Sept. 6, 2002

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The University of Buffalo converted on all four of its chances in a penalty kick shootout to advance to the championship game of the Boilermaker Challenge Cup Friday afternoon, sending UWM to a consolation game matchup with Long Beach State Sunday.

The match officially ended in a 1-1 tie after two, 10-minute overtime periods, but the penalty kick shootout was necessary to determine an opponent for Purdue in Sunday's tournament championship match. The Boilermakers beat the 49ers, 1-0, in the other semifinal Friday.

In the shootout, Buffalo goalkeeper Anna-Lesa Calvert saved penalty tries by Liz Chudy and Janice McGann to give the Bulls (0-0-3) a 3-1 advantage before Devon Russell converted a fourth chance for Buffalo, clinching the victory.

The game's two goals came in quick order early in the second half. Chudy gave UWM (0-1-1) the lead in the 52nd minute with her first collegiate goal, chipping Calvert from approximately 30 yards out. But, the Bulls equalized just over two minutes later when Russell beat Panther goalkeeper Molly Schneider with a blast from 30 yards away.

"We had some highs and lows," UWM coach Michael Moynihan said. "As the year goes on, we'll iron that out. We have a lot of new people to work in. It will be a little rocky at the start."

The Panthers also found themselves without a second senior starter approximately 15 minutes into the match. Already playing without Katie Kubacki, who suffered a concussion in last week's loss to Oakland, the Panthers lost Emily Jessen to a leg injury in the 16th minute.

The Panthers allowed 19 shots while collecting 10 of their own, but could not convert on some one-on-one chances deep in the Bulls' end early in the match before struggling to produce decent chances as the match progressed.

"Early in the game we had some chances when we got behind them, but after that we stopped attacking the endline," Moynihan said. "We never really got ourselves in a rhythm. It was an end-to-end match; there were a lot of counterattacking opportunities and they played very direct. We gave up some good chances. Their goal was a great goal."

UWM's best early chance came on an Amy Oechsner breakaway in the third minute. The Panthers also had a dangerous chance in the fifth minute following a cross by Andrea Kramer. Oechsner had another solid chance on a counterattack break in the 29th minute before the Bulls wrestled away control of the match for the final 15 minutes of the half. The Bulls' best chance may have come just before the halftime break when Schneider had to come off her line in traffic to collect a cross.

After the team's exchanged their goals during the first 10 minutes of the second half, both teams owned portions of the remainder of regulation. The Bulls forced Schneider to make key saves in the 58th and 62nd minutes, while Elicia Scaife had a great chance taken away by a handball call in the 72nd minute and Amber Jelinek had a header turned away in the 76th minute.

UWM's best chance for a game-winner came in the 79th minute when Chudy hit the post from about 28 yards out, while Schneider was forced to make key saves in the 77th and 88th minutes to preserve the tie for the Panthers.

In the 20 minutes of extra time, Schneider came up with the best save, diving low and to her right to deflect a shot and rebound chance in the 109th minute. Lisa Bengtsson had the Panthers' best overtime chance, sending loose ball in the box high and wide in the 98th minute.

Sunday's consolation game will begin at 1 p.m. Both the Panthers and 49ers (0-3) will be looking for their first wins of the season.

"We have an opportunity to go out and earn a win. It would have been nice to play Purdue since they are ranked ahead of us in the region," Moynihan said. "Both teams will be searching for their first win on Sunday so I expect it will be a good, hard-fought game."