Oct. 23, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Senior Neil Dombrowski tied school and Horizon League records with four goals on Sunday afternoon, leading the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team to a 4-1 victory at Engelmann Field. Dombrowski scored twice in each half on Senior Day as the Panthers (9-3-4, 4-1-1 Horizon) kept alive their hopes of a fifth-straight Horizon League regular season title with the victory over the Ramblers (6-7-2, 3-2 Horizon).

Dombrowski's four-goal outburst doubled his previous best of two in a game, while his eight points also ranked in a tie for third-best for points in a game in the UWM record book.

"It was a pretty special day," Dombrowski said. "Being my last regular season home game, I just wanted to play well and things just happened. My teammates played really well. They gave me the chances and I was able to put them away."

The Panthers controlled the game from start to finish. The only thing that prevented the shutout was a goal by Keum Kin Sung in the 69th minute. Milwaukee outshot the Ramblers 16-13 in the match and allowed them very few scoring opportunities.

"When you look at the score, it was exactly what the doctor ordered," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "We fought through some early jitters, but once we go it up to Neil, he took it from there. He played very, very well and that enabled us to get in a good pattern of play."

Dombrowski started things off in the 15th minute, cleaning up a partially-saved shot off the foot of freshman Troy Spielmann that rebounded back to him in front of the goal.

His defensive pressure from on top accounted for the next score in the 22nd minute. After the Ramblers played a back pass to the goalkeeper, Dombrowski stole the crossing pass from Loyola goalkeeper Brad Sommer. He settled the ball and sent home an 18-yard shot to the wide-open net to make it 2-0.

The lead stayed at 2-0 until after halftime. The third tally of the day came in the 61st minute, when he redirected a shot from sophomore Steve Bode in front of the goal.

The record-tying goal came on an unusual play. After a Loyola foul on sophomore Andre Francois, Dombrowski set up for the ensuing 30-yard free kick from the far left flank. He sent it on goal and the ball was never touched by either Sommer or a Panther player before sneaking into the corner of the goal at the far post.

"Neil proved he is an opportunistic kind of striker today," Bennett said. "Every opportunity he got to strike the ball on goal he took."

The defense also played well on the day, as freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum improved to 5-1-3 on the season with the victory. Fernstrum made five saves in the game, including a couple of the spectacular variety.

In the 53rd minute, Loyola's Dino Meltias sent a 35-yard blast to the upper-left corner of the goal. Fernstrum made a lunging attempt on the save, getting a hand on the ball to send it off the crossbar. He made another superb save in the final seconds, making a diving stop on close-range shot from Meltias to keep the final score at 4-1. The late goal that was allowed ended Fernstrum's attempt at his sixth shutout.

"The goal was a coaching thing and I'll take the blame for it," Bennett said. "We had just made substitutions to get some players off the field that were banged up and weren't quite ready to make the adjustment. Had we not made the tactical adjustment, they may not have had the opportunity."

The victory came in a key Horizon League match-up, as Loyola brought a 3-1 conference mark into play today. The Panthers remain in second place with their 4-1-1 mark, just behind first-place Detroit. The Titans moved to 5-1 in League play on Friday with a 1-0 victory over Loyola.

A look at the box score showed Milwaukee with a 16-13 edge in shots and a nine to six advantage in shots on goal, with Dombrowski scoring his four goals on six shot attempts. UWM was whistled for 20 of the 37 fouls in the match, with Loyola forcing five corner kicks to the Panthers two. Fernstrum made five saves to record the win, while Sommer had four in 68:27 to go along with a team save. Sean Bond came on in relief, but did not have a save in the final 21:33 of action.

Milwaukee will continue Horizon League play on Wednesday, heading to Green Bay to take on UW-Green Bay for the Chancellor's Cup. The match-up with the Phoenix, in which UWM has won five-straight, will start at 7 p.m.