Milwaukee Players Claim Academic Honors

Dec. 30, 2008

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Seniors Sarah Teegarden and Erin Kane of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team were named Scholar All-Americans by the National Soccer Coaches of America (NSCAA), the organization announced.

Both players were third-team Scholar All-Americans last season, while Teegarden was selected to the first team this season. She is the first Panther selected to the first team since Erin Blaedow in 2001. Kane repeated as a third-team selection, giving Milwaukee two Scholar All-Americans for the second-straight season and third time in program history.

Teegarden has earned a number of post-season awards, most notably being named to the NSCAA All-America Third Team. She is UWM's first two-time All-American, being named Soccer Buzz Freshman All-America Honorable Mention in 2005. Meanwhile, Ginny Graczyk was the Panthers' last All-American, earning a third-team nod from Soccer Buzz in 2006. This season, the Batavia, Ill., native started all 23 games and was a dominant force in the UWM midfield. She finished with four goals and five assists and was then named to the Horizon League First Team for the fourth time in her career, one of just eight players in league history to accomplish the feat.

Teegarden is an elementary education major and boasts a 3.456 grade point average. She was named to the academic all-league team, as well as the NSCAA's academic all-region first team.

Kane capped her career as the most accomplished goalkeeper in school or league history this season. She started all 23 games, won a school-record 17 games, boasted a 0.85 goals against average and posted nine shutouts for the Panthers. For her career, she set school and league records with 45 shutouts, a 0.67 GAA and almost 7,800 minutes played. She also broke the school record for wins with 55. After the season, she teamed with Teegarden as the only teammates in league history to earn all-league first-team honors in each of their four seasons.

A pre-veterinary major, Kane has maintained a 3.44 GPA. Kane joined Teegarden on the the academic all-league team and the NSCAA's academic all-region first team.

Milwaukee had arguably its most accomplished season ever in 2008, going18-3-2 and ascending the national rankings to a program-best No. 16 ranking by the NSCAA. The Panthers won a ninth-straight Horizon League regular season championship, a fifth league tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history. The team's 18 wins and.864 winning percentage are both school records, as were the teams 65 goals, 70 assists and 200 points.

-- story courtesy of Milwaukee Sports Information Office