Oct. 31, 2001

MILWAUKEE -- The UWM women's soccer team will close out its regular-season when they host cross-town rival Marquette on Thurs., Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. The Panthers (13-3, 6-0 Horizon League) look to set a school record for wins in a season when they take on the Golden Eagles (12-4, 7-2 C-USA) at Engelmann Field.

Milwaukee returns home after defeating Minnesota, 2-0, on Sunday for the first time since 1993. Earlier in the week, the Panthers defeated Loyola, 4-0, to finish undefeated in the league regular season for the second straight year.

Marquette is coming off a 2-0 defeat of in-state rival Wisconsin on Sunday. On Friday, the Golden Eagles were defeated by St. Louis, 1-0, for just the second time in the conference in two years.

Last year against UWM, Marquette scored two unanswered goals to upend the Panthers, 2-1, in the early season match. Milwaukee leads the all-time series against the Golden Eagles, 4-2-2, with UWM's last win coming from a 2-1 score during the 1998 season.

Spotlight

Thursday's match will feature two of the nation's top-10 goalkeepers in goals against average. Among goalkeepers with 1,000 minutes of action, Milwaukee's Kerri St. Aubin is fifth in the nation with a 0.61 GAA, while Marquette's Ashleigh Koenig is seventh with a 0.65 GAA.

UWM Recap

* In UWM's 4-0 win over Loyola, four different Panthers found the back of the net including Sara Lewis, who scored her first collegiate goal. Erin Blaedow led off the scoring, while Evann Franklin and Rana Thompson also added goals.

* Lisa Bengtsson's goal in the 39th minute off a Jeney Walter assist proved to be the gamewinner in Milwaukee's 2-0 win at Minnesota on Sunday. In the 74th minute, Amy Oechsner added some insurance with her seventh goal of the season, while Kerri St. Aubin grabbed five saves for her fourth shutout of 2001.

UWM (13-3, 6-0 Horizon League) Game Notes

* UWM's season has made an impact on the national stage. UWM is currently tied for second in the nation in shutouts, is third in shutout percentage, is tied for seventh in goals against average and is tied for eighth in the nation in win-loss percentage.

* Following its 4-0 win over Loyola on Thursday to end the regular league season, UWM became just the second team in league history to not allow a single goal during league play. The Panthers also closed out their second-straight perfect league season, just the second team to ever accomplish the feat. Notre Dame was the first team in both cases, posting undefeated seasons from 1992-94, and not giving up any goals in 1993.

* Amy Oechsner leads UWM in scoring with 19 points, tallying seven goals and five assists. Erin Blaedow is second on the team with 15 points (7g, 1a), while Evann Franklin is third with 14 points (6g, 2a).

* UWM has outscored its opponents, 36-10, and has outshot them, 239-144. In league games, the Panthers have outscored opponents 16-0, and outshot them, 106-32.

* Sophomore goalkeeper Kerri St. Aubin has started every game for UWM so far this season, posting a 13-3 record and 0.61 GAA. St. Aubin, who has 53 saves on the season, has split time with junior Mary Duffy, who has a 0.72 GAA in 250 minutes of action. UWM has recorded 11 shutouts on the season, with St. Aubin recording four, and both keepers splitting time in seven.

Marquette (12-4, 7-2 Conference USA) Game Notes

* After 10-0 conference season in 2000, the Golden Eagles have gone 7-2 in the C-USA in 2001. Marquette has dropped two-of-three in conference play, including Friday's 1-0 loss to St. Louis. On Sunday, the Golden Eagles bounced back on Sunday to the Badgers in Madison, 2-0.

* Kate Gordon paces the Golden Eagle offense with 15 points (5g, 2a). Kristen Jensen is second on the team with 12 points (3g, 6a), while Jenny Strachota rounds out the double-digit scorers with 10 points (5g).

* Ashleigh Koenig has seen most of the action in goal for the Golden Eagles. In almost 1400 minutes of action, Koenig has yielded just 10 goals, for a 0.65 GAA, and has a 12-4 record with six shutouts.

No Overtime

With one regular season game and the league tournament remaining, the 2001 Panthers could be the first Milwaukee squad to not go into overtime in a single game all season since 1984. In 1984, UWM's inaugural season of women's varsity soccer, the Panthers went 5-6, and did not face overtime in any game.

League History

The Panthers have extended their regular-season league winning streak to 11 games dating back to last season. Their streak is the second-longest in league history. Notre Dame won 19 games in a row from 1991-95. The Irish left the old MCC with a 19-0-1 record in league games. Milwaukee also ranks second in league seasons without a loss, with three. Prior to undefeated 2000 and 2001 campaigns, UWM went 4-0-1 in league play in 1997.

Moynihan Captures 50

UWM coach Michael Moynihan captured his 50th career win on Sept. 28 when the Panthers defeated Illinois State, 2-1. Moynihan's milestone came in his fifth year as head coach of the Panthers, and now he now holds a 58-27-11 record overall.

In The League

UWM's six league wins this season all have come as shutouts. UWM has outscored league opponents 16-0, heading into the league tournament. Last season, the Panthers were undefeated in the league and outscored their opponents, 14-4, while tallying three shutouts.

Nine Straight

After starting the season 0-2, the Panthers rattled off nine-straight wins to tie a school record. The last time Milwaukee won nine consecutive was in 1994, when UWM finished 12-7-1. Milwaukee's run for 10 straight was ended with a 2-1 loss against Northwestern at home on Oct. 5.

Climbing The Ladder

After 28 collegiate games, sophomore Kerri St. Aubin has moved atop the Panther career leaderboad in goals against average. After posting a 0.93 GAA in 2000, St. Aubin has dispelled the sophomore jinx by logging a 0.61 GAA this season, lowering her career GAA to 0.74, the lowest in school history. St. Aubin has also moved into third place in career wins (19) and in shutouts (9). Panther assistant coach Kathy Hoverman entered 2001 as the career leader in all three categories with 34 wins, 25 shutouts and a 0.99 GAA.

With her assist to Erin Blaedow on Sunday, Julie Ruma moved into fourth place on UWM's career assists list. Ruma tallied three assists in both 1998 and 1999, and added two more in 2000. With a career-high six assists in 2001, Ruma has 14 career assists moving her past Chandra Konkol into sole possession of fourth.

Entering the 2001 Season

The Panthers entered the season favored to win the Horizon League title after winning the regular-season championship last year with an undefeated record (5-0). The Panthers finished 2000 on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament, losing 1-0 to Wright State in the league championship game.

Coach Michael Moynihan

Moynihan is in his fifth year at the helm of the Panthers, and currently boasts a 58-27-11 career record after last weekend's action. His career winning percentage of .661 is best in the program's history. Last season, he guided UWM to its first-ever regular-season league championship and was named MCC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. Moynihan also won the coaching award in 1997, his first year as head coach, when his team won the league tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever in program's history.

A Milwaukee-area native, Moynihan graduated from Wisconsin where he was a four-year letterwinner on the Badgers soccer team.