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.
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
Regular season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1 Saturday November 8 7:35pm at St. Louis Ambush W 8–4 1–0 Family Arena 6,679 2 Saturday November 15 7:05pm at Missouri Comets L 7–9 1–1 Independence Events Center 5,812 3 Saturday November 22 7:05pm at Detroit Waza W 4–0 2–1 Melvindale Civic Center 549 4 Friday November 28 7:35pm at St. Louis Ambush W 8–4 3–1 Family Arena 4,719 5 Saturday November 29 7:05pm at Chicago Mustangs L 4–5 3–2 Sears Centre 2,443 6 Saturday December 6 6:05pm St. Louis Ambush W 9–3 4–2 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 3,209 7 Friday December 12 7:35pm at Baltimore Blast♠ L 8–13 4–3 Royal Farms Arena 6,421 8 Saturday December 13 7:35pm at Baltimore Blast♠ L 10–14 4–4 Royal Farms Arena 5,311 9 Saturday December 20 1:05pm Tulsa Revolution W 9–3 5–4 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 1,888 10 Saturday December 27 1:05pm Detroit Waza W 8–6 6–4 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,357 11 Wednesday December 31 3:05pm Missouri Comets L 7–8 (SO) 6–5 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 3,148 12 Saturday January 3 6:05pm Rochester Lancers W 7–4 7–5 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,357 13 Saturday January 10 6:05pm Chicago Mustangs W 8–5 8–5 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,960 14 Friday January 16 7:05pm Baltimore Blast L 3–5 8–6 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,317 15 Saturday January 24 6:05pm at Detroit Waza W 9–4 9–6 Melvindale Civic Center 641 16 Sunday January 25 3:05pm Wichita B-52s W 12–4 10–6 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,874 17 Friday February 6 7:05pm at Tulsa Revolution W 13–3 11–6 Expo Square Pavilion 433 18 Saturday February 7 7:05pm at Wichita B-52s W 14–12 12–6 Hartman Arena 1,957 19 Saturday February 14 1:05pm Syracuse Silver Knights L 9–10 (OT) 12–7 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 3,370 20 Saturday February 21 6:05pm Detroit Waza W 12–6 13–7 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 5,138 ♠ Game played with multi-point scoring (most goals worth 2 points and select goals worth 3 points).
Post-season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record Division Playoff #1 Thursday February 26 7:35pm at Chicago Mustangs L 3–6 0–1 Sears Centre 1,443 Division Playoff #2 Saturday March 7 3:05pm Chicago Mustangs W 9–2 1–1 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,888 Division Playoff #3 Saturday March 7 6:05pm Chicago Mustangs W 2–1 (OT) 2–1 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2,888 Division Final Thursday March 12 7:05pm at Missouri Comets L 2–8 2–2 Independence Events Center 3,441 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.
References
External links Milwaukee Wave official website Milwaukee Wave at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Milwaukee Wave at WITI-TV