Kayla DeJardin
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Panthers Seek Return To National Polls In Minnesota
Milwaukee and both opponents this weekend among those receiving votes
This Week In Panther Soccer
Game #9: Boston University (4-3) v. Milwaukee (6-1-1)
Friday, Sept. 19 • 4:30 p.m. • Minneapolis, Minn.
Gameday Media: Live Stats
Game #10: Brown (2-1-1) v. Milwaukee (6-1-1)
Sunday, Sept. 21 • 10:30 a.m. • Minneapolis, Minn.
Gameday Media: Live Stats
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Sept. 16, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team returns to the road this weekend for a second-straight tournament when it heads to Minneapolis for the Minnesota Gold Classic. The tourney is hosted by the U of M, but the Panthers will play Boston University Friday and Brown, which is ranked 21st by Soccer America, 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
Milwaukee has been getting noticed by the national pollsters this season, sitting among those receiving votes in the NSCAA poll in back-to-back weeks before cracking the top-25 at No. 24 last week. The Panthers were also ranked in each of the last two Soccer America polls before they fell out of both polls this week. But, UWM is still receiving votes from the NSCAA and, with games against perennial a NCAA team in Boston and a ranked foe in Brown, UWM could return with a strong showing this weekend.
A Look At The Opposition - Boston University
The Terriers are 4-3 on the season and head to Minnesota on a three-game winning streak and receiving votes in the NSCAA national poll. In that stretch, BU has won at then-nationally-ranked Connecticut and at home against Wisconsin and Northeastern. All three games have been by a 1-0 score, giving keeper Janie Reilly a scoreless streak of over 270 minutes. She has played every minute for Boston and this stretch has lowered her goals against average to 0.57. Reilly also has four shutouts. On offense, five different players have accounted for the team's five goals this season.
A Look At The Opposition - Brown
Brown is coming off the greatest weekend of play in its team history. The Bears defeated No. 11 Penn State Friday in the Nittany Lions' own tournament. They then played to a 0-0 draw with No. 1 UCLA. Thanks to last weekend, Brown jumped to 21 in the Soccer America national poll and high in the receiving votes section in the NSCAA poll. Brenna Hogue has played all but 10 minutes this season and was a rock last weekend, collecting 30 saves in her two shutouts of ranked foes. Offensively, Kate Scott has a team-high two goals, while three other players account for the team's other three goals.
"Receiving Votes Invitational"
This weekend's Minnesota Gold Classic could see multiple teams propelled into the national rankings after the weekend. Brown heads the list with 51 points in the NSCAA national poll, effectively putting them 28th. Boston University is "30th" with 42 points. Next comes the "No. 32" Panthers (27 points) and host Minnesota tied for "34th" (26).
Series Histories
For the second-straight weekend, the Panthers have faced their upcoming opponents a combined one time. UWM fell to Boston University, 1-0, last season in Madison, Wis., and has never played Brown. In fact, Milwaukee has only played an Ivy League school twice, falling to Dartmouth in the 2002 NCAA Tournament and to Harvard last season.
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 Friday and picked up No. 138 on Sunday. Bennett coached the men's team from 1996-05. He and Moynihan are two of the four coaches to eclipse 100 career soccer coaching wins in school history.
Last Week In Review
Friday - Milwaukee 1, New Mexico 1 (2ot)
Both Milwaukee and New Mexico scored in the first 10 minutes of the game, but neither scored again as they played to a 1-1 draw Friday evening on the first day of the UNM Nike Classic. Freshman Sarah Hagen scored UWM's goal, extending her own school record with a goal in seven-straight matches.
Sunday - UNLV 2, Milwaukee 1 (ot)
Brie Kuhne headed in a corner kick in the fourth minute of overtime to hand the Panthers a 2-1 loss Sunday afternoon at the UNM Nike Classic. Sophomore Sarah Talbert tallied Milwaukee's goal off assists from juniors Kayla DeJardin and Louise Vraney.
Overtime Warriors
Milwaukee did not play a single overtime minute over the first six games of the season only to play two last weekend to mixed results. The Panthers tied New Mexico Friday to tie 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 Sunday 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 Sunday. Of her 39 career shutouts, 15 have included some overtime.
Wasting No Time
Through just eight games, Sarah Hagen has already tallied nine goals and 19 points. She has already equaled the most goals in a season by a Panther since 1997. In fact, her 19 points would have led , or tied for the lead, on any UWM squad since between 2002-07.
