Owner Mike Zimmerman | Head Coach Giuliano Oliviero | |
Arena UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
400 W Kilbourn Avenue
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203 Major Arena Soccer League 2nd, Central (regular season) Top goalscorer Ian Bennett (36 goals, 5 assists) Highest home attendance 5,138 (February 21 vs. Detroit Waza) | ||
The 2014–15 Milwaukee Wave season was the thirty-first season of the Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer club. The Wave, a Central Division team in the Major Arena Soccer League, played their home games in the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Contents
- Season summary
- Off field moves
- Roster moves
- Schedule
- Regular season
- Post season
- Awards and honors
- References
The team was led by head coach Giuliano Oliviero and assistant coach Nick Vorberg. The team earned a 13–7 record in the regular season, placing second in the Central Division and qualifying for the playoffs. The Wave defeated the Chicago Mustangs in the Division Semi-Final then lost to the Missouri Comets in the Division Final.
Season summary
The Wave opened the season with 5 consecutive road games, starting with a road win over the St. Louis Ambush. They split the next four games before a home opener victory over St. Louis. The Wave went back on the road for a two-game weekend of losses to the Baltimore Blast before beginning a 6-game homestand. They won 4 of 6, losing only to the Missouri Comets and Baltimore. (The Wave lost both regular season matchups against Missouri and all three against Baltimore. By contrast, they won all four games against Detroit Waza and all three against St. Louis. Their only division rivalry that was not a sweep was the Chicago Mustangs with a 1–1 split of the season series.) Milwaukee finished the season strong with 5 wins in their last 6 games to amass a 13–7 record and second place in the Central Division. In the Division Semi-Finals, the Wave traded at-home wins with Chicago before edging them 2–1 in overtime in the tie-breaking mini-game. Milwaukee faced the unbeaten Missouri Comets for the division championship on March 12 and lost 2–8.
Off-field moves
After the 2013-14 season, the team announced that it was leaving the third incarnation of the Major Indoor Soccer League along with five other MISL teams and joining the teams of Professional Arena Soccer League, which was soon rebranded as the MASL. The other teams in the MASL's Central Division are former MISL clubs Missouri Comets and St. Louis Ambush, plus PASL clubs Chicago Mustangs, Tulsa Revolution, and Wichita B-52s.
In March 2014, following the changes in league and team ownership, head coach Keith Tozer left the Wave after 22 years with the team. Milwaukee's WITI-TV described the departure as one of the biggest local sports stories of 2014. The new ownership group, dubbed MKE Sports & Entertainment and led by Michael Zimmerman, was formally announced in April 2014.
In December 2014, just before their first home game of the season, the Wave replaced their traditional green artificial turf with a black turf to match the team's colors and marketing strategy. Reception by fans and the press was mixed but generally positive.
In late January 2015, the team told the Milwaukee Business Journal that it was losing money and that it would seek a renegotiation of its arena lease after the season. Ownership acknowledged that average attendance at games was down but noted that "the previous owner was giving away tickets" and that the Wave are "actually selling more tickets but fewer fans are in the seats".
Roster moves
Seeking fresh talent, the team held an open tryout in September 2014. The Wave announced their first completed roster for the season on November 7, just one day before the season began.
Schedule
Win Loss
Regular season
♠ Game played with multi-point scoring (most goals worth 2 points and select goals worth 3 points).
Post-season
1 Mini-game played as a tie-breaker.
Awards and honors
On March 13, the MASL announced the finalists for its major year-end awards. These nominees included Milwaukee coach Giuliano Oliviero for Coach of the Year.