Milwaukee Women's Soccer Announces 2008 Schedule
• Printable 2008 Schedule in PDF Format
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (May 8, 2008) - Three teams from the Big Ten and three teams that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament highlight the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team's 2008 schedule, head coach Michael Moynihan released today. The Panthers will open the season against Big Ten foes Wisconsin and Ohio State, while also playing Northwestern Sept. 24. The Buckeyes, Samford and Boston University were NCAA Tourney teams a year ago. "Every year we try to put together a different and challenging schedule that will prepare us for league play and beyond in the NCAA Tournament," Moynihan said. "This year is no different. We start the season with two Big Ten teams, play three teams that made the NCAA Tournament and two more that were in their league championship games." Milwaukee's season-opener is against Wisconsin Aug. 22 and is followed by the Buckeyes visiting in the first game of the Milwaukee Cup Aug. 27. Samford is the other team in UWM's annual tournament it co-hosts with cross-town rival Marquette. The Bulldogs finished 15-5-1 and earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State, meanwhile, also earned an at-large selection on the strength of a 12-10-1 season. "We are playing five teams for the first time in 2008 and that makes things exciting," Moynihan said. "Ohio State and Samford are first-time opponents and NCAA Tournament teams that we were able to bring in to the Milwaukee Cup. We'll also be seeing UNLV, New Mexico and Brown for the first time." The Panthers follow the tourney up with its annual showdown with Marquette, Sept. 3, at Valley Fields. The Golden Eagles spent much of last season ranked in the national polls and finished at 12-4-4. Despite MU's No. 24 ranking at the time, the teams played to a 0-0 draw last season. Western Michigan and Illinois State then await Milwaukee on the weekend. UWM takes on the Broncos Fri., Sept. 5, and the Redbirds on Sunday. ISU advanced to the MVC title game but was denied an NCAA bid in a shootout. Back-to-back road tournaments then await UWM, which plays in the city of Milwaukee for its first six matches of the season. At the UNM Nike Classic Sept. 12-14, the Panthers will play host New Mexico Friday and UNLV Sunday. The Rebels won the Mountain West regular season title last season and have been to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons. At the Minnesota Gold Classic in Minneapolis, Milwaukee takes on Boston University on Sept. 19 and Brown two days later. The BU Terriers swept the America East regular season and tournament titles and handed Milwaukee a 1-0 loss in the teams' first meeting ever last season. Northwestern rounds out UWM's non-league slate, while the league season gets underway with a home match against Green Bay Sept. 26. Milwaukee then hits the road for a four-game league road trip, before three-straight home matches to end the regular season. "Our conference continues to improve," Moynihan said. "There is more parity from top to bottom in the league than before. We are just two seasons away from having two NCAA Tournament teams and some of the programs may have breakout seasons this year. Their success makes the league more appealing for the NCAA selection committee and adds more excitement as teams vie for position during the league season." The road trip kicks off at Loyola Oct.3. The Panthers and Ramblers finished first and second in the league standings last season and met in the league title game. The match finished in a 2-2 draw, but LUC advanced in a penalty kick shootout. After road contests at Wright State (Oct. 5), Cleveland State (Oct. 10) and Youngstown State (Oct. 12), Milwaukee hosts Butler (Oct. 17), Detroit (Oct. 24) and Valparaiso (Oct. 26) to close out the regular season.
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