Wisconsin Soccer Central

Seven players scored goals, Nick Vorberg stopped 19 of 21 shots and the host Milwaukee Wave kept former Mexican national team striker Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista off the scoresheet as they dropped the Chicago Mustangs 7-2 in Game 1 of the Major Arena Soccer League Central Division semifinal series Saturday night.

The third-seeded Wave (14-7) rattled off five consecutive goals and held the No. 2 seed Mustangs (13-8) scoreless for a 42-minute stretch between the first and fourth quarters to take control in front of a crowd of 3,475 at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

Taylor Bond gave Chicago the lead 3:35 into the match, but Max Ferdinand equalized on a penalty shootout at the 9:22 mark and the home side went ahead through Hans Denissen's goal 6:02 into the second – the goal matched the Dutchman's total in 10 regular-season matches in his first season of indoor soccer.

Marcelo Fontana, Pablo da Silva and Bato Radoncic followed with goals as the Wave opened up a 5-1 advantage before Miguel Vaca ended the Mustangs' scoreless run with 2:04 remaining. But late goals by leading scorer Ian Bennett, his 37th in 21 games this season, and Stefan St. Louis in a 17-second span ensured Milwaukee's second victory over Chicago in five meetings between the sides this season.

The 36-year-old Bautista, who has 18 goals and six assists in 12 appearances for Chicago since joining the team in December, was held to three shots on the night. It was just the second match in which he's failed to score.

Game 2 of the series is 6:05 p.m. Sunday in Hoffman Estates, Ill. If the Wave win, they advance to play the top-seeded Missouri Comets (17-3) in the two-game Central final series next weekend. If the Mustangs claim Game 2, the teams will immediately play a 15-minute, mini-game to determine which team moves on to the division finals.