Box Score |  Notes

GREEN BAY, Wis. (Oct. 3, 2007) - Sophomore Kayla DeJardin scored her first two collegiate goals to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 4-0 win over Green Bay Wednesday night at Aldo Santaga Stadium.

Milwaukee is now unbeaten in its last five games (3-0-2), improving to 6-3-2 on the year and 2-0-1 in Horizon League play. The Phoenix, meanwhile, fell to 1-9 overall and 1-3 in the league.

"Green Bay is a difficult place for us to play," Milwaukee head coach Michael Moynihan said. "A lot of teams have trouble playing her for whatever reason. Green Bay always has a lot of energy at their home field and they do a lot to try to defend that. To come in and get a convincing win shows we are making a lot of progress. I like the way we played."

Junior Beth Steuer scored what proved to be the game-winner at 36:23 of the first half. Senior Pam Shipway sent a long cross past the far post. Sophomore Erin Kreuser received the ball and hit a cross past the keeper, with Steuer finishing off the goal to make it 1-0.

DeJardin, who hails from nearby Oneida, then tallied her first collegiate goal six minutes later to stake the Panthers to a 2-0 lead. Steuer played a ball into the near corner to senior Amanda Winn. Winn sent a cross through the box that GB keeper Brooke Wikgren punched off line. The rebound fell to DeJardin, who rocketed a shot into the net from 15 yards out.

"This is the first action Kayla has seen in the midfield for us and to get two goals is big. It was a strong performance. She showed a lot of energy getting forward," Moynihan said. "I thought Steuer, Sperl and Kreuser all had great work rates to put their backs under pressure and create for us."

While UWM was the dominant team in the first half, its lead in shots was just 9-5 and both teams sent three shots on goal.

"It was an interesting game in that Green Bay played a 3-6-1, which we haven't really seen. Our midfield has done a good job in controlling most of the games thus far. That formation really clogged things up for a while," Moynihan said. "The opening minutes we had to sort it out. Once we did that, I thought we generated a lot of good chances from the wing space, had some good serves."

In the second half it was another story, as the Panther defense stifled any chance for the Phoenix to claw its way back into the game. Winn and DeJardin each tallied goals to lead the charge, while the defense allowed just two shots by the home team.

In all, Milwaukee outshot Green Bay 24-7 after a 15-2 advantage in the second half. UWM also took the matches' three corner kicks, all in the first half, and was whistled for three offside calls. GB was whistled for 12 fouls, compared to nine by Milwaukee, and was issued a yellow card in the 55th minute.

"We were able to talk about (their formation) at halftime and I think, through that, you figure out ways to exploit it," Moynihan said. "I thought we did a good job at that. Another thing we talked about from a psychological standpoint was that 2-0 is called the most dangerous lead in soccer for a reason. We didn't want to let them back in the game. At Butler we started off the second half a little bit slow and gave them a couple chances and we didn't want to let that happen. We wanted to assert ourselves."

It was that yellow card that created a free kick opportunity for Winn from 25 yards out. She converted the chance for her first goal since November of 2005, also at Santaga Stadium, in the Horizon League Tournament.

DeJardin's second goal came off a pass from freshman Nicole Sperl in the midfield. DeJardin was able to get behind of the defense and beat Wikgren 1v1 from 15 yards to make it 4-0.

Junior keeper Erin Kane made three saves for her sixth shutout of the season and the 32nd of her career. Wikgren tallied seven saves on the night for the Phoenix.

With the win, Milwaukee finished the season 2-0-1 against the other three Division I teams in the state. It was the second-straight year UWM did not lose in-state, as it swept the state for the first time in team history in 2006. This season, the Panthers also defeated Wisconsin 1-0 and tied Marquette 0-0.

"Going undefeated in the state is very difficult to do' Moynihan said. "It's the second year in a row we've done that and I'd like to see it continue. We want to keep attracting the best talent in the state. If we can do that, I think, we'll keep repeating that."

The Panthers continue a busy week Friday at home in a non-league contest with Iowa. Youngstown State then visits Engelmann Field Sunday.