Loyola, Milwaukee reach semifinals in Women's Soccer Championship

Nov. 3, 2007

(#2 seed) Loyola 5, (#7 seed) Green Bay 0 Box Score
Chicago, Ill. - Loyola opened defense of its Horizon League title in style, breezing into the semifinals with a 5-0 blanking of Green Bay in a quarterfinal match at Loyola Soccer Park. The second-seeded Ramblers, who improve to 13-8 on the season, will face Wright State in Friday's semifinals in Milwaukee.

After a sluggish start, Loyola got on the board with its first real chance of the match. Katie Heidenreich stormed into the box and set up Cynthia Morote-Ariza right in front of the Phoenix net for a clinical finish and a 1-0 Loyola lead in the 19th minute. The lead doubled less than a minute later courtesy of a tremendous individual effort from Heidenreich, who beat her defender on the right side to get into the box and fired a rocket into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the year. Loyola was unlucky to not score again before the half, as Jackie Vera was stopped on a nice save in the 36th minute and had another effort kept out by the woodwork in the 38th minute.

The third goal came just over five minutes into the second half and it was Morote-Ariza again. Laura Trevillian played her onside into space and she deftly chipped the onrushing keeper from 25 yards for her 17th marker of the season. Vera beat the keeper again in the 70th minute, as Loyola was hitting on all cylinders, only to see her low shot skim the outside of the post and out for a goal kick. She turned provider for Loyola's fourth, setting up Alexia Murray who rose over her mark to head in her second goal of the season.

Just over two minutes later, the Ramblers would add their fifth from an unlikely source. Defender Caitlin Brown wove her way through the Phoenix defense and was run over in the box for a penalty. The junior converted her own spot kick for her second goal of the season and cap Loyola's most prolific offense output of the season.

(#1 seed) Milwaukee 1, (#8 seed) Cleveland State 0 Box Score
Milwaukee, Wis. - Beth Steuer scored in the 15th minute and the Panther defense did the rest as host Milwaukee scored a 1-0 win over Cleveland State in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship at Engelmann Field.

Milwaukee (12-4-3) did not allow a shot in eliminating the Vikings (5-14-1) and advance to semifinals of the tournament where it will face Butler Friday, Nov. 9, at Engelmann Field.

Steuer scored the night's only goal when she got the ball on the far sideline. She cut inside and beat a defender into the box before slotting a shot past the CSU keeper at the far post. Freshman Erin DeYoung started the play, finding Steuer down the sideline with a long pass from just inside the midfield stripe.

The Panthers were in control throughout the match, limiting the Vikings' possessions inside their defensive half and allowing just one corner kick to CSU to show for it. This was the fourth time in school history UWM did not allow a shot in a game, the last coming two years to the day against Cleveland State in the 2005 league quarterfinals.

Offensively, Milwaukee was not without its chances, generating 28 shots in the game. The first half was more efficient, as the Panthers took 13, putting 10 on goal heading into halftime ahead 1-0. After the break, they generated 15 shots in the second half, but forced Kelly Zinkiewich into just one save.

Zinkiewich finished with 10 saves for the match, while UWM goalkeeper Erin Kane rarely touched the ball in picking up her 10th shutout of the season.

Milwaukee will now host the remainder of the tournament, taking on the fourth-seeded Bulldogs in Friday's second semifinal contest. No. 2 Loyola and No. 3 Wright State face off in the day's first match.