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Home  Articles 99/00 Season Drillers pounded by shock Wave
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Drillers pounded by shock Wave |
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Written by Joanne Ireland
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Sunday, 16 April 2000 |
There would be no miracle in Milwaukee, only the end of another season.
The Edmonton Drillers bowed out of the National Professional Soccer League playoffs Saturday, losing their second straight game to the Wave.
"Too much firepower," coach Ross Ongaro said after Milwaukee had posted a 14- 4 victory. "We wouldn't match their goal-scoring. We couldn't finish our chances."
After the two teams closed out the first quarter tied 2-2, the Wave started to roll over Edmonton. Mike Richardson scored a three- pointer and Peter Hattrup and Pat White both punched in points before Nebojsa Vignjevic added a deuce for the Drillers.
"The guys didn't quit, they kept going but Milwaukee has an extremely strong team," Ongaro continued. "They were the team to beat all year, they're the team to beat right now."
The Wave finished off their foes in the third quarter. Quickly. Quietly. The quintessential finale.
This was a season of uphill battles for the Drillers, a year of fits and starts. There was a nine-game win streak, an entertaining all-star game, and a dramatic sweep of Kansas City in the semis.
There were also the down times. Injuries and endless road trips took their toll on the team, red ink stained the franchise.
A month before the regular season drew to a close, owner Wotjek Wojcicki launched his SOS campaign. He never did get to his target of 8,000 season ticket holders -- if all the existing pass holders renew, he'll be edging up on 5,000 -- but he's now counting on the local soccer associations providing some assistance.
By the end of May, Wojcicki will have to renew his letter of credit with the league or pull out.
"We've certainly progressed in terms of ticket sales, in terms of corporate support," he said. "From my personal perspective, it's not quick enough -- just because of that first year. But we have a couple of months to make things happen and I'm hopeful that we will."
Money was tight in the stretch run. There was no radio coverage of the playoffs and no advertising. For the first playoff game at home, fewer than 4,000 turned up.
"Let's put it this way," said Wojcicki. "The debt load as far as the team is concerned can't be that high when your budget is only a $1.7 million. I'm certainly not going to be stiffing anybody.
"I had to prove that this was worthwhile, and I think I have. But I need some help to be able to sustain it and it either comes with 8,000 people or it comes with some people who will partner up with me to keep it going."
Meanwhile, down in Milwaukee, where the Drill will stay until Monday, the coach applauded his team's effort -- through the good times and the bad.
"I'm extremely proud of the way the players handled the adversity," said Ongaro. "They finished in the final four.
"They can be proud of what they accomplished with the resources we had."
DRILL BITS
- POINT MEN: Rick Titus and Nebojsa Vignjevic scored Edmonton's only two goals of the night. Brian Loftin, Jason Willan, Peter Hattrup, Pat White and Mike Richardson all contributed for the Wave.
-THE TRAINERS TABLE: Carmen D'Onofrio's playoff run ended in the opening game of the series. The veteran was helped off the field with a partially torn groin muscle and may require surgery. Vegnjevic took D'Onofrio's spot on the roster.
- NEXT UP: The Drillers will fly back to Edmonton Monday, pack up their belongings and head off to their summer jobs. The Wave will await the winner of the Cleveland-Baltimore series in the American Conference. The Crunch defeated the Blast in Baltimore Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
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