Sept. 22, 2005
Chicago, Ill.- The UIC soccer team seeks to keep its unbeaten start to 2005 alive against a pair of Horizon League foes this weekend.
UIC takes on city rival Loyola this Friday at 4:30 p.m. Central at Flames Field. Following the match will be Alumni Day festivities that will honor UIC Soccer alumni.
On Sunday the Flames face off with Detroit beginning at 1:00 p.m. Central at Flames Field. Sunday's match will feature Parents' Day festivities.
Tickets to both matches are available at the gate and are $5 for general admission seating. Tickets for children ages 12 and under and senior citizens 65 and older are $3.
UIC home soccer matches are also covered through the UIC All-Sport Ticket, which provides four general admission tickets to all regular season home events for soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics events at UIC.
Groups of 10 or more can purchase group tickets at a discounted rate of $2 per ticket. Group tickets can only be purchased in advance by calling the UIC Ticket Office at (312) 413-8421.
As always, UIC students are admitted free with a valid I-Card.
In addition, a free soccer clinic for boys and girls in eighth grade or below will be conducted prior to Sunday's match. The clinic begins at 11:00 a.m. Central. All participants must pre-register before Sunday.
For more on the UIC soccer team's busy weekend at home, check out the match notes below.
STILL UNBEATEN
The UIC soccer team stayed unbeaten at 3-0-1 with a 1-0 victory over Eastern Illinois this past Sunday. In the Flames' home opener that featured over 500 fans, sophomore midfielder Pavle Dundjer (Becmen, Belgrade/Zimunska Gimnazija) sent a corner kick straight to junior midfielder Eric Cervantes (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates), who converted his shot from near the penalty box in the fifth minute into his first score of the year to put the Flames up 1-0. That score would hold in a defensive battle that saw Jeff Engelbrecht (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame H.S.) make three saves, including an outstanding leaping punch stop in the 85th minute, to earn his third shutout of the year.
FLAMES NOW FOURTH IN MIDWEST REGION
Following their victory over Eastern Illinois, the Flames found themselves up a notch in the latest NSCAA/adidas Midwest Regional Rankings. UIC, which debuted in the top ten this season two weeks ago at No. 5, was elevated to the fourth spot in the region.
DUNDJER, ENGELBRECHT NEAR THE TOP IN THE NATION
Sophomore midfiedler Pavle Dundjer and sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Engelbrecht find themselves among the NCAA's best in individual statistical categories. Dundjer's 1.00 assist per game average is currently tied for second in the country, while Engelbrecht ranks third nationally in save percentage (.950) and fifth overall in goals against average (0.237).
DEFENSE DOES THE TRICK
The UIC defense has been stout so far this season. As a team the Flames have three shutouts and a team save percentage of .952, which ranks third in the nation. UIC is third in the country in team goals against average (0.24) and fourth in shutout percentage (75%).
BENCH NOT PLAYING RESERVED
UIC head coach John Trask has given a ton of praise to the play of his reserves as of late. Most notably the showings of Dan Simek (LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township), Brodey Simkins (Bozeman, Mont../Bozeman), Pawel Ligas (Justice, Ill./Argo), Tim Bernard (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva/Benedictine) and Brandon Bilbrey (Barrington, Ill./Fremd/Philadelphia) has given Trask solid options off the bench.
THE OPPOSITION: LOYOLA
Loyola (1-3-1) comes into Friday's match following a 2-1 double-overtime defeat at the hands of South Carolina. The Ramblers have lost two of their last three, including a 4-2 loss at then-No.16 Creighton. Loyola is led by first-year head coach Brendan Eitz. On the field the Ramblers feature leading goal-scorer Matt Marek (2 goals, 4 points) and seniors Dino Melitas and Bill Metzger.
THE OPPOSITION: DETROIT
Detroit (2-2-2) will come to Chicago following a Friday contest at home versus Wright State. The Titans lost their last match in a 2-1 contest at Oakland. Detroit is coached by 14-year veteran Morris Lupenec, who is 123-108-30 all-time in the Motor City. Andrew Ornoch, the current Horizon League Co-Player of the Week, leads Detroit with 4 goals and 9 points.
ENGELBRECHT EARNS ANOTHER HONOR
Goalkeeper Jeff Engelbrecht's stellar play as of late earned the sophomore netminder this week's Player of the Week award from ChicagoLandSoccerNews.com. Engelbrecht joins Indiana standouts Brian Plotkin and Jacob Peterson as the only players to earn the honor so far this season. Engelbrecht has also been recognized as the Horizon League Player of the Week and as a member of the Soccer America Men's College Team of the Week on September 5th.
OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS
Leading the Flames this season are captains Tonci Skroce (Zadar, Croatia/IX Gimnasium/Kendall College) and Derek Kosek (Batavia, Ill./Batavia), a junior back.
YOU U-19 GUYS ARE GOOD
Sophomores Nick Sutter (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Brandon Bilbrey (Barrington, Ill./Fremd) come into this season with championship experience from their summer as the two paced Sockers FC Chicago to the US Youth Soccer Under-19 National Championship. Sutter and Bilbrey played huge roles in helping Sockers take home the prestigious James P. McGuire Trophy, a 70-year-old prize that is the oldest youth sports trophy in the United States.
UIC HEAD COACH John Trask
January 17, 2005 marked a new day in UIC soccer, as UIC Director of Athletics Jim Schmidt tabbed John Trask as the program's fourth head coach since the school became a Division I institution in 1981.
No one can claim the credentials that Trask has on his resume. From 1991 through 1999, Trask served as an assistant to legendary IU mentor Jerry Yeagley during the cultivation of a Hoosier soccer dynasty. Indiana went 169-29-12 during Trask's tenure, winning eight Big Ten titles and back-to-back National Championships along the way.
At Indiana Trask helped recruit and teach some of the nation's greatest players, with Dema Kovalenko, Yuri Lavrinenko, Lazo Alavanja, Pat Noonan, Brian Maisonneuve and Todd Yeagley among some of the all-time best collegiate players that Trask has coached.
Following an NCAA title in 1999, Trask took his coaching skills to the professional ranks in Major League Soccer. Two years with the Miami Fusion produced some of the greatest soccer the league has seen, with stars like 2001 MLS Honda MVP Alex Pineda Chacon and veteran superstar Preki manning a Trask-led attacking show that led to a spot in the 2001 MLS semifinals. Trask concluded his professional coaching experience with a two-year stint with D.C. United and a year with FC Dallas, where he tutored U.S. National Team superstar Eddie Johnson, before accepting his first head coaching position.
Trask starred on the collegiate pitch as a midfielder for Indiana from 1984-1987, making an appearance in the 1984 College Cup. Along with his immeasurable soccer expertise,
Trask is a very active member in the community, counting the America SCORES program, a reading, writing and soccer program dedicated to inner city youth, as one of the charitable organizations he contributes his time and knowledge to regularly.
THE BEST PLAYER YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF
He may not be on the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List, but he's somebody you have to watch regardless. Sophomore attacking midfielder Pavle Dundjer is the real deal. After a 2004 rookie season in which he scored four goals and dished out two assists for 10 points, earning the Belgrade native Horizon League First Team and league Newcomer of the Year honors, Dundjer has already gotten off to a hot start by dishing out two assists in the Flames' 2-0 victory over No. 24 Loyola Marymount. Dundjer earned All-Tournament honors at the UC Irvine College Classic for his efforts. Dundjer then secured his third assist in three matches with a helper on the game-winner at UMKC on Sept. 10th before assisting Eric Cervantes' game-winning goal against Eastern Illinois this past Sunday.
