Beth Steuer
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24th-Ranked Panthers Head To Northeast Ohio For Two
Milwaukee takes on Cleveland State Friday, Youngstown State Sunday
This Week in Panther Soccer
Game #15: #24 Milwaukee @ Cleveland State
Friday, Oct. 10 • 6 p.m. • Cleveland, Ohio
Gameday Media: Gametracker
Game #16: #24 Milwaukee @ Youngstown State
Sunday, Oct. 12 • Noon • Youngstown, Ohio
Gameday Media: Gametracker
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Oct. 7, 2008) - The No. 24 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team hit the road again this weekend for the second half of its four-game Horizon League road trip. The Panthers will play at Cleveland State Friday before heading to Youngstown 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
Despite its first league loss in over five years, Milwaukee remained in the NSCAA national rankings this week, falling slightly to No. 24. It's the third week the Panthers have been ranked and the seventh they have been receiving votes. In the region, UWM dropped from its highest regional ranking ever at No. 2 to No. 3, its position two weeks ago.
Fun With The RPI
The NCAA released its first RPI this week and UWM is No. 34. The Panthers gained that spot thanks in part to seven non-league top-100 opponents, which they boast a 4-1-2 record against. In fact, of the team's 11 non-league opponents, just one is in the bottom half of the 318-team rating system.
A Look At The Opposition - Cleveland State
The Vikings have struggled a bit since a school-record four-game winning streak evened their record at 4-4 Sept. 19. Since then, CSU is 0-3-1, including an 0-2-1 start to the league season. Natalie Daniels leads the team with seven points, having scored three of Cleveland's 10 goals. Seven other players have also found the back of the net this season. Kelly Zinkiewich has played just shy of 900 minutes in goal, with Shannon Saunders clocking in just over 200. The duo has combined for a 1.96 goals against average, while Zinkiewich has a school-record three shutouts.
A Look At The Opposition - Youngstown State
Youngstown State enters this week at 3-9, but is coming off a 1-0 win against IPFW in its last outing. The Penguins are off to an 0-3 start in league play, however, suffering losses to Detroit, Butler and Valparaiso to start their league schedule. Four different players have a team-best six points this season, while Carrie Wack leads the squad with three goals. Three other players have two goals apiece. Mariah Snyder has played all but 14 minutes for Youngstown in goal, boasting a 1.42 GAA and three shutouts.
Series Histories
The Panthers have never lost to either Cleveland State or Youngstown State, sporting a combined 15-0 record against the two teams and allowing just four goals in those contests. UWM has played CSU eight times already in the program's first four years of existence and has averaged four goals per meeting. Milwaukee first played the Penguins when they joined the league in 2001 and have played them seven times, outscoring YSU 24-2 in the series. However, the last two meetings have been decided by just one goal apiece.
Last Week In Review
Friday - Loyola 1, Milwaukee 0
Milwaukee suffered its first loss in Horizon League play since 2003 with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Loyola Friday. Loyola tallied the match's lone goal in the 21st minute off a defensive miscue by Milwaukee, while the Panthers outshot LUC, 17-6.
Sunday - Milwaukee 3, Wright State 0
Three different players scored and senior Erin Kane posted her fifth shutout of the season as UWM rolled to a 3-0 win against Wright State Sunday. Senior Sarah Teegarden scored the game-winner, while freshmen Laurel Ragalie and Sarah Hagen each added goals.
Forgot Something?
When UWM lost to Loyola, 1-0, it marked the first time this season the Panthers had been shut out. In fact, the scoreless outing was their first since a 0-0 draw with Iowa Oct. 5. In that time, Milwaukee put together a school-record streak of 21-straight games without being shut out. The streak was not that surprising, as the 2008 Panthers are averaging 2.14 goals per game which leads the league and would be the first time the team averaged better than two goals per game in a season since 1997.
League Run
UWM entered 2008 with a 31-game league unbeaten streak in tact (29-0-2). The streak became a league record during the 2006 season. The previous record also belonged to Milwaukee, a 21-game (20-0-1) stretch that immediately preceded the current streak. Since 2000, the Panthers are 49-1-3 in league play.
Wasting No Time
Through just 14 games, Sarah Hagen has tallied 12 goals and 26 points. She has already scored the most goals and/or points in a season by a Panther since 1997. It is no surprise that Hagen is also tied for second in the nation in goals and tied for seventh in points.
Freshman Doing Big Things
Hagen's 12th goal of the season Sunday tied her with Lisa Krzykowski for the most goals scored by a freshman in school history. Krzykowski also holds the school record for goals in a season with 16, a mark well within Hagen's sights. The freshman from Appleton, Wis., could also become the first freshman to lead the Horizon League in scoring since 1998 and the first to do so not as a "co-leader" since 1993.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Of Hagen's 12 goals, five have come as game-winners. That total ties the school record of five, achieved four other times. Sarah Teegarden had been the last Panther to notch five winners in a season, doing so in 2006.
