Sept. 7, 2001

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MILWAUKEE-Rana Thompson connected on a penalty kick in the 62nd minute to give UWM its first win of the season, as the Panthers defeated Central Michigan, 2-1, Friday at Engelmann Field.

UWM was awarded the PK after junior Katie Kubacki was taken down by two Chippewa defenders in the box. Thompson, the Panthers' senior midfielder, buried it past goalkeeper Elizabeth Quiney to give UWM the lead in the second half.

"I think we made big strides this week in practice," UWM coach Michael Moynihan said. "We spent a lot of time working on our attack, and this is the best I've seen it look in along time. We made good decisions going forward and in making the right runs. Central Michigan is a strong team in the region, so I'm really happy with how dangerous we looked overall."

Moynihan was referring to the Panthers' lack of an attack, which has had problems creating chances in the past two games. Milwaukee provided plenty against the Chippewas, as they outshot Central Michigan, 21-11.

UWM senior midfielder Erin Blaedow scored the game's first goal in the 4th minute, connecting on a ball from 10 yards out. Sophomore Lisa Bengtsson got through on the right side, sending a ball into the near post to find forward Amy Oechsner. Under pressure, Oechsner sent the ball past the goal mouth and set up Blaedow on the far post for the 1-0 lead.

Central Michigan scored the equalizer three minutes later when Allison Campbell headed down a free kick from Anne Fedrigo.

Tied at the half, CMU goalkeeper Kari Alexander substituted in for Quiney to record the loss at the end of regulation. Both keepers finished with four saves in the match, while UWM goalkeeper Kerri St. Aubin captured five saves and the win.

UWM lost both Bengtsson and sophomore Alexa Torres to injury during the game, as Bengtsson substituted out with a pulled hamstring and Torres with an injury to the knee.

"After two significant injuries, we called in on our depth and I thought they responded well. It seems to be starting to come together," Moynihan said.

The Panthers travel to Valparaiso, Ind., to take on Valparaiso on Sunday at 1 p.m.