Erin Kreuser
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UWM To Face Boston U., UCSB In Madison
Panthers play Terriers Friday, UCSB Sunday at Wisconsin Soccer Classic
THIS WEEK IN PANTHER SOCCER
Boston University v. Milwaukee
Game #3 • Sept. 7 • 4:30 p.m.
Madison, Wis. (McClimon Soccer Complex)
Live Stats: None
UC Santa Barbara v. Milwaukee
Game #4 • Sept. 9 • 11 a.m.
Madison, Wis. (McClimon Soccer Complex)
Line Stats: None
• Complete Release in PDF Format
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Sept. 4, 2007) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team heads to Madison this weekend for the Wisconsin Soccer Classic. The Panthers take on Boston University Friday, before closing the weekend against UC Santa Barbara Sunday. Sunday's match with UCSB was moved up to 11 a.m. from 11:30 to accomodate TV for the 2 p.m. match.
Scouting Boston University
Boston University opened the 2007 season with a 1-1 record at its own Doubletree Guest Suites Boston Terrier Invitational. The Terriers dropped a 2-0 decision to No. 9 Stanford, before soming back for a 1-0 win over Princeton. BU returned eight starters from last season's NCAA Tournament squad, including midfielder Marisha Schumacher-Hodge, who was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Christina Reuter and newcomer Janie Reilly have each started one game for the Terriers in goal. Boston is the unanimous favorite in the America East Conference and earned votes in both the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz preseason polls.
Scouting UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos return six of their starters from last season, including their second-leading scorer in Genelle Ives (7g, 4a - 18 points) and starting goalkeeper Katie Wright. UCSB is 1-1 after one weekend of play, topping Loyola Marymount, 1-0. The loss came to No. 14 USC, 2-0. Santa Barbara went 7-7-6 last season, but finished first in the Big West with a 5-1-1 mark. This season, it was picked to take second in the preseason coaches' poll.
Series Histories
The Panthers have never faced Boston University or UC Santa Barbara. They are 0-1 against teams from Massachusetts and 1-3 against California teams. UWM is also 1-0 against both America East and Big West teams.
Shipping Up To Boston
While Milwaukee has never faced Boston U., the team will get its fair share of exposure to the Division I soccer the city of Boston has to offer. The Panthers will play teams from Boston in three of their next four games, including a weekend trip to the city, where they will face Boston College and Harvard.
Cup Champs
For the second-straight season, UWM posted a perfect 2-0 record at the Milwaukee Cup to tie with its co-host Marquette. After taking second last season on a goal differential tiebreaker, the Panthers benefited from a goals scored tiebreaker for their first cup title in the eight years of the tournament. Milwaukee, which has won four-straight in the tourney and are unbeaten in its last five, won an in-season tournament for the first time since the Central Michigan Invitational in 2000. Last season, UWM took second place at all three in-season tournaments.
All-Tournament
As champs, the Panthers placed four players on the Milwaukee Cup All-Tournament. Sophomore Erin Kreuser headed the list of honorees as the Offensive MVP. She was joined by senior Amanda Winn, junior Sarah Teegarden and freshman Heather Roadhouse.
Freshman Firepower
In 2006, Louise Vraney made a splash for the Panthers, scoring two goals in the season-opener and adding another two days later. She was the first freshman in the team's Division I history to score a goal in the team's first game of the season. Just one year later, freshman Sarah Talbert joined the elite company, tallying a score in Milwaukee's win over Indiana State. Vraney tallied the first goal in that match, and now has three goals in season-openers, more than any other player in the team's history.
Wasting No Time
UWM's three goals in its season-opening win over Indiana State tied a school record for goals in a season-opener. In 1997, the Panthers knocked off Valparaiso, 3-0, to establish the mark.
Making A Name For Themselves
Milwaukee found itself with some national attention this week, garnering a point in the NSCAA Coaches' Poll. The Panthers ended the last two seasons in a similar position and are looking to jump into the national rankings for the first time since 1998. Last season, UWM found itself as high as 22nd in the Soccer Buzz poll. Regionally, Milwaukee is fourth in the NSCAA poll, ahead of four other teams receiving votes in the national poll.
