Sept. 1, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Ohio University scored midway through the first half and used strong defense and ball control to hold off the charging Panthers from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a 1-0 victory in the Verizon Wireless/Milwaukee Cup here Sunday (Sept. 1). With the win, Ohio, 1-1 on the season, claimed third place overall in the tournament while the co-hosts, UWM, dropped to 0-2 with a fourth place tournament showing.

"We have a lot of depth and a lot of new faces so we have struggled trying to find some different combinations that work," UWM head coach Michael Moynihan said. "As much as I think we can dominate in certain aspects of the game we just aren't dangerous enough right now. I think it will come eventually and we just have to be patient."

Despite falling behind 1-0 in the first half, the Panthers owned the majority of the scoring chances in the first 45 minutes. Freshman Janice McGann had a blast punched over the top of the net before fellow freshman Liz Chudy blasted a ball towards the goal that squarely clanked against the top post. In addition, Emily Jessen added some spark off the bench as the senior peppered four shots on goal in a ten minute span.

On the other hand, the patient OU squad took opportunities when they had them and played a tactical counterattack style. The Bobcat's patience eventually paid off when Christel Schiering headed home a nifty goal from a forwarding pass from Amy Back. The goal, at 39:05, proved to be the only score of the game.

"In both games this weekend (including UWM's 2-1 loss to Oakland on Friday) we fell behind early and that makes it tough," Moynihan added. "We are still kind of feeling things out right now but we still really want to win these games. Hopefully by the end of the year we will have things ironed out and running smoothly."

One major brightspot for UWM was the play of goalkeeper Molly Schneider. The freshman allowed only one goal with five saves while providing leadership and enthusiasm from her position. Schneider, filling in for injured incumbent Kerri St. Aubin, has now allowed only one goal in 135 minutes of play.

"Molly was very enthusiastic today and she really took charge of the game," noted Moynihan. She is very commanding back there and she has a presence. She can actually be a little too aggressive at times but today she was very poised and patient when she needed to be."

The Panthers will look to break into the win column on Friday (Sept. 6) when they play the University at Buffalo at 4 p.m. in the first round of the Purdue University Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind. UWM will then play in either the championship or consolation match of the tournament on Sunday (Sept. 8).

2002 Verizon/Wireless Milwaukee Cup All-Tournament Team Oakland-Sarah Buckland, Kim Moore (Defensive MVP), Christine Selesky, Erica Deemers. Marquette-Kate Gordon (Offensive MVP), Anne Ioder, Stephanie Welch. Ohio-Gina Siedentopf, Crystal Reed. UWM-Janice McGann, Maggie Suminski.