Oct. 10, 2003

Box Score

DETROIT - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team continued its midseason surge while running its winning streak to six games with a 2-1 Horizon League victory over the University of Detroit-Mercy here Friday (Oct. 10). The Panthers, who moved over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 6-5-1 record, kept control of a one-game league lead thanks to a perfect 4-0 mark. With the win, UWM continued its longest winning streak since the 2001 season while running its Horizon League unbeaten streak to 21 matches. Meanwhile, Detroit falls to 6-4-0 overall and two games out of first in the league with a 2-2-0 record.

"Anytime you can go on the road in the league and get a win it's nice," UWM head coach Michael Moynihan said. "Detroit is a pretty solid team with some dangerous and athletic players. However, we were able to control large portions of the game and we were able to use all 21 players. Now we have a very tough opponent in Oakland on Sunday."

The Panthers, who are now 6-0 on the season when scoring first, grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 13:44 mark. Defender Brenda Neigbauer played a long through ball towards the goal where Evann Franklin settled, beat UDM's Allison Dube, and tucked the ball away for her second score of the season and the eventual match-winner. UWM went into halftime with the 1-0 lead as starting goalkeeper Kerri St. Aubin stopped three shots to keep the Titans off the board.

Milwaukee increased the offensive tempo in the second half as reserves Erin Shaughnessy and Kristen Baluta provided a spark. Shaughnessy, the aggressive senior forward, helped create UWM's second goal as she was taken down in the penalty box in the 72nd minute. The Panthers were then awarded a penalty kick and freshman defender Ginny Graczyk delivered for the 2-0 lead. The goal was the second of the season for Graczyk and helped her take over the team scoring lead with her eighth point.

Detroit dented the scoreboard in the 81st minute when Jessica Barrett rebounded a Mandi Jasky free kick to cut the UWM lead in half but the Titans wouldn't threaten the rest of the way. Milwaukee outshot Detroit 10-4 in the second half while holding a 12-5 edge in shots on goal in the game. The Panthers registered 16 shots on the game and UDM keeper Allison Dube helped keep the Titans close as she made 10 saves on the match.

"This win was big because it keeps us in the drivers seat in the conference race," noted Moynihan. "We now have two league games left and we control our own destiny. We really got some good play from Erin and Kristen and our backline of Ginny, Janice McGann, and Brenda Andrews was solid once again."

UWM will stay in the Detroit area and will face Oakland University in a non-conference showdown on Sunday (Oct. 12). OU is currently 7-3-0 on the season and ranked 7th in the NSCAA/Great Lakes Region. Game time is set for 11:00 a.m..