Milwaukee Wave

The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, most recent being the 2018–19 champions of the MASL.

The team plays their games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena. The team colors are black and yellow. The team has won seven league championships in their history, three in the NPSL, three in the MISL, and one in the MASL.

History

The team was founded on August 3, 1984, as a member of the American Indoor Soccer Association and played in every season and incarnation of that league (see NPSL). They have also played in the Xtreme Soccer League and the second and third versions of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The team is currently a member of the Major Arena Soccer League. Milwaukee also hosted the 2003 and 2006 MISL II All-Star Games.

Keith Tozer was the team's coach for 21 years before leaving to become United States national futsal team head coach. While with the Wave, he was the all-time winningest coach in North American indoor soccer, with six league championships and more than 700 wins.

The Wave played in the first season of the Xtreme Soccer League in the 2008 – 2009 season, but moved to the new Major Indoor Soccer League for the 2009–2010 season.

After the 2013–2014 season, the team announced that it was leaving the MISL along with five other teams and joining the MASL.

In 2014 the ownership group ROC Ventures, headed by Mike Zimmerman, became a partner in the team's ownership.

Just before the 2014–15 season began, 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.

Players

Active roster

Inactive roster

Wave Hall of Fame inductees

{| class="wikitable"

!Name

!Inducted

!Years played

|Peter Knezic

|2009

|1984–1990

|Art Kramer

|2009

|1987–1991

|Steve Morris

|2009

|1992–2002

|Victor Nogueira

|2009

|1992–2003

|Todd Dusosky

|2009

|1996–2007

|Michael King

|2009

|1993–2008

|Tony Pierce

|2010

|1985–1991, 1992–1993

|Pat White

|2011

|1995–2005

|Lee Rogers

|2011

|1986–1992

|Greg Howes

|2011

|2000–2008, 2011–2012

|George Pastor

|2012

|1986–1991

|Michael Richardson

|2012

|1994–1995, 1996–2000

|Jimmy Banks

|2013

|1987–1993

|Ricky Mobley

|2013

|1993–2000

Retired numbers

thumb|150px|Goalkeeper Victor Nogueira is one the Milwaukee Wave players whose number was retired

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! No.

! Player

! Pos.

! Tenure

! Ref.

| || Peter Knezic || MF || 1985–90 || 1992 ||

| || Steve Morris || FW || 1992–01 || 2002 ||

| || Michael King || FW|| 1987–09 ||2009 ||

| || Todd Dusosky || FW || 1996–07 || 2014 ||

| || Troy Dusosky || DF || 2001–11 || 2014 ||

| || Giuliano Oliviero || DF ||1995–97, 2005–14 || 2025 ||

| || Victor Nogueira || GK || 1992–03 || 2004 ||

;Notes

Other notable former players

Brian Loftin
Jimmy Banks

Year-by-year

{| class="wikitable"

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|League Champions

|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Runners-Up

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|Division Champions

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|Playoff Berth

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Year

!League

!Record

!PF

!PA

!Finish

!Playoffs

!Avg. Attend.

