Call him durable and dependable.
Milwaukee Wave forward Michael King has displayed his toughness and persistence during seven seasons with the indoor soccer franchise, and today he is set to establish a club record by playing in his 140th consecutive game when the Wave meets Edmonton. King is set to break teammate Pat White's record of 139 con-secutive games, a streak that ended when White suffered a knee injury and missed three games late last season. "The last two weeks he's been on fire, and today (at practice) he was the hardest worker out there," White said of the 36-year-old King. "You look at that and say, at 25, I should be running even harder." King last missed a game during the 1996-'97 season, when he suffered an ankle injury that sidelined him for two games. The Wave's all-time leading scorer played in all 40 regular-season games each of the past two seasons, and he also played in all 16 Wave playoff games during the streak. "It shows younger players you've got to learn how to play hurt," Wave coach Keith Tozer said. "I'm sure out of 140 games there were a lot of times he was sick and he still showed up, and times he was hurt and he still played." King scored the 300th goal of his National Professional Soccer League career in the Wave's 14-9 victory at Detroit on Tuesday night. He admitted his drive to keep playing is inspired by the knowledge that he is nearing the end of his career. "I know my games are numbered now," the London native said. "There are only a couple hundred games left in me, if that. When I can play, I want to play. In 10 years time fans will have to be told what I played like or watch tapes." King signed with the Wave prior to the 1993-'94 season, and he was coming off major knee surgery (a torn anterior cruciate ligament). But he has stayed remarkably healthy while scoring more than 100 points in each year with the Wave, including 185 points during the 1996-'97 season. After a slow start, King leads the Wave in scoring this season with 40 points and 16 two-point goals. "It shows what staying in shape, living a clean life, working hard and doing the weights can do," Tozer said. "It definitely has helped him maintain." Other Wave players have put together similar records of durability. Veteran midfielder Steve Morris has missed just five games in his eight seasons with the team, including two games during the 1997-'98 championship season and three in 1995-'96. He has the team's second-longest current playing streak at 71 games. Forward Todd Dusosky had a 112-game streak before being injured last season. And White's streak might still be going if he had not fallen victim to a tough tackle from behind in a game at Montreal in March. Wave goalkeeper Victor Nogueira also has played through pain and various ailments to appear in 268 games with the franchise since signing with Milwaukee prior to the 1992-'93 season. Nogueira has played in 253 regular-season games, including all 40 during the 1995-'96 season and 39 the following year. But Tozer has tried to limit Nogueira's regular-season games in the past few seasons (30 in '97-'98 and 32 last year) in order to keep the veteran rested and healthy for the playoffs.
Teams: Edmonton Drillers (9-2) vs. Milwaukee Wave (9-5). When: 1 p.m. Saturday. Where: Bradley Center. Broadcast: WEMP-AM radio (1250). Season series: Edmonton leads, 2-1. Drillers preview: Edmonton has been unbeatable at home, and the Drillers extended their run to 9-0 at the Skyreach Centre with a 25-6 victory over Buffalo on Thursday night. Sipho Sibya scored Edmonton's first nine points, and the Drillers outscored the Blizzard, 16-0, in the final quarter. Midfielder Nikola Vignjevic had his second consecutive seven-point game and improved his team-leading total to 60 points (5 three-pointers, five two-pointers, 11 shootout goals and 24 assists). He ranks second in the NPSL in scoring, trailing Harrisburg's Gino DiFlorio by 10 points. "I've scored some goals this year where I didn't even have to move," the Drillers' Rick Titus said, referring to Vignjevic's skills. "The passes are right on your foot. The deflection goes in the net." Former Wave backup and Milwaukee Rampage goalkeeper Carmine Isacco ranks third in the league with a points-against average of 11.03. He has posted a 6-2 record, with one of the losses suffered against the Wave (19-15) on Nov. 28 at the Bradley Center. Wave update: Milwaukee has won five of its last six games to stay within 1 1/2 games of the North Division-leading Drillers. Forward Jason Willan scored the winning goal and had 3 two-pointers in the Wave's 14-9 victory over Detroit on Tuesday night. Goalkeeper Victor Nogueira has been hot, allowing only 10 points in the Wave's last two games while improving to 6-3 with a league-leading 9.40 points-against average. Although the Wave wants to even the season series with Edmonton and improve to 6-0 at home, coach Keith Tozer said it's too early to consider this a crucial game. "We don't have any pressure. It's a home game before Christmas, and we shouldn't focus at all on the standings," he said.
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