Women's Soccer October 22, 2014

Milwaukee Heads To League-Leading Valparaiso Wednesday

Panthers looking for big win against conference leaders

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team hits the road to take on league-leading Valparaiso Wednesday night in Indiana. UWM will be looking to hand the Crusaders their first loss in Horizon-League play and just their second overall all season when the two teams kick off at 7:30 p.m. from Brown Field.

Just the Facts...
• Valparaiso heads into Wednesday's contest with a chance to wrap up its first-ever Horizon League regular season title.

• The Crusaders boast one of the best defense/keeper combinations in the country. Valpo has conceded just 0.466 goals-against per game, the seventh-best mark in the entire nation

• The Panther offense has been struggling a bit of late. After scoring two or more goals in six of their eight games from Sept. 7 through Oct. 1 - a run that also saw a five-goal outburst against crosstown rival Marquette - the Panthers have found the back of the net just once over the past four games. That's certainly not for a lack of trying as UWM has outshot its last three opponents by a combined 53-29.

• UWM currently sits eighth in the league standings but the possibilities of how the final league rankings finish are still incredibly wide in range. Milwaukee currently has five points and can finish anywhere from third to ninth with two games to play.

What's New?
After Saturday's 0-0 draw with Oakland, the Panthers find themselves in a rather unusual spot in the conference standings. Heading into Wednesday's contest with Valparaiso, Milwaukee currently sits eighth out of nine in the conference table after going to 1-3-2 in Horizon League games. The last time Milwaukee dropped three league games in one year was all the way back in 1996 when they finished 3-3 in the MCC. For a little perspective, the majority of the current freshman class was less than one year old at that time.

About Valparaiso
Valparaiso heads into Wednesday's contest looking to wrap up its first ever Horizon League regular season title. The Crusaders are a perfect 5-0-0 in conference play so far this season and have just one loss on the season at 9-1-4 overall, with their lone loss coming at home against Belmont in the season opener.

April Cronin and Rita Craven lead the VU attack with five goals apiece, with Vanesa Abad right behind at four on the season. After scoring just two goals in the first five games and six in the first eight, the Crusader offense has found the back of the net 14 times in its last seven games.

Defensively, Valpo is one of the best teams in the nation. Sophomore keeper Sydney Galvez-Daley and the back line have posted a 0.47 goals-against average thus far this year, the seventh-best average in the nation.

Series Notes
While Milwaukee has never dropped a point to Valparaiso, there have certainly been some close contests between the two schools since VU adopted women's soccer in 1993. Both of the past two games have been decided by one goal, with UWM claiming a 3-2 win last year after a 1-0 victory at Valparaiso in 2012. Overall, the Panthers hold a 63-6 edge in goals in the all-time series.

League Leaders
Despite its record, Milwaukee still has put up some of the best statistical numbers in the Horizon League this season. In league-only contests, the Panthers lead the way in shots (90) and corners taken (37), and are second in goals (seven), assists (five) and points (19), and have the third-most saves on the season at 21.

Bunches & Bunches Of Goals
The Panther offense has been a little streaky so far this season, but when they find the back of the net, the goals come in bunches. Against College of Charleston, Milwaukee pounded out four goals, twice scoring two goals in less than four minutes of game time. Against No. 25 DePaul, Morgan LaPlant scored two goals all by herself in less than six minutes. In the 2-1 win at Loyola, the Panthers scored both goals in just under seven minutes. In fact, in its five-goal barrage against Marquette, the Panthers had their largest time gap between goals all season at 31:51.

Heart Stoppers
Milwaukee's 5-4 win over Marquette sure was one for the ages. The Panthers raced out to a 4-0 lead before a surprising MU comeback knotted the game up at 4-4 with just over four minutes remaining. But, it was Sydney Senn in the role of hero, scoring the game winner with just 1:32 left on the clock to give UWM the wild win.

Recently, Panther fans have seen quite a few heart-stopping wins by their team. Last year, Milwaukee erased deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before scoring the winner with 23 seconds left in regulation in the Horizon League Tournament Championship to clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Also last season, Morgan LaPlant and Kelsey Holbert both scored in the closing minutes of a 3-2 win over Youngstown State at home late in the season, while Kelly Lewers gave UWM a 4-3 win at Miami (Ohio) with a goal at 88:46 earlier in the year.

Black & Blue
It's no secret that Milwaukee has had a rash of injuries so far this season. The Panthers were forced to use five different starting lineups in their first five matches of the season. Three true freshmen have already made their first collegiate starts and 26 of the 29 members of this year's squad have already seen the field.

Tough Sledding
Milwaukee has traditionally played a very difficult non-conference schedule every season, and this year is no different. Marquette, South Carolina and Boston College were all ranked in the preseason top-25, with SC checking in as high as No. 9 in the nation right after narrowly defeating UWM. Also, DePaul and Auburn both jumped into the national poll just before playing Milwaukee, with DePaul now soaring to the 13th-ranked team in the country.

