Kate Megna
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Panthers Kick Off Busy Week At Marquette Wednesday
No. 24 UWM also hosts Western Michigan, Illinois State this week
This Week in Panther Soccer
Game #4: #24 Milwaukee @ #25 Marquette (3-0)
Wednesday, Sept. 3 • 7 p.m. • Valley Fields
Game #5: Western Michigan (1-1) @ #24 Milwaukee
Friday, Sept. 5 • 7 p.m. • Engelmann Field
Game #6: Illinois State (3-1) @ #24 Milwaukee
Sunday, Sept. 7 • Noon • Engelmann Field
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Sept. 2, 2008) - With its first 3-0 start since 1989 and first national ranking since 1998, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team begins a three-game week Wednesday at No. 25 Marquette. The 24th-ranked Panthers then host Western Michigan Friday and Illinois State Sunday.
The "Silver" Anniversary
The Panthers are playing their 25th season as a varsity sport. The team will be celebrating the occasion all season long, recognizing outstanding achievements and moments in UWM women's soccer history. The squad will also be wearing special patches commemorating the season.
Getting Noticed
Milwaukee has gotten noticed by national pollsters, debuting in the Soccer America poll at 24th and the Soccer Buzz poll at 25th. The Panthers are also receiving votes in the NSCAA National Poll. They have 47 points in the poll, effectively putting them 26th in the nation. The team has its first national ranking since Sept. 8, 1998. That week, UWM was 18th in the NSCAA poll and 15th in the Soccer America poll. The last time Milwaukee had been receiving votes was Sept. 4, 2007. In the region, UWM is fourth, its highest NSCAA regional spot since Oct. 31, 2006, when it was also fourth.
On The Air
Wednesday's game will be the second of two Milwaukee women's soccer games this season that will be taped for air on Time Warner Sports. The Panthers' season-opening win over Wisconsin was also taped and has been airing on TWS. UWM and Marquette's 2007 contest was aired by TWS, its first live broadcast ever.
A Look At The Opposition - Marquette
Like UWM, the Golden Eagles are also off to a 3-0 start. Marquette defeated Ohio State, 2-1 in overtime, last Friday and Samford, 2-0, on Sunday at the Milwaukee Cup last weekend, but took second to the Panthers on the goals scored tiebreaker. Kelly Wepking leads the team with two goals scored, while a pair of keepers have split time in goal and accounted for a 0.32 goals against average. Marquette has also broken into the national rankings, sitting 25th in the Soccer America National Poll.
A Look At The Opposition - Western Michigan
The Broncos have split their first two games this season by identical 3-0 scores. After a win over Wyoming in the season opener, WMU fell to Wisconsin. Western is looking to rebound from a 4-11-3 record last season and is led by three different players that tallied goals against Wyoming, while Ashley Caliendo had a team-best two assists. Julia Francey has played every minute of the first two games in goal, making eight saves and posting one shutout.
A Look At The Opposition - Illinois State
The Redbirds had their perfect 3-0 start spoiled on Monday night with a 1-0 loss at Northwestern. Illinois State has wins over Horizon League foes Green Bay and Loyola, in addition to IPFW. The defending Missouri Valley Conference champions are led in scoring by Ammanda Wisniewski with a goal and assists. Wisniewski is the younger sister of Panther Andrea Wisniewski. Five more Redbirds have tallied a goal already this season. In the nets, Katie Grill-Donovan has seen the bulk of the time and has a 0.80 GAA and a shutout.
Series Histories
The Panthers and Marquette have played every year since 1993, and twice in 2005, with UWM holding the slight series advantage at 6-5-5. Last season, they played to a scorelesss draw at Engelmann Field. Milwaukee is also a perfect 2-0 against Western Michigan with shutout wins in 1996 and 2000. On the other hand, UWM has played Illinois State nine times and gone 5-2-2 against the Redbirds.
We Are The Champions
Their last time out, the Panthers claimed their second-straight Milwauee Cup title. They defeated Ohio State 4-3 on Wednesday and Samford 4-2 on Friday to claim the title. For the third-straight year, co-hosts UWM and Marquette each went 2-0, but this is the second in a row the Panthers claimed the title on the goals scored tiebreaker.
M-V-P ... M-V-P ... M-V-P
Freshman Sarah Hagen finished last week with three goals and an assist and was named the Milwaukee Cup Tournament MVP. She was joined on the all-tournament team by junior Erin Kreuser, who tallied three assists, as well as senior Sarah Teegarden, junior Kate Megna and freshman Keara Thompson.
Last Week Recap - Milwaukee 4, Ohio State 3
Sophomore Nicole Sperl converted a penalty kick with 91 seconds remaining to give Milwaukee a hard-fought 4-3 win over Ohio State last Wednesday. UWM had led 3-1, but the Buckeyes fought back to tie the match 18 seconds before Sperl's goal.
Last Week Recap - Milwaukee 4, Samford 2
Freshman Sarah Hagen collected her second multi-goal performance in just her third collegiate game to lead the Panthers to a 4-2 win over Samford last Friday at Engelmann Field. Junior Erin Kreuser had two assists, including on junior Kate Megna's eventual game-winner.
Wasting No Time
Through just three games, Sarah Hagen has already tallied five goals and 11 points. She is the first player to tally five goals through just three games to start a season, much less a career. This is also the fifth-straight season in which a freshman has tallied at least five goals for the Panthers.
