Nov. 5, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team advanced in the Horizon League Tournament on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Butler in the league quarterfinals at Engelmann Field. Sophomore Tenzin Rampa's header in the 29th minute provided the difference as the Panthers (11-4-4) move on to the semifinals and bring the Bulldogs (9-10-0) season to a close with the win.

"First round games are a battle, especially if you don't have a well-seasoned team," Milwaukee head coach Louis Bennett said. "This was a quick way to get seasoned. In tournament games you sometimes lose your focus and become more concerned with winning the game than playing the game."

Rampa picked a fine time to record his first collegiate goal, striking at the 28:58 mark on a diving header. Junior Dale Weiler took a pass near midfield and went streaking down the left side. After some nifty moves to get around a defender, he sent a 20-yard cross to the far post. Rampa timed his dive perfectly, redirecting the ball back to the near post and past Butler goalkeeper Frank Peabody from about 15 yards out.

"We've been working on people crossing from one side to the other," Bennett said. "The diving header was fantastic. You can never deny Tenzin success because he works so hard."

The Panthers led 1-0 at the halftime, but spent most of the second half defending that advantage. Butler had numerous opportunities for the equalizer, but the Milwaukee defense never broke.

"Their [Butler] willingness to work, to fight for their lives, and our lack of application to the task allowed them to get squarely back in the game," Bennett said.

In the 54th minute, the Bulldogs drew a UWM foul at the top of the box. The dangerous free kick that followed made it around the wall but was knocked away by freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum.

In the 68th minute, freshman Travis Phillips was in the right place at the right time for the Panthers. After a UWM foul was called near the end line outside of the box, Butler sent the ensuing free kick to the top of the penalty area. Danny Akl had his shot attempt make it past Fernstrum, but Phillips was there to clear the threat.

The final BU threat occurred in the 76th minute, but Scott Olsen's shot from the left wing went off the top of the crossbar.

A tactical change to the Milwaukee line-up proved beneficial. Juniors Craig Mallace and Steve Sperl and sophomores Chris Lins and Andre Francois re-entered with about 10 minutes remaining, helping close out the victory.

"What was pleasing is that we have worked on ways to kill a game in practice," Bennett said. "We worked on not allowing opportunities and killing a game and after we made the change I don't think Butler had any opportunities."

The Panthers, on the other hand, did have opportunities in the first half, but couldn't finish against Peabody.

Weiler rifled a shot from the left flank in the 33rd minute that Peabody made a sprawling save on. He was up to the task just minutes later when Francois had a breakaway shot attempt from close range on a tough angle that Peabody cleared as well.

"We were a bit unfortunate not to be up 2-0 at the break," Bennett said.

Fernstrum ended the day with his seventh shutout on the strength of five saves, including two in the final 3:24 of the game. His seven clean sheets sets a new UWM freshman record for shutouts in a season, while lowering his goals against average to 0.46 on the year. Peabody made three saves in defeat for the Bulldogs.

Milwaukee ended with the 11-10 advantage on the shot chart, but Butler had the seven to four edge in shots on goal. The Bulldogs also forced four of the games seven corner kicks and were whistled for 21 of the 39 fouls. Besides the 39 fouls, the physical game featured six yellow cards (three on the Panthers) and one red card, as Butler's Matt Soldato was disqualified at the 89:43 mark of the contest.

In the end, the Panthers earned the victory to move on in the Horizon League Tournament. The team will continue play next weekend in search of their fourth-straight title in the event. They will also be looking for a return to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-consecutive season.

The team will be given an opportunity to avenge one of their losses from the regular season, as they will take on UW-Green Bay Friday in the semifinals. The Phoenix entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed, but upset No. 3 UIC 3-0 this afternoon. The remaining games will be played in Detroit, as the No. 1 Titans defeated No. 8 Cleveland State 1-0 to be the highest-remaining seed and earned the right to host the event. Game time for the Milwaukee versus Green Bay match-up will be posted to the website as soon as it is available.