Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Oct. 16, 2007) - Senior Pam Shipway scored the decisive goal in the 71st minute to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 2-1 win over Loyola Tuesday evening at Engelmann Field.

With the win, the Panthers (9-3-3, 5-0-1 Horizon) pushed their first-place lead to four points over Loyola (10-7, 4-1 Horizon). UWM is also unbeaten in its last nine games (6-0-3).

"This was an important Horizon league match, with three teams sitting undefeated, Loyola was one of them," Milwaukee head coach Michael Moynihan said. "Our players showed a lot of energy. I told our team, Loyola has a very special player in Cynthia (Morote-Ariza) who is a handful. She is probably the best individual we have seen. And, we've played a pretty tough schedule, so that is saying something."

Freshman Nicole Sperl assisted on the game-winner, sending a centering diagonal ball to Shipway. Shipway dribbled in on the goal while fending off two Loyola defenders, finishing from six yards out for the winner at the 70:18 mark.

Shipway's score came eight minutes after Loyola had tied the score at 1-1 on a goal by Cynthia Morote-Ariza. She dribbled into the box from the near side and blasted a shot off the far post and into the goal from 10 yards out.

Milwaukee outshot the Ramblers 17-13 and took all five corners in the game. The Panther defense held strong, stopping most of Loyola's best opportunities before it could get shots off.

Junior Sarah Teegarden got the scoring started in the 42nd minute to send UWM into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Senior Amanda Winn won a header on the midfield off a goal kick, creating an outlet to Teegarden. Teegarden then took a few touches and blasted a shot in stride from 30 yards.

"I thought, as a team, our effort won out. That's what matters. We got a couple of nice goals," Moynihan said. "I thought Teegarden's goal was phenomenal and Pam capped it off for us. We could have had a few others, Claire (Watkins') header off the post, a couple flurries in front of the net that I thought were going to go in. In the end two was enough."

Junior Erin Kane made six saves in the game, but made the biggest difference, stopping chances before they materialized. She cleared away the visitor's most dangerous chance, taking away a possible 1v1 by Morote-Ariza. Kane beat the league's leading scorer to a ball at the top of the box and cleared it out of bounds. Kane also snared a handful of crosses, preventing anything bigger from developing.

Kane tallied career win No. 34, tied for second-most in school history. She is just two back of Kerri St. Aubin's school record of 36. Her counterpart, Colleen Dougherty made a pair of saves for Loyola in addition to a team save.

Milwaukee threatened a number of times in the game, including the 19th minute. Winn sent a long free kick into the attacking third, which was accidentally headed back by a defender. Sophomore Erin Kreuser beat Dougherty to the ball, but had her shot cleared off the line by another defender. She got her own rebound and crossed it to junior Jodi Klagos, but Klagos' shot went wide.

Freshman Claire Watkins also headed a Kate Megna corner kick off the near post in the 82nd minute.

UWM is one of two unbeaten teams in the league with a 5-0-1 record and 16 points. Loyola now sits four points back with a 4-1 record and 12 points. Wright State, the Panthers' opponent Sunday is third at 3-0-1 with 10 points.

"I think what will be a challenge for us, where we`ll have to show some maturity, is this was big win and we have two more games coming up," Moynihan said. "In my mind, we have to win out to win the championship. Wright State is still undefeated and we don't know what is going to happen between them and Loyola, so to come back from a big win, we'll see what kind of maturity we have, if it will be enough to be a championship team."

The Panthers continue a three-game homestand this week, hosting Cleveland State Friday night at 7 p.m. The game will be webcast live at uwmpanthers.com.