Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Sept. 7, 2008) - Freshman Sarah Hagen scored in the fourth minute and the Panther defense held up the rest of the way as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team defeated Illinois State, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Engelmann Field.

Milwaukee pushed its record to 6-0, continuing its school-record start to the 2008 season. The Panthers, who have been ranked as high as 24th in one national poll, ended a stretch of six games in 16 days to start the season, eclipsing their best game start ever, which had been 5-0-1 in 1997.

"We played a lot of games in a short period of time," UWM head coach Michael Moynihan said. "I'm just glad we survived it. We have some people dinged up, but we have put ourselves in a great spot to be in (at 6-0). This will be the first time that we have been in the national rankings in back-to-back weeks."

The Redbirds dropped their third straight after a 3-0 start and sit 3-3 on the season.

Hagen's eight goal of the season came off assists from juniors Kayla DeJardin and Kate Megna. Freshman Keara Thompson sent the ball outside to DeJardin, who one-timed a cross into the box. Megna then flicked the ball to Hagen, who settled and scored from 10 yards out for the game's lone score.

Hagen, a freshman from Appleton, Wis., extended her own school record with goals in six-straight games. The record had been four-straight by Betsy Ribares in 1993. Her eight goals on the season have also equaled the most goals by any Panther in a season since 2000.

"'Apple' is a huge presence for us," Moynihan said of Hagen. "To have someone that other teams fear and a consistent scorer is something we haven't had in a while. A player like that really helps the team's confidence. We have the mentality that we are going to score in every game and that does wonders. For her to be doing this as a freshman is even more impressive. She's taking it in stride. She's well-grounded and a team player."

The Panthers would not be without their chances to break the game open, but Katie Grill-Donovan came up with a couple of nice saves to snuff out the attack.

In the 17th minute freshman Laurel Ragalie received a ball out of the back, took it about 30 yards before finding Hagen with a through ball past the defense. Hagen took then two touches, but her shot was stopped with a falling foot save by the ISU keeper.

After halftime, freshman Sammy Vovos started the second half and was an immediate impact on the UWM offense. She played just 20 minutes, but took four shots, including a dangerous opportunity in the 54th minute. Senior Erin Kane sent a punt over the midfield stripe and Vovos won the ball, which led into a breakaway attempt. Inside the box, she tried to slot a shot past the keeper far post, but Grill-Donovan got her finger tips on the ball to slow it before jumping on the loose ball.

Fighting for the equalizer late, Illinois State had the Panther defense on the ropes, but the back line of DeJardin, senior Andrea Wisniewski, sophomore Helena Zbilut and freshman Mary Wandolowski did not break, conceding just one shot that was blocked before entering the box.

Kane made two saves for her third shutout of the season, while Grill-Donovan was called on for four stops on the day.

"It's nice to get the shutout," Moynihan said. "We benefited from an early goal, which against a team like Illinois State is nice to get. (Hagen) showed great composure in finishing on that goal. This is a team that sits back and picks its spots for counter attacks, but with the early goal we were able to force them out of that game plan and to attack more."

The Panthers leave the city of Milwaukee for the first time this season, heading to Albuquerque, N.M., for the UNM Nike Classic. UWM takes on host New Mexico Friday and UNLV on Sunday.