April 16, 2002

Champaign, Ill. - The UWM women's soccer team played to impressive draws this past Saturday at host Illinois's tournament. With several starters out of the lineup due to injuries, the Panthers tied Northwestern, 1-1, and Indiana, 0-0.

"Overall, I was very pleased with the play," UWM coach Michael Moynihan said. "We made some big strides since our outing in Madison."

The Panthers opened up spring competition on April 6 at Wisconsin's indoor facility and played games against Wisconsin and Marquette. UWM tied Wisconsin, 1-1, before losing to the Golden Eagles, 3-0.

"Our possession and composure with the ball was vastly improved and the play was both fun and attractive to watch. Although we didn't convert, I also thought we created some excellent scoring opportunities with our possession. The team has been working very hard and I'm pleased to see their efforts paying off," Moynihan said.

Junior forward Amy Oechsner scored on a breakaway goal after sophomore Jaime Goller served the ball over Northwestern's defense. Oechsner outran the defense and finished from eight yards out to equalize the Wildcats. Milwaukee played without Katie Kubacki, Carrie Durand, Sara Lewis, Erin Shaughnessy and Evann Franklin in both matches.

The Panthers travel to Indiana on Sunday to compete in Purdue's Tournament with games against Miami (Ohio), Valparaiso and Purdue. Games will be played with 35-minute halves.