Aug. 29, 2003

Stats

MILWAUKEE -- Erin Showalter's lofting, 30-yard free kick in the 94th minute floated over the hands of goalkeeper Molly Schneider and into the back of the net, lifting the Dayton Flyers to an overtime victory over the Milwaukee Panthers, 1-0, in the first game of the Verizon Wireless Milwaukee Cup Friday at Valley Field.

Following an evenly played, scoreless 90 minutes of regulation soccer, Showalter hit a high-arcing shot towards the net with six minutes remaining in overtime. Schneider made a leaping effort for the ball, hooking to her right, but it passed over her hands and beneath the crossbar for the game-winning, `golden' goal.

Despite failing to record a shot in the second half, Milwaukee (0-1) had an opportunity to win the game in the final moments of regulation. With six seconds on the clock, Jeney Walter served a ball from 30 yards out to Lisa Bengtsson, just inside the top of the goal box. With Dayton keeper Sarah West out of position, Bengtsson had a clear path to the goal, but had the ball knocked away by a defender before she could get off a sliding shot.

After the volley, Walter was hit by a defender and fell awkwardly. The senior midfielder began to stand but felt a sensation in her back and legs and remained on the ground. As a precaution, Walter was stabilized and transported to Columbia Hospital for further examination. Walter, who suffered a similar injury while playing at Racine Park High School, was talking and had full movement after the injury, but had pain in her neck and right shoulder. The process of transporting Walter from the field delayed the start of overtime 20 minutes.

The two squads played nearly identical soccer in the first half. Both teams put only one shot on goal and neither team was able to fully control the run of play.

Dayton (1-0) nearly struck in the 63rd minute. A Leah Phelps shot, taken from the right at 18 yards, was headed for the upper-left corner of the goal, though playable for Milwaukee's second-half keeper, Kerri St. Aubin. Yet sophomore Andrea Kramer, attempting to block the shot, instead deflected it towards the right post, leaving St. Aubin out of position and helpless. Fortunately for the Panthers, the shot hit off the outside of the post and rolled harmlessly beyond the goal line.

Dayton also had solid scoring opportunities in the 64th, 81st, 85th and 87th minutes before the Panthers made their late run. The Flyers peppered St. Aubin with five shots in the second half and won the total shots battle, 11-2.

Despite the shot disparity, both teams held the ball for approximately the same amount of time, and Milwaukee head coach Michael Moynihan was happy with his team's effort. "We went toe-to-toe with them," Moynihan said. "We had our opportunities in regulation and so did they."

"We're a young team and this was their first game ... I definitely saw some encouraging signs."

The second game of the Milwaukee Cup involved the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Vanderbilt Commodores. It took place shortly after the UWM/Dayton contest and was not completed at this story's time of publication.

The Panthers will try to earn their first win of 2003 against Vanderbilt in the opening game of the Milwaukee Cup's second and final day Sunday. The match begins at noon.