Wisconsin Soccer Central

Coming off a two-game sweep at the hands of the rival Baltimore Blast last weekend that left them with an uncharacteristic .500 record, the Milwaukee Wave returned to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena on Saturday afternoon to kick off a six-game homestand that likely will be integral to the course of their 2014-15 season.

The Wave got started in the right direction, as Marcelo Fontana scored just 51 seconds into the game and Milwaukee went on to rout the Tulsa Revolution 9-3 in a Major Arena Soccer League matinee watched by 1,888 fans.

Ian Bennett led the way with four goals, giving him a team-high 12 on the season, and defender Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East/UW-Green Bay) recorded his first two-goal game as the Wave (5-4) dealt the Revolution (1-7) their sixth straight loss.

Bennett had two goals in a four-goal first quarter, and Pablo Da Silva's goal 5:44 into the second gave Milwaukee a commanding 5-0 lead.

Tulsa, which appeared content to defend and let the Wave possess the ball throughout the first half, got goals from Lucas Bunster Almeida and Felipe Guedes to pull within three. But Bennett capped his hat trick 2 seconds before halftime and Walls scored both of his goals in a 2-minute, 27-second span in the third quarter as the home side pulled away again.

Milwaukee finished with more goals that the Revolution had shots, outshooting Tulsa 22-8. Goalkeeper-assistant coach Nick Vorberg made five saves and lowered his goals-against average to 4.09 – that ranks third in the MASL.

The Wave were without two key veterans in Marcio Leite (seven goals, team-best seven assists) and defender Victor Quiroz, who both were injured last weekend in Baltimore; the Blast swept Milwaukee 13-8 and 14-10 in multi-point scoring games.

The Detroit Waza Flo (3-7) visit UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena for the first time next Saturday, with kickoff again set for 1:05 p.m. The Wave shut out Detroit 4-0 on Nov. 22 in Melvindale, Mich., in the first meeting between the teams.