Nov. 13, 2001

MILWAUKEE - The UWM women's soccer (15-4) continues post-season play when it takes-on Dartmouth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Fri., Nov. 16, 5 p.m. at Valley Fields. The Panthers are pleased to travel just across town to Marquette, which received the hosting honors after getting an at-large bid.

The Panthers have never faced Dartmouth (9-4-1), who also received an at-large bid into the tournament after taking a share of the Ivy-League title. The Big Green lost out on the automatic bid on a tiebreaker to Princeton. UWM received the automatic bid after winning the Horizon League championship on Sunday with a thrilling 1-0 win in triple overtime against Butler.

Marquette hosts Michigan in the first-round game at 7:30 p.m. following the UWM vs. Dartmouth game. The games will take place at Marquette's Valley Fields, with the winners of each match advancing to the second round to be played at 1 p.m. Sunday.

2001 FIRST ROUND ACTION UWM meets Dartmouth for the first time on Friday. In the series against Michigan, the Panthers were defeated in their only meeting, losing, 3-2, to the Wolverines on the road in 2000. Milwaukee owns the 4-3-2 record against city-rival Marquette, though the Golden Eagles blanked UWM 3-0 at home on Nov. 1 this season.

SCOUTING DARTMOUTH The Big Green earned a three-way share of their fifth Ivy League title after winning, 3-2, against Brown on Nov. 11. After starting the year 1-2, Dartmouth finished the season at 9-4-1 and 5-1-1 in the league. Dartmouth went 4-4 against the eight NCAA Tournament teams it played this season. Junior Mary McVeigh leads the Big Green in scoring with 18 points (5g, 8a), which ranks second in school history. Junior Annie Gibson is second on the team with 14 points while junior Laura Ashley is third with 12 points. Despite their youth in goal, sophomore Julia Shields and freshman Anne Marbarger have combined for a 0.94 GAA and four shutouts.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN Michigan is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Touranment. The Wolverines lost 2-1 in overtime to Illinois in semifinal action of the Big Ten Tournament on Nov. 9. Michigan went 8-2 in the regular-conference season and finished second. The Wolverines hold a 3-4 record in NCAA Tournament action, with first-round wins at home the past three years. Michigan is led by Abby Crumpton's 28 points (12g, 4a), followed by Amy Sullivan's 19 points (6g, 7a).

SCOUTING MARQUETTE Host Marquette is making its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Golden Eagles have won five of their last six games and are coming off a 1-0 loss to Cincinnati in the Conference-USA championship game. They are 16-5 on the season and are 8-3 at home. Forward Kate Gordon is the team's top scorer with 22 points (9g, 4a) and proved to be a terror against Milwaukee this season, tallying two goals and one assist in the Nov. 1 match up. Goalkeeper Ashleigh Koenig has bee solid in net, posting a 0.58 GAA. Marquette has outscored its opponents, 35-14, this season.

HEADING INTO THE NCAA Milwaukee enters the ncaa tournament with an automatic bid after winning the Horizon League tournament. The Panthers won the regular-season title undefeated and without allowing a single goal, and continued the same dominating defensive trend in the post-season tournament. uwm became just the second team in league history to not allow a single goal in league play (Notre Dame was the first in 1993).

LEADING UWM Amy Oechsner leads UWM in scoring with 20 points (7g, 7a). Erin Blaedow is second on the team with 17 points (8g, 1a), while Evann Franklin is third with 16 points (7g, 2a).

OFFENSIVE ADVANTAGE Milwaukee has outscored its opponents, 39-13, on the season. The Panthers outscored their league opponents, 19-0, during regular and post-season play. The output of goals have come most likely as a result of UWM outshooting its opponents, 262-179, on the season.

LAST TIME IN NCAA 2001 Horizon League Coach of the Year Michael Moynihan leads the Panthers into the ncaa tournament for the second time in his five-year career. He also guided uwm to its first-ever berth in 1997, his first year as a head coach. That year, uwm lost in the first round to Minnesota, 2-1, at Minn., and ended the season with a 13-3-4 record.

SPOTLIGHT IN THE LEAGUE uwm's dominance in the Horizon League was recognized with league awards. Senior midfielder Erin Blaedow was named the Player of the Year, and was joined on the All-League First Team by junior defenders Maggie Suminski and Carrie Durand, senior midfielder Julie Ruma and junior forward Amy Oechsner. Sophomore goalkeeper Kerri St. aubin, sophomore defender Jeney walter and sophomore forward evann franklin were named to the all-league second team. freshmen defenders brenda andrews and sara lewis and freshman midfielder melissa richter were named to the all-newcomer team.