Not Just Milwaukee
UWM has a great opportunity to make a name for itself nationally this season, as four teams they play this season enter the week either ranked or receiving votes in the NSCAA poll. Texas A&M (Oct. 26) tops the list, sitting third in the nation with one first-place vote. Boston College (Sept. 14), meanwhile, is 10th. Friday's opponent, Boston U., has 11 points, while crosstown rival Marquette has 44. Milwaukee faced three nationally-ranked foes last season, defeating No. 16 Missouri and playing a pair of No. 1 squads (Portland and Notre Dame) tough. The win over Mizzou was the second over a ranked foe in school history.
2-0, Part 2
The Panthers are off to a 2-0 start for the second-straight year and third time in the team's Division I history. Prior to 2006, the last UWM squad to start 2-0 was the 1997 team. In 1997, UWM jumped out to a 10-1-2 start, while last year's team was 16-2-1 late in the season.
Home, Sweet Home
Engelmann Field is a tough place to play if you're not the Panthers. Milwaukee is 106-51-13 (.662) all-time at Engelmann Field. Over the last two-plus years, the team is 15-1-3, including a 7-1 mark last season. UWM had a 17-game home unbeaten streak (14-0-3) snapped in the league semifinals last season and is 25-1-1 against league foes at home since 1998, including league tournament play.
Panthers Pace Preseason Poll
For the eighth-straight year, Milwaukee topped the Horizon League preseason coaches' poll. The Panthers received all seven possible first-place votes and finished with 56 points. They have won the last seven league regular season championships, each time the team topped the preseason poll.
Leading The League
Since 2000, UWM has been untouchable in league play, posting a 41-1-2 league mark in that time and winning the last seven league titles. The streak is currently the second-longest in the country, trailing only Penn State's streak of nine-straight Big Ten championships.
A Look At Exhibition Play
Milwaukee split its exhibition slate, defeating Illinois State, 3-0, before losing to No. 20 Illinois. Against ISU, sophomore Erin Kresuer tallied the game-winner and sophomore Kate Megna and freshman Nicole Sperl added goals.
2006 Revisited
The Panthers are coming off the most successful season in school history. They posted a 16-4-2 record, won a seventh-straight league title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season. UWM set school records for wins, winning percentage (.773), goals against average (0.44) and shutouts (16). It's shutout percentage of .727 was third in the nation, GAA was fourth and winning percentage 12th. Milwaukee was also in the top 50 in save percentage (.844).
Records Watch
Junior goalkeeper Erin Kane enters her third season already the school and league record holder in career shutouts (26) and goals against average (0.54). Both of those figures improved over the first weekend of the season, while she moved within nine wins of that school mark. She entered the year needing 11, a figure she has met or eclipsed in each of her first two seasons. Meanwhile, junior Sarah Teegarden, the team's active leading goal scorer (10 goals), is creeping up on the school record for game-winning goals (11) after a school-record five last season brought her career total to seven.
Back In Black (And Gold)
Head coach Michael Moynihan returns eight starters from last year's squad, including six that were honored by the Horizon League following the season. Erin Kane and Sarah Teegarden head the list after their second-straight all-league first team awards. Senior Amanda Winn was an all-league second team honoree for the second-straight year and was joined by Louise Vraney. Vraney, meanwhile, was an all-newcomer selection alongside sophomores Kate Megna and Erin Kreuser.
Welcome To Milwaukee
Joining 13 letterwinners will be 10 incoming freshman and one redshirt. The 10-player class was tabbed as the top in the league by Soccer Buzz Magazine. Six of the players--Nicole Hirsch, Kelly McGrath, Heather Roadhouse, Nicole Sperl, Sarah Talbert and Helena Zbilut--hail from the area and played together for FC Milwaukee. Brianne Borgman, Erin DeYoung and Ellen Phillips all hail from Michigan and played club soccer together. Claire Watkins, out of Hisdale, Ill., was the last player to sign with UWM and goalkeeper Leslie Deebach will see the field this season after a redshirt year in 2006.
Another New Face
Ten freshmen are not the only new faces around the Milwaukee soccer program. Chris Maravalli joined the coaching staff over the summer after coaching at Castleton State College in Vermont. Among his duties will be working with the Panther keepers.
Megna's Memoirs
Sophomore Kate Megna is providing her take on the 2007 season as it goes on, via an online blog at uwmpanthers.com. At the start of every week, Megna looks back on the weekend of action and shares the inside story of the Milwaukee women's soccer team. Visit uwmpanthers.com for the latest installment, which is posted on Monday afternoons.
Next Up
Milwaukee heads to Boston to take on Boston College Friday, Sept. 14, and Harvard Sunday. It will be the Panthers first trip to Massachusetts in team history.
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