But This Is Just Plain FAST
The Panthers had a pair of notable feats of speed last week. First, after Ohio State knotted the game at 3-3 on Wednesday, Nicole Sperl converted the go-ahead goal just 18 seconds later on a penalty kick. It was the third-fastest response goal in school history. Then, Friday, Sarah Hagen scored the game's first goal just 59 seconds after the opening whistle. It was UWM's first goal inside the first minute of play since Megan Mann got the scoring started at the 49-second mark Sept. 9, 2001, at Valparaiso.
Holy Lots Of Goals, Batman
Milwaukee has 11 goals through just three games for the first time since 1997. That season, the Panthers had 21 thanks largely to a 16-0 win over Western Illinois. But, in the 10 seasons since then, the team has had an average of 3.6 goals through three games and tallied No. 11 in the eighth game. Meanwhile, the last time UWM scored at least three goals in three-straight games with Sept. 10-17, 1995. During that stretch, the Panthers won 5-1, 7-0 and 5-4.
Three W's In Milwaukee?
UWM is off to a 3-0 start for the first time as a Division I program. The team's previous best three-game start was 2-0-1 in 1997. The Panthers had been 2-1 in each of the last two seasons. Milwaukee's only other 3-0 start came in 1989, the team's last season before joining Division I.
Helping Hands... Er... Feet
Erin Kreuser has already tallied four assists this season, picking up at least one in each of the first three games. But, against Wisconsin and Samford, her helpers came on the game winning goals. Already among the school's all-time leaders in game-winning assists entering 2008, the two she has this season have tied her for the school record with seven. Five more players had seven in their career.
Home, Sweet Home
The Panthers pushed their regular season home unbeaten streak to 28 with their 2-0 record last week (23-0-5). The streak dates back to the end of the 2004 season. In fact, the team's only loss in that time came in the league semifinals. So, if you include post-season contests, the team is still an impressive 26-1-6 at home over its last 33 matches.
State Champs
UWM pushed its unbeaten streak against state schools to seven games with a win over Wisconsin in its season opener. The Panthers have not lost to one of the three other Division I schools in the state since 2005. They went 3-0 in 2006 and 2-0-1 last season. Friday's win over Wisconsin was their third-straight over the Badgers. UWM has defeated Green Bay four-straight times. And, finally, Milwaukee tied Marquette last season after a 2-0 win in 2006.
You Don't Have To Build It For Them To Come
Milwaukee's season-opener with Wisconsin drew 718 fans to Engelmann Field, the second-highest attendance for a women's soccer game in the field's history. The team record for attendance at Engelmann is 867, set last season against Marquette. Through three games, the team is averaging 559 fans, with 487 and 478 fans attending the two Milwaukee Cup games.
Heading To The Top
Head coach Michael Moynihan pushed his career win total to 135 with UWM's 3-0 start, putting him just one win behind Louis Bennett for most wins by a soccer coach in school history. Bennett coached the men's team from 1996 to 2005 and racked up 136 wins. Only two other coaches have won 100 soccer games for Milwaukee.
Player Of The Week
After scoring two goals in UWM's win over Wisconsin, Sarah Hagen was named the season's inaugural Horizon League Player of the Week. She is the first Panther freshman to earn the honor after her week of collegiate action since Erin Kane in 2005.
Prognosticators Pick Panthers
For the ninth consecutive year, Milwaukee has been picked to win the Horizon League in the annual preseason coaches' poll. The Panthers garnered seven first place votes and tallied 63 points. Loyola, which finished second to UWM last season, was picked second with two first-place nods and 58 total points. Milwaukee has won the last eight league regular season crowns.
Streaking
The Panthers enter the 2008 season having won the last eight Horizon League regular season titles. The streak is the second-longest nation, behind only Penn State's streak of 10 Big Ten titles.
Back In Black (And Gold)
Milwaukee returns 17 letterwinners from last season, including seven starters. The list of returners includes all-league first team members Erin Kane, Sarah Teegarden and Kate Megna. The Panthers also return four of their top five scorers in sophomore Nicole Sperl (team-high 14 points), junior Erin Kreuser (2nd with 13), Megna and Teegarden.
Welcome To Milwaukee
Despite having seven returning starters and 17 letterwinners, the Panthers will have eight newcomers vying for playing time this season. Heading that list are Gatorade Wisconsin State Player of the Year Laurel Ragalie, Appleton Post-Crecent Female Co-Players of the Year Sarah Hagen and Chelsea Colling and a four-time all-state honoree in Makenzie Gillaspie. Keara Thompson, Mary Wandolowski, Sammy Vovos and Lindsay Boeckman round out a talented freshman class.
2007 Revisited
While the 2007 season did not end in the NCAA Tournament like Milwaukee hoped it would, it still was another successful season for the Panthers. They went 13-4-4, won an eighth-straight Horizon League regular season championship and advanced to the league title game for a league-record ninth time.
A Few Extra Notes
• The Panthers are unbeaten in their last six games against the Big Ten Conference (4-0-2).
• Sarah Hagen was the third Panther freshman to score two goals in her collegiate debut, following Louise Vraney in 2006 and Katie Waltenberger in 1997. This season also marked the third-straight season-opener in which a freshman scored, including Sarah Talbert's first career goal last season.
• Vraney has scored on the opening day of each of her three seasons, including Aug. 22 against Wisconsin. No other player in team history has scored on opening day more than once.
• UWM defeated Toledo, 3-0, in their only intercollegiate exhibition match. Freshman Laurel Ragalie scored two goals in the match.
• Sarah Hagen assisted on all three goals against Toledo, including twice while playing as the team's emergency goalkeeper in the second half.
Next Up
While it won't be their first road games of the season, the Panthers will leave the city for the first time when they head to New Mexico for the UNM Nike Classic. Milwaukee will play host New Mexico on Friday and UNLV Sunday in Albuquerque.
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