Oct. 10, 2000

MILWAUKEE-Fanta Cooper (Oklahoma City, Okla./Westmoore), a senior defender on the UWM women's soccer team, has been named the Brine MCC Player of the Week, the league office announced today. This is the second straight week the MCC has recognized a UWM player's performance.

Cooper has been a force in the back, anchoring a Panther defense that has consecutively shut out its last two MCC opponents. Her skill, speed, and overall presence has allowed her to dominate the backfield, while fueling momentum to push forward and create an attack. In Friday's game, the 1999 MCC Player of the Year demonstrated her threatening style of play by snagging a ball from a Titan in UWM's half and quickly countering. Weaving through the midfield and through the Titans' half, Cooper recorded her first point of the season when she set up a goal scored by freshman Lisa Bengtsson (Uppsala, Sweden).

Picked to finish first in the MCC preseason poll of coaches, UWM (7-5-1) currently carries sole possession of first place in the conference with a 3-0 standing. The Panthers are riding a three-game winning streak as they travel to Minnesota on Friday night to take-on the Golden Gophers at 7 p.m. They return home to host MCC-rival Butler on Sunday at 10 a.m.