| Michigan Bucks Press Release Friday, July 23, 2004
Contact: Kyle Karns (989) 781-6888 info@buckssoccer.com
BUCKS LOSE HEARTBREAKER
Late Penalty Kick Sends Boulder To Conference Final The Boulder Rapids Reserves overcame two deficits en route to a 3-2 victory over the Michigan Bucks in Premier Development League (PDL) playoff action Friday night in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Javier Vegas converted a penalty kick with seven minutes remaining to give Boulder the win, advancing the Rapids Reserves (14-4-1) to the Central Conference Championship against the winner of the late semi-final match, which featured Chicago and Ft. Wayne. The Bucks game featured end-to-end action from start to finish.
Michigan took the early lead on a goal by Ricky Strong in the 17th minute, which held up until six minutes into the second half, when the Rapids Reserves' Miguel Guante buried a rebound off a free kick past Bucks' keeper, Jeff Wiese. The seven-time Great Lakes Division Champion Bucks led again 2-1 after Joseph Kabwe scored at the 70-minute mark, but could hold the lead for only three minutes as Boulder answered on a corner-kick header by Brett Branan. "I am disappointed with the result because I thought the boys played hard," said Bucks coach, Don Gemmell. "But defensive breakdowns on set pieces cost us twice." The Bucks had several scoring opportunities in the final minutes, but were turned away each time by the Boulder goalkeeper, Luis Robles. Michigan finished their ninth consecutive winning season at 11-4-2.
FRIDAY NIGHT VS BOULDER: STATISTICS AND LINE-UPS
GOALS: RAPIDS: Guante (Vegas, 51st); Branan (73rd); Vegas (PK, 83rd). BUCKS: Strong (Rice, 17th); Kabwe (Omekanda, 70th).
SHOTS: 15-14, Bucks SAVES: 8-6, Bucks FOULS: 12-10, Rapids
BUCKS' LINE-UP: Wiese, Hohlbein (Norman, 74th), Craft, Taylor, Rzepka, Nelson, Rice (McMahen,86th), David, Kabwe, Turpin (Ombiji, 58th), Strong (Omekanda, 66th).
RAPIDS' LINE-UP: Robles, Guante, Branan, Pitchkolan, Kincard, Pulido, Coirton (Vegas, 41st), Clark, Zarzeki, Flynn, Salazar.
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