Nicole Sperl
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No. 18 Panthers Close Out Regular Season At Home
Milwaukee looks to extend recent offensive surge with two games this weekend
This Week in Panther Soccer
Detroit (8-6-1, 4-2) @ #18 Milwaukee
Friday, Oct. 24 • 7 p.m. • Engelmann Field
Gameday Media: Gametracker
Valparaiso (10-5-1, 2-4) @ #18 Milwaukee
Sunday, Oct. 26 • Noon • Engelmann Field
Gameday Media: Gametracker
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Oct. 21, 2008) - Boasting the highest national rankings in team history, the No. 18 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team will close out the regular season with a pair of home matches this weekend at Engelmann Field. The Panthers host Detroit Friday and welcome Valparaiso to town 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
The Panthers eclipsed their highest national ranking ever when the NSCAA poll was released Tuesday with UWM 18th. Milwaukee is also a program-best No. 18 according to Soccer Buzz and No. 22 in Soccer America. It's the fifth week the Panthers have been ranked and the ninth-straight they have been receiving votes. In the region, UWM continues to hold down its highest ranking, sitting second in both the NSCAA and Soccer Buzz polls behind only Notre Dame, which is No. 1 in the nation.
Fun With The RPI
The NCAA released its second RPI of the season Tuesday, with Milwaukee sitting 26th in the nation. The Panthers were No. 34 in the first RPI released Oct. 7. UWM has gained its standing thanks in part to eight non-league top-100 opponents, which they boast a 5-1-2 record against. In fact, of the team's 11 non-league opponents, just two are in the bottom half of the 318-team rating system and the average place of the 11 teams is 89.
A Look At The Opposition - Detroit
The Titans are shooting for their first winning season since 2005 and are in good shape in the league standings at 4-2. They had won six out of seven games before suffering a 2-0 loss to Loyola their last time out. Three players have tallied at least 10 points on offense, led by Selena Stanski's 15 goints (4g, 7a). Trina Kochanski is close behind with a team-high six goals and 13 points. Katie Fortenberry has returned from an off-season knee injury to start the last three games after Joanna Hinde handled duties in the nets in her absence. Detroit keepers have combined on a 1.37 goals against average and six shutouts.
A Look At The Opposition - Valparaiso
Valparaiso sits sixth in the league at 2-4 despite an overall mark of 10-5-1. The Crusaders split two games last weekend, falling to Loyola, 1-0, before upending Cleveland State, 2-0. Ten different players have accounted for the team's 16 goals, led by Jackie Kondratko and Jackie Thomas' three goals apiece. Kondratko is also one of two players with a team-high seven points. Mele Cabral has played every minute in goal for Valpo and boasts a league-best 0.67 GAA to go with a school-record eight shutouts.
Series History
The Panthers have had an up-and-down history with Detroit, while their all-time series with Valparaiso has been more decisive. UWM is 11-7-2 all-time against the Titans, including an 8-0-1 mark in their last nine regular season contests. In the league tournament, however, the Panthers are 0-3-1 in the last four meetings. On the other hand, Milwaukee is 8-0 all-time against Valpo, including a 2-0 win last season in their first season as league foes.
League Chase
Despite UWM's first league loss since 2003, the Panthers remain very much alive for their ninth-straight league regular season championship. They are currently second in the standings at 5-1 with two games to play. Loyola is first at 6-1 and with just one game remaining. The Ramblers also hold the tiebreaker with UWM, having defeated the Panthers on Oct. 3. Milwaukee can clinch no worse than the second seed with at least a tie against Detroit.
Last Week In Review
Friday - Milwaukee 5, Butler 0
The Panthers continued their tear last week, routing Butler, 5-0, in their only match of the week. Junior Louise Vraney tallied two goals and an assist, while senior Sarah Teegarden scored the game-winner and assisted on three more goals. Freshman Sarah Hagen tallied her school-record 17th goal of the season to cap the game's scoring.
Player Of The Week
Sarah Teegarden was named the league's player of the week after having her hand in four goals last weekend against Butler. It was her third career weekly honor, while she was the second-straight Panther to earn the award and fourth this season. In addition to a pair of awards for Sarah Hagen, junior Kate Megna was also honored Sept. 22.
Gonna Need More Than One Shelf
Sarah Hagen was named the Horizon League Player of the Week for last week, her second such honor of the season. 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.
Record-Breaker
With two regular season games remaining, Sarah Hagen has already broken the school record for goals in a season with her 17th last Friday. Lisa Krzykowski had set the school record in 1995 and tied it in 1997. Hagen tallied two goals in back-to-back games Oct. 10-12, helping her to break the freshman mark of 12 she had tied Oct. 5. She also broke the freshman points mark of 27 and, with 36, she is just two points back of the single-season points record.