Those Goals Add Up
It's no surprise that Hagen leads the team and even the league in goals and points. But, she is third in the nation with nine goals. She is also fourth with 19 points.
Like All Good Things...
Hagen scored at least one goal in each of her first seven collegiate games. Ignoring the fact that she is doing all of this as just a freshman, 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.
How Many W's In `Milwaukee'?
The Panthers got off to their best start in school history when they started the season 6-0. That trumped the 1997 team's 5-0-1 start. Even at 6-1-1, the team has its second-best start, behind the 1997 Panthers' eight-game start of 6-0-2. The hot start has also extended the team's 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) it had carried over from last season, the fourth-longest unbeaten streak in school history.
Survivor
Milwaukee made it until Sept. 12 before suffering its first non-win of the season. That's more than a lot of teams can say. In fact, they were one of the final 25 undefeated, untied teams in the nation. After the weekend, just 12 remain.
Helping Hands... Er... Feet
Assisting on UWM's goal Friday against New Mexico, junior Kate Megna tallied her team-leading fifth assist of the season. It was also the 13th of her career, tying her for seventh in school history. Junior Erin Kreuser is right behind Megna with four assists this season and 12 in her career, 10th-most in school history. Kreuser has, however, already tied the school record for career game-winning assists with seven after picking up two this season. Megna is one back, having assisted on six game-winners.
Home, Sweet Home
The Panthers are 5-0 at home this season and currently own a 16-match home unbeaten streak (13-0-3). They also have a streak of 30-straight regular season home games without a loss (25-0-5). In fact, if you include post-season contests, the team is still an impressive 28-1-6 at home over its last 35 home matches.
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.
M-V-P ... M-V-P ... M-V-P
Freshman Sarah Hagen finished the Milwaukee Cup with three goals and an assist and was named Tournament MVP. She was joined on the all-tournament team by junior Erin Kreuser, who tallied three assists, as well as senior Sarah Teegarden, junior Kate Megna and freshman Keara Thompson.
But This Is Just Plain FAST
The Panthers had a pair of notable feats of speed during the Milwaukee Cup. First, 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. Then, two days later, Sarah Hagen scored the game's first goal just 59 seconds after the opening whistle. It was UWM's first goal inside the first minute of play since Megan Mann got the scoring started at the 49-second mark Sept. 9, 2001, at Valparaiso.
State Champs
UWM pushed its unbeaten streak against state schools to eight games (7-0-1) with wins over Wisconsin and Marquette already this season. 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 four-straight over Green Bay. And, finally, Milwaukee has defeated Marquette in 2006 and 2008, with the two teams tying in 2007.
Player Of The Week
After scoring two goals in UWM's win over Wisconsin in the season-opener, Sarah Hagen was named the season's inaugural Horizon League Player of the Week. She is the first Panther freshman to earn the honor after her week of collegiate action since Erin Kane in 2005.
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.
Back In Black (And Gold)
Milwaukee returns 17 letterwinners from last season, including seven starters. The list of returners includes all-league first team members Erin Kane, Sarah Teegarden and Kate Megna. The Panthers also return four of their top five scorers in sophomore Nicole Sperl (team-high 14 points), junior Erin Kreuser (2nd with 13), Megna and Teegarden.
Welcome To Milwaukee
Despite having seven returning starters and 17 letterwinners, the Panthers will have eight newcomers vying for playing time this season. Heading that list are Gatorade Wisconsin State Player of the Year Laurel Ragalie, Appleton Post-Crecent Female Co-Players of the Year Sarah Hagen and Chelsea Colling and a four-time all-state honoree in Makenzie Gillaspie. Keara Thompson, Mary Wandolowski, Sammy Vovos and Lindsay Boeckman round out a talented freshman class.
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
• The Panthers are unbeaten in their last six games against the Big Ten Conference (4-0-2).
• 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 opening day more than once.
• UWM defeated Toledo, 3-0, in their only intercollegiate exhibition match. Freshman Laurel Ragalie scored two goals in the match.
• Sarah Hagen assisted on all three goals against Toledo, including twice while playing as the team's emergency goalkeeper in the second half.
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 after two weeks on the road to close out the non-league portion of their schedule with Northwestern on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Green Bay then comes to Engelmann Field for the league opener for both teams Friday.
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