UW-Milwaukee suffers heartbreak on last-minute goal in second round of NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament
Nov. 14, 2005
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Meghan Connelly scored the game-winner with 20 seconds remaining as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team fell to Marquette, 1-0, Sunday night at Valley Field in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers end the season at 12-5-5, while the 17th-ranked Golden Eagles move on to face No. 4 UCLA next Friday in Los Angeles.
The game-winning play began when a ball was sent into the Milwaukee penalty area. Freshman goalkeeper Erin Kane came out to play the ball and a UWM player attempted to clear the ball. The clear attempt found its way to Connelly, who buried a shot far post for the winner. The goal was the first allowed by the Panthers in 717:10, dating back to a 2-1 victory over Detroit on Oct. 16.
Kane made five saves on the night in UWM's first loss since Sept. 17 at Wisconsin. Her counterpart, Laura Boyer, made three saves for the shutout.
Milwaukee controlled possession and the pace of play for much of the evening, despite conceding the 10-8 shot advantage. The Panthers came out of the gate aggressive, winning numerous balls in the midfield and using crisp slide tackles to thwart early Marquette attacks.
"Except for the opening minutes when (Christy) Zwolski was creating, we were able to shut that down and I really never felt threatened," Panther head coach Michael Moynihan said. "I thought we had the better offensive chances, had the pace of play and possessed the ball more."
Senior Nicole Motl snuffed out the game's first serious scoring threat in the 18th minute with a slide tackle of Julie Thompson inside the six yard box.
The first half's best scoring opportunity came when junior Brenda Neigbauer lofted a shot off the cross bar in the 37th minute. Neigbauer launched her shot from the corner of the penalty area and Boyer was able to deflect the ball off the cross bar. The rebound remained in front of the goal mouth, where an MU defender was able to calmly collect the ball.
For the half, the stats were almost dead even, with both shots taking eight shots and Marquette sending just one more (4-3) on goal. The Panthers had two more corners (4-2) and both teams were whistled for 12 fouls.
UWM had two opportunities nine minutes apart through the second half. In the 57th minute, senior Kitty Montgomery played a long ball into the box and sent a point-blank shot on goal that was saved at the near post. Sophomore Sarah Freidel crossed a ball through the box in the 66th minute and freshman Bailey Briggs got a head on the ball just wide of the net.
UW-Milwaukee had posted six consecutive shutouts, including three overtime whitewashes in postseason play. The Panthers outlasted Butler 1-0 in the semifinal round of the Horizon League Championship and advanced on penalty kicks following 110-minutes of scoreless play versus Detroit to claim the League title and enter the NCAA tourney. UWM also went to PKs to eliminate Purdue in the first round of the national summit on Friday evening.
The setback ends a 13-match unbeaten streak for the Panthers, who had stood at 2-4-2 following a 4-0 loss to Wisconsin on Sept. 17. From that point on, however, UW-Milwaukee posted a 10-0-3 mark before falling to its cross-town rival.
Marquette advances to third-round action versus UCLA, the top seed in this quarter of the bracket. UCLA has outscored its first two opponents 12-0, routing Mississippi Valley State 9-0 on Friday before posting a 3-0 triumph over Colorado on Sunday.