|1984–85

|AISA

|13–27

|213

|248

|6th, AISA

|did not qualify

|2,114

|1985–86

|AISA

|11–29

|189

|247

|6th, AISA

|did not qualify

|1,802

|1986–87

|AISA

|12–30

|148

|222

|4th, Northern

|did not qualify

|2,316

|1987–88

|AISA

|11–13

|103

|111

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|3rd, AISA

|3rd, Challenge Cup, 6–6

|3,271

|1988–89

|AISA

|24–16

|377

|355

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, AISA

|Lost Semifinal

|6,410

|1989–90

|AISA

|21–19

|373

|353

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, National

|Lost Semifinals

|7,369

|1990–91

|NPSL II

|23–17

|453

|404

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, National

|Lost First Round

|6,765

|1991–92

|NPSL II

|18–22

|453

|534

|4th, National

|did not qualify

|7,629

|1992–93

|NPSL II

|17–23

|513

|509

|5th, National

|did not qualify

|7,758

|1993–94

|NPSL II

|20–20

|496

|486

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|4th, National

|Lost First Round

|7,692

|1994–95

|NPSL II

|23–17

|535

|459

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|3rd, National

|Lost First Round

|7,108

|1995–96

|NPSL II

|30–10

|610

|438

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, National

|Lost Division Semifinals

|7,363

|1996–97

|NPSL II

|26–14

|525

|472

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, Midwest

|Lost Conference Quarterfinals

|7,975

|1997–98

|NPSL II

|28–12

|593

|486

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, Central

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|7,903

|1998–99

|NPSL II

|25–15

|518

|428

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, Central

|Lost Conference Semifinals

|8,453

|1999–2000

|NPSL II

|31–13

|657

|483

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, North

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|8,002

|2000–01

|NPSL II

|24–16

|544

|452

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, National

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|8,310

|2001–02

|MISL II

|34–10

|663

|468

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, MISL

|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Lost Championship

|6,665

|2002–03

|MISL II

|28–8

|505

|317

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, Western

|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Lost Championship

|7,096

|2003–04

|MISL II

|27–9

|235

|161

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, Central

|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Lost Championship

|6,012

|2004–05

|MISL II

|24–15

|219

|173

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, MISL

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|3,675

|2005–06

|MISL II

|17–13

|193

|167

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|3rd, MISL

|Lost Semifinal

|4,352

|2006–07

|MISL II

|16–14

|397

|360

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|4th, MISL

|Lost Semifinal

|4,618

|2007–08

|MISL II

|22–8

|424

|297

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, MISL

|Lost Semifinal

|4,367

|2008–09

|XSL

|10–10

|236

|216

|3rd, XSL

|No playoffs

|4,563

|2009–10

|MISL III

|14–6

|242

|201

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, MISL

|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Lost Championship

|3,977

|2010–11

|MISL III

|15–5

|266

|191

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, MISL

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|4,548

|2011–12

|MISL III

|18–6

|356

|264

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, Central

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|3,955

|2012–13

|MISL III

|21–5

|310

|230

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, MISL

|Lost Semifinals

|5,069

|2013–14

|MISL III

|16–4

|324

|203

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, MISL

|Lost Semifinals

|4,907

|2014–15

|MASL

|13–7

|160

|107

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, Central

|Lost Division Finals

|2,962

|2015–16

|MASL

|13–7

|130

|114

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|3rd, Central

|Lost Division Finals

|3,504

|2016–17

|MASL

|13–7

|135

|103

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|2nd, Central

|Lost Conference Final

|3,794

|2017–18

|MASL

|17–5

|172

|124

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, Central

|Lost Conference Final

|4,101

|2018–19

|MASL

|21–3

|187

|97

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, South Central

|bgcolor="#FFE6BD"|Won Championship

|4,023

|2019–20*

|MASL

|14–6

|157

|96

|2nd, Eastern

|No playoffs

|3,847

|2021

|MASL

|colspan="6"|Did not participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic

|2021–22

|MASL

|10-14

|146

|162

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|4th, Central

|Lost Quarterfinals

|3,026

|2022–23

|MASL

|15-9

|154

|145

|bgcolor="#D0E7FF"|1st, East

|Lost Conference Final

|3,396

|2023–24

|MASL

|15-9

|161

|137

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|4th, Eastern

|Lost Conference Final

|3,216

|2024–25

|MASL

|14-10

|177

|144

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|5th, MASL

|Lost Semifinals

|3,538

|2025–26

|MASL

|15-9

|180

|144

|bgcolor="#96CDCD"|3rd, MASL

|bgcolor="#FFCCCC"|Lost Championship

|3,163

|Total

|779–511 Pts % = .604

|13,429

|11,008

|colspan="2"|

|5,137

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Regular season ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Head coaches

{| class="wikitable"

!Years

!Name

|1984–1985, 1985–1986

|Dave Johnson

|1985–1987

|Mike Custer

|1987–1990

|John Dolinsky

|1990–1992

|Johan Aarino

|1992–2014

|Keith Tozer*

|2014–2025

|Giuliano Oliviero

|2025–Present

|Marcio Leite

<nowiki>*</nowiki> Keith Tozer missed parts of the 1997–98 & 1999–00 season coaching the US Futsal team. Both times, Art Kramer filled in.

Owners

Luis Antonio Ramos - Tony (1984)
Ron Creten, Wayne Lueders, Dr. Christiansen (1985–87)
Michael H. Bazelon (1987–2002)
Charles Krause (2002–09)
James Lindenberg (2009–2013)
Sue Black (2013–2014)
Mike Zimmerman (2014–present)

Arenas

MECCA Auditorium 1984–1988
Bradley Center 1988–2003
UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena 2003–present

Milwaukee Wave

History

Players

Active roster

Inactive roster

Wave Hall of Fame inductees

Retired numbers

Other notable former players

Year-by-year

Head coaches

Owners

Arenas

See also

References

External links