GAUGING SUCCESS the 2001 season has been the most successful season in uwm program history. the panthers' 15-4 record currently has the best winning percentage, while the 15 wins reset the season record from the previous 13 wins in 1997. The panthers tied a season record for consecutive wins with nine. uwm's defense has shutout 13 opponents overall this year, resetting another season record from the previous record of 10 in 1997.

RECORD-BREAKING DEFENSE The Panthers entered the 2001 season with new line of starting defenders. The defensive unit has proven effective, recording 13 shutouts in 19 games and only allowing 13 goals all season. The defense did not allow a single goal scored in both regular-season and post-season league play.

COLLECTING THREE IN FIVE UWM captured its third regular-season title in the five years with the Horizon League title this season. The Panthers won the regular-season crown in 1997 (4-0-1), the first year under head coach Michael Moynihan, and also in 2000 (5-0). UWM took 2001 with a 6-0 Horizon League record.

IN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS Under Michael Moynihan, the Panthers have made it to the tournament championship four out of the five years he's coached. UWM won the MCC tournament championship in 1997 and again in 2001. The Panthers fell in the championship round in 1999 and in 2000, both times against Wright State.

PENALTY PERFECTION Milwaukee has taken three penalty kicks during the season games, and has converted on every one of those attempts. Senior Rana Thompson scored the gamewinner on a PK against Central Michigan, while freshman Amber Jelinek scored one in a 5-0 win against Arkansas. Junior Maggie Suminski put away a penalty kick in a 5-0 victory over Youngstown State.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST Sophomore goalkeeper Kerri St. Aubin ranks 10th in the nation with a 0.62 GAA. She has started every game for UWM so far this season, posting a 15-4 record. St. Aubin has six shutouts, and has split time with junior goalkeeper Mary Duffy when UWM has recorded the other seven shutouts this season.

HITTING OVERTIME The 2001 Panthers were on the path to be the first UWM team since 1984 that didn't see any overtime action on the season. But the Panthers were taken to triple overtime in the Horizon League Tournament Championship before UWM's Kristine Coburn prevailed with the golden goal in the 123rd minute.

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 he now holds a 60-28-11 record overall.

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 this season was ended with a 2-1 loss against Northwestern at home on Oct. 5.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS With 31 collegiate games under her belt, sophomore Kerri St. Aubin has moved atop the Panther career leaderboard in goals against average. After posting a 0.93 GAA in 2000, St. Aubin has dispelled the sophomore jinx by logging a 0.62 GAA this season, lowering her career GAA to 0.74, the lowest in school history. St. Aubin has also moved into second place in career wins (21) and into third place in shutouts (10). Panther assistant coach Kathy Hovermann is the career leader in all three categories with 34 wins, 25 shutouts and a 0.99 GAA.

Julie Ruma has seven assists on the season to give her 15 career assists for fourth place in the school records book for career assists. Ruma tallied three assists in both 1998 and 1999, and added two more in 2000.

LEAGUE HISTORY The Panthers extended their regular-season league winning streak to 11 games dating back to last season. Their streak is the second-longest in league history, as 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, posting three overall. Prior to undefeated 2000 and 2001 campaigns, UWM went 4-0-1 in league play in 1997.

HEAD COACH MICHAEL MOYNIHAN 2001 Horizon League Coach of the Year Michael Moynihan leads UWM (15-4) into the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his five years at the helm. Moynihan also guided the Panthers to the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 1997, his first year as a head coach. This season, Milwaukee qualified with an automatic bid after winning the Horizon League Tournament.

Moynihan's Panthers entered the 2001 Horizon League Tournament after winning the regular-season crown with a 6-0 record, and finished the post season without allowing a single goal in league play throughout the year.

Moynihan also guided UWM to the regular-season title in 2000, again with an undefeated league record. His Panthers were on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament last season but fell in the league tournament championship game for the second-straight year.

He has led UWM to three regular-season titles in his five years as a head coach, and was awarded coach of the year honors in each of those seasons (1997, 2000, 2001). Moynihan has also coached four Panthers to player of the year recognition (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001).

Moynihan started his collegiate career eight years ago as an assistant at UWM under his sister Sue Moynihan, now an assistant at Purdue. He lettered four years of soccer at Wisconsin, where he led the Badgers for two years as a captain.