Wisconsin Soccer Central

The Chicago Mustangs rattled off four straight goals as they surged past the Milwaukee Wave 7-2 in Game 2 of the Major Arena Soccer League Central Division semifinal series Sunday night in Hoffman Estates, Ill., but veteran goalkeeper Nick Vorberg and the Wave stood tall in the mini-game tiebreaker that followed.

Hans Denissen gave Milwaukee the lead with 5 minutes, 8 seconds left, Ian Bennett added an insurance goal in the final seconds and Vorberg stopped all three shots he faced in the 15-minute mini-game as the Wave won 2-0 and advanced to next weekend's division finals against the top-seeded Missouri Comets.

No. 3 seed Milwaukee (15-8) will play host to the Comets (17-3) in Game 1 of the Central finals at 7:05 p.m. Friday at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, with Game 2 and the mini-game tiebreaker, if necessary, next Sunday in Independence, Mo.

Max Ferdinand scored and set up a goal by Tenzin Rampa (Madison West/UW-Milwaukee) as the Wave trailed Chicago 3-2 at halftime of Game 2. But the second-seeded Mustangs (14-9) blanked Milwaukee in the second half, and keeper Jesus Flores stopped 20 of 22 shots in the match as Chicago won by the same score as the Wave had a night earlier on the black turf at UWM Panther Arena.

The Mustangs, though, couldn't solve Vorberg and his defense in the extra session.

Denissen, a 31-year-old Dutchman who had one goal in 10 regular-season appearances in his first indoor season, followed his goal in Saturday's win with another one in the mini-game to put the Wave in front. Bennett sealed the outcome with 5 seconds remaining, as he scored his team-best 38th goal in 22 games.

For the second straight night, Milwaukee held former Mexican national team striker Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista off the scoresheet for Chicago. The 36-year-old Bautista had 18 goals and six assists in 13 appearances for the Mustangs; he had been held without a point only once until Saturday night's Game 1 in Milwaukee.

The Wave went 1-2 against Missouri in the regular season, winning 7-6 in a shootout on Dec. 4 and losing 5-4 on Jan. 2 on the road and dropping a 7-2 decision on Feb. 14 at UWM Panther Arena. Last season, Milwaukee beat Chicago in the mini-game to advance to the one-off Central final, then lost to the Comets 8-2.