target.

Milwaukee eventually took a 1-0 lead on a counterattack in the 24th minute. The Panthers Zeke Dombrowski pushed the ball down the right side and sent a pass to his brother, Neil, near the top of the penalty area. Dombrowski turned and lined a shot towards the goal only to see the shot redirected into the back of the net by Antou Jallow. The goal was the 15th of the season for Jallow while Neil and Zeke registered their seventh and second assists, respectively.

The action picked up bigtime in the second half as the field opened up and each team created numerous offensive chances. Milwaukee took a two-goal lead in the 63rd minute on a nice individual effort by sophomore forward Dale Weiler. Weiler stripped the ball from UDM's David Lepore, took two dribbles towards the middle and slotted a shot underneath the outstretched arms of keeper Sasha Boskovic and into the back of the net.

Detroit continued to push forward and cut the lead in half in the 70th minute. The Titans' Jason Massoglia was tackled in the penalty box which led to a penalty kick. Andrew Ornoch snuck a ball just past UWM keeper Eric Mickschl to make it a 2-1 game. The Panthers quickly grabbed its second two-goal lead of the game less than two minutes later on a penalty kick of their own. Milwaukee's Dan Horst was taken down in the box and Jallow calmly deposited the PK into the net for his second goal of the game.

Detroit cut the lead to 3-2 in the 75th minute on the third penalty kick of the game. UDM's Vahid Assadpour was tackled from behind in the penalty area and Ornoch scored his second goal of the game on a nearly identical PK as his first. The two teams traded chances the remainder of the game but a few nice stops by Boskovic and a team-save on a point-black shot by UWM's Garrett McCabe kept Detroit in the game.

Milwaukee's defense held the Titan push in the final five minutes to claim the tournament title. Each team registered 16 shots with UDM totaling nine shots on goal to eight for Milwaukee. The two teams combined for 42 fouls and 16 corner kicks, in addition to the five goals and three penalty kicks.

"I'm so happy for this senior class," added Bennett. "They are the first team to advance to the NCAA's all-four seasons and they really established the foundation that is UWM soccer. They have taken the program to a different level and maintained that level. That is one of the toughest things to do in sports."

The Panthers will assemble in the Gasthaus in the basement of the UWM Student Union to watch the 2004 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Selection Show on Monday (Nov. 15). The party will begin at 3:00 p.m. while the pairings will be announced live on ESPNEWS at 3:30 p.m. Head coach Louis Bennett and players will be made available to the media at this time.

Game Notes

* UWM's current 10-game winning streak is the third longest in school history

* Milwaukee will be making its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and fourth straight overall

* UWM has won an NCAA First Round game in each of the last two seasons and is currently 2-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament

* Jallow leads the Horizon League with 16 goals while Dale Weiler leads the league with 13 assists