Freshman Doing Big Things
Hagen's 17 goals put her in a tie for first in the nation in goals scored, while she seventh third in points. In per game averages, her totals put her tied for eighth in goals (1.00/g) and tied for eighth in points (2.12g). As you would expect, she leads the league in goals and is just two points back in points. Hagen is looking to become the first freshman to lead the league in both categories since Detroit's Cindy Fix in 1993.
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner
Of Milwaukee's 13 wins this season, six have been decided by one of Sarah Hagen's goals. Her six game-winners are a school record, breaking the previous mark of five. Senior Sarah Teegarden was one of four Panthers that had tallied five in a season, doing so in 2006.
Way To Rebound
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 Panthers have rebounded with 18 goals in their last four games, an average of 4.5 per game. For the season, UWM has 45 goals, which is its first time with at least 40 goals since 1997, the fifth-most in school history and tied for seventh in the nation. The team is averaging 2.65 goals per game, which is 14th nationally.
Doing It On Defense, Too
UWM's last four games have not only been cathartic on offense, but they have also been key for the defense. In fact, the Panthers have racked up four-straight shutouts for the first time since they tied a school record with six-straight at toward the end of the 2006 season. Senior Erin Kane has a personal shutout streak of 396:36 without surrendering a goal.
She Loves League Play
Kane's success against league teams comes as no surprise. With two league matches left in her career she owns a 23-1-2 record, 0.30 GAA and 16 shutouts in 27 career league matches. She has also shared three shutouts in that time and not allowed more than one goal in a league contest.
Home, Sweet Home
The Panthers are 8-0 at home this season and currently own an 19-match home unbeaten streak (16-0-3). They also have a streak of 33-straight regular season home games without a loss (28-0-5). And, if you include post-season contests, the team is still an impressive 31-1-6 at home over its last 38 home matches. Milwaukee is also unbeaten in their last 30 league home matches (29-0-1), dating back to Oct. 11, 1998.
League Run
The Panthers had their league-record 31-game league unbeaten streak (29-0-2) snapped Oct. 3 at Loyola. That 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 the turn of the century, the Panthers are 53-2-3 in league play.
Senior Records Watch
Sarah Hagen isn't the only player looking to break records this season. Seniors Sarah Teegarden and Erin Kane are seeing their storied careers wind down and both are on the verge of doing things no other Panthers have ever done. Each a three-year starter, Teegarden is just one starts from tying the school record for career starts (81). Meanwhile, Kane is just one start back of her. Kane's sights are also set on the league's minutes played record, of which she is just 333:18 back. The senior keeper already holds school and league marks for shutouts and goals against average. She claimed the 50th goalkeeping win of her career Friday.
Efficient Night
Milwaukee had its largest offensive outburst of the season Oct. 10, tallying seven goals and doing so on just 16 shots. Its 43.8 percent shooting for the game was the team's best since scoring on 2-of-3 shots (66.7%) in a 2-2 tie against Mississippi State Sept. 5, 2004. In fact, the Panthers scored on five of 11 shots taken in the first half, five of their first nine shots of the game and had a stretch of seven shots where all five first-half goals came.
...And Fast, Too
UWM scored four goals over a 5:28 span early in the second half, setting a school record for the fastest four goals scored in school history. The previous mark was 6:29 and came in the Panthers' 16-0 win over Western Illinois Sept. 5, 1997. Those four goals came in pairs, with one and two separated by just 41 seconds, the third-fastest back-to-back UWM goals in school history. Two and three were separated by 48 seconds, the fifth-fastest Panther goals.
First Place In The Big Ten
Milwaukee's win over Northwestern Sept. 24 pushed the Panthers' record against Big Ten opponents this season to 3-0 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 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 seasons and pushed its unbeaten streak against state schools to nine games (8-0-1) with a win over Green Bay Sept. 26. 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 last season boasted a 2-0-1 record. UWM owns three-straight wins over UW 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 seven assists this season, which has pushed their career totals to 15 apiece. Their 15 assists are tied for fourth-most in school history. Kreuser also holds a school record with seven game-winning assists, while Megna is tied for sixth with six game-winning assists.
Everybody's Helping Out
Sophomore Nicole Sperl paces the Panthers with eight assists, which is tied for fifth-most in a season in school history. Along with Kreuser and Megna's seven assists apiece, the team has already accumulated 45 assists this season, which the second-highest single-season total in school history and five back of the record set in 1997 (50). Also, this season marks the first time UWM has featured three players with at least seven assists.
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.
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 that 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.
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 will host a yet-to-be determined team in the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals Nov. 2. The semifinals and championship game will then be Nov. 7-9 at the site of the highest remaining seed.
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