Fabulous Freshmen
There are nine true freshmen on this year's Panther squad and many have already been called upon to contribute right away. So far, those newcomers have already come up in some big moments. Freshman Cassidy Blanchard has started every game at center back and has done well at limiting the opposing attack, while also scoring her first collegiate goal against UIC. Two of Sydney Senn's goals have been game winners including the final goal in the dramatic win over Marquette. And, Anna Smalley has been in the starting lineup since week two and has two assists, thus far.

Back In Black (& Gold)
The Panthers return eight of their starters from last year's roster and appear to be ready for another successful year on the field. Eight seniors headline the squad this season, including last year's Horizon League Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Kelly Lewers. All-league first-teamers Krissy Dorre and Kelsey Holbert join Lewers on the attack, while second-teamer Amy Kauffung and all-freshman honorees Paige Lincicum and Kelly Manski also return for the Black and Gold this season.

Engelmann Elite
Milwaukee has always had a rich tradition of large home crowds and last season was certainly no different. Despite only having nine home games on their schedule last year, that didn't stopped the fans from coming out and packing Engelmann Stadium. 4,794 fans went through the turnstiles for Panther home games last year for an average of 533 per game, the second-highest average in program history. Last year also marked the fourth-highest fan turnout in a single season, with two of the highest attended games in program history, as well (Aug. 30 vs. Indiana, second-highest; Sept. 23 vs. Marquette, fifth-highest).

So Far, So Great
In just his third year at the helm of the program, head coach Greg Henschel has already twice guided the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament. He now is the only coach in the department's Division I history to guide its team to the NCAA Tournament in both of his first two seasons. Previously, he was one of three coaches to achieve that feat in just his first year, joining former women's soccer coach Michael Moynihan (1997) and current men's basketball coach Rob Jeter (2006) before Henschel again reached the NCAAs again last season.

What They're Saying
A look around the college soccer preseason polls shows there are plenty of expectations on this year's Panther squad. "College Sports Madness" announced its Preseason All-Horizon League teams with Milwaukee topping every group. Kelly Lewers, Krissy Dorre, Kelsey Holbert and Amy Kauffung were also first-team selections. Head coach Greg Henschel was tabbed as coach of the year, while newcomer Aubrey Krahn was selected as freshman of the year and Lewers was picked to repeat her offensive player of the year status.

All White Kit also selected UWM as its Horizon League favorite, saying it should be business as usual for the Panthers this season and adding "the Panthers should still walk away with more silverware in 2014."

Panthers Picked First In Preseason Poll
For the 14th time in the last 15 years, Milwaukee checked into the preseason coaches' poll at the top of the table. The Panthers received six of the nine first-place votes and collected 62 points overall. Oakland gathered two first-place votes and was picked second (51 points), while Wright State garnered one first-place nod and was picked third (50 points). Last year marked the first time in recent history that Milwaukee came in anywhere other than the top of the preseason poll, being picked third. That season, UWM went on to win its 14th-straight regular-season league title and sixth-straight league tournament crown.

Catch All The Action And More
All the Panther home games will again be webcast live and free on the Horizon League Network. In fact, beginning with the team's home opener against Boston College, every game from Engelmann Stadium will be featured on HLN.

In addition to live events, features, highlights and interviews are available at the Black & Gold Network - the department's official YouTube channel. Be sure to check in with BGN for the latest news and action surrounding Milwaukee women's soccer.

Up Next
UWM hits the road to take on Detroit in its final regular season match of the year next weekend. Eight of the nine league teams will kick off next Saturday on Halloween to determine the final league standings, with UWM set to take on the Detroit at 2 p.m. CST from Titan Field.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Anna Smalley: M; 5' 4"; Freshman

#4 Kelly Lewers: F; 5' 8"; Senior

#5 Amy Kauffung: D/M; 5' 3"; Senior

#6 Kelsey Holbert: M; 5' 3"; Senior

#10 Sydney Senn: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

#11 Aubrey Krahn: F; 5' 4"; Freshman

#17 Kelly Manski: D/M; 5' 4"; Sophomore

#25 Morgan LaPlant: M/F; 5' 3"; Senior

#27 Cassidy Blanchard: D; 5' 10"; Freshman

#29 Krissy Dorre: F; 5' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#3 Anna Smalley
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: M

#4 Kelly Lewers
: 5' 8"; Senior
: F

#5 Amy Kauffung
: 5' 3"; Senior
: D/M

#6 Kelsey Holbert
: 5' 3"; Senior
: M

#10 Sydney Senn
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F

#11 Aubrey Krahn
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: F

#17 Kelly Manski
: 5' 4"; Sophomore
: D/M

#25 Morgan LaPlant
: 5' 3"; Senior
: M/F

#27 Cassidy Blanchard
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: D

#29 Krissy Dorre
: 5' 5"; Senior
: F