Teegs Is Adding Up
As Sarah Teegarden's senior season goes on, she continues to work her way up some career leaderboards. Sunday's game was her 77th career start, fifth-most in school history and four back of the school record. She also tallied career goal No. 15 (8th in school history) and ninth career game-winner (3rd). She is two game-winning goals back of tying the school record.
Home, Sweet Home
The Panthers are 7-0 at home this season and currently own an 18-match home unbeaten streak (15-0-3). They also have a streak of 32-straight regular season home games without a loss (27-0-5). And, if you include post-season contests, the team is still an impressive 30-1-6 at home over its last 37 home matches. Milwaukee is also unbeaten in their last 29 league home matches (28-0-1), dating back to Oct. 11, 1998.
First Place In The Big Ten
Milwaukee's win over Northwestern pushed the Panthers' record against Big Ten opponents to 3-0 this season and extended their unbeaten streak against the conference to seven (5-0-2). Milwaukee is the only non-Big Ten team in the nation with three wins against the conference and is one of five squads to have played three games against Big Ten foes.
State Champs
UWM went undefeated against the other three Division I schools in Wisconsin for the second time in three season and pushed its unbeaten streak against state schools to nine games (8-0-1) with Friday's win over Green Bay. 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. They own three-straight wins over the Badgers and five-straight over Green Bay. And, finally, Milwaukee has defeated Marquette in 2006 and 2008, with the two teams tying in 2007.
Helping Hands... Er... Feet
Juniors Erin Kreuser and Kate Megna are tied for second on the team with five assists apiece and each have pushed their career totals to 13. With that, they are tied for seventh in school history in career assists. Of Kreuser's 13 helpers, seven have been on game-winners, tying her for the school record. Megna is one back, having helped on six game-winners in her career.
Like All Good Things...
Sarah Hagen scored at least one goal in each of her first seven collegiate games. Ignoring the fact that she is did that as a freshman, or in her first games as a collegian, she established a school record for consecutive games with a goal. Sept. 5 she surpassed Betsy Ribares' school record of four-straight with her fifth. Her streak is also second in school history for consecutive games with a point.
M-V-P ... M-V-P ... M-V-P
Kate Megna was named the Offensive MVP at the Minnesota Gold Classic, the team's second tourney MVP this season. Sarah Hagen earned MVP honors at the Milwaukee Cup to start the season. Both players also earned all-tournament honors at each tournament, as has senior Sarah Teegarden. Freshman Keara Thompson rounded out the Milwaukee Cup representatives, while freshman Mary Wandolowski was also honored in Minnesota.
Gonna Need More Than One Shelf
The Panthers' awards have not been limited to all-tournament teams. Kate Megna was named Horizon League Player of the Week Sept. 22, an award Sarah Hagen earned Aug. 25. Hagen has also been named to three national teams of the week, including the Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week Sept. 1 and Sept. 8. She pulled double-duty Sept. 8, also appearing on Soccer America's team.
Overtime Warriors
Milwaukee did not play a single overtime match over the first six games of the season, only to play three in its next four contests. The Panthers tied New Mexico Sept. 12 to equal the NCAA record for consecutive overtime games without a loss. UWM had not lost an overtime match since Sept. 12, 2004, a span of 24 games (10-0-14). According to research by the Bradley University sports information office, the Panthers tied its men's team's streak from 2000-06. The streak then came to an end two days later against UNLV. Senior Erin Kane played a huge part in that record, not conceding a goal in overtime over the first 326:37 of overtime play in her career before Sept. 14. Of her 40 career shutouts, 15 have included some overtime.
Soccer Captain
With three wins the week of Sept. 3-7, head coach Michael Moynihan became the winningest soccer coach in UWM history. He surpassed Louis Bennett with his 137th career win that Friday and picked up No. 138 on Sunday. Bennett coached the men's team from 1996-05. He and Moynihan, who is now up to 141 career coaching wins, are two of the four coaches to eclipse 100 career soccer coaching wins in school history.
We Are The Champions
Earlier this season, the Panthers claimed their second-straight Milwauee Cup title. They defeated Ohio State 4-3 on Aug. 27 and Samford 4-2 on Aug. 29 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.
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 in the nation, behind only Penn State's streak of 10 Big Ten titles.
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
Senior Erin Kane picked up shutout No. 40 Sept. 19 against Boston University. She is the only player in school and league history to crack the 30-shutout mark and reached 40 in just 71 games ... After Ohio State knotted the game at 3-3 on Aug. 27, 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 ... 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 an opening day more than once.
Megna's Memoirs Part Deux
Junior Kate Megna is once again providing her take on the Panthers' 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. Fans can also follow along with all of UWM's sports at the Verizon Wireless Panther Blogzone. The Blogzone is the perfect place to get a little extra information on your favorite Panther teams.
Next Up
The Panthers' return home to close out the regular season, hosting first-place Butler on Friday in their only game of the week.
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