Panthers To Face Michigan State In NCAA Tournament First Round
Nov. 11, 2008
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team will play Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this weekend in South Bend, Ind.
The Panthers and Spartans will likely face off on Friday at a time to be determined. The winner of their match will take on the winner of No. 1 overall Notre Dame and Toledo on Sunday.
This marks the second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament in which UWM has been sent to Notre Dame. In 2006, the Panthers got past Michigan in the first round in a penalty kick shootout before falling to the then-No. 1 Irish, 1-0, in arguably UND's toughest match of the season.
Michigan State earned an at-large bid out of the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans are 13-6-3 and finished 5-4-1 in their conference. The match will pit two of the preeminent freshman goal-scorers in the nation. Milwaukee's Sarah Hagen leads the nation with 24 goals and is second with 54 points. Laura Heyboer has 19 goals and nine assists for 47 points.
UWM and MSU have not met since 1993 and the Spartans lead the all-time series 6-1. On the other side of the bracket, Milwaukee is 1-4 all-time against Notre Dame and 1-0 against Toledo. The Panthers and Rockets faced off in the 2008 exhibition season, with UWM coming away the 3-0 victors.
Milwaukee has won nine-straight games and a school-record total of 18 games this season (18-2-2). Currently, the Panthers are ranked 19th in the nation in the NSCAA national poll and were 21st in the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Five players were named to the all-league first team, including Hagen.
The Panthers have set a number of school records this season in addition to their win total. They have tallied a school-record 64 goals, 67 assists and 195 points. Their winning percentage is guaranteed to be a school record, as will their home winning percentage
UWM is making its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, following its first berth in 1997 and back-to-back trips to the tournament in 2001-02 and 2005-06. The Panthers have previously been sent to Minnesota (1997) and across town to Marquette three times (2001-02, 2005) before 2006.
story courtesy of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sports Information Office
