A couple weeks ago, Cleveland State University came to town for a big-time showdown with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The two schools were in first and second place, and the winner had the inside track on a regular season conference championship. Too bad it was volleyball.

That same Friday night on the other side of campus, the Milwaukee Panthers were putting the finishing touches on a beat down of epic proportions. The teams were the same, as Cleveland State was visiting the Panthers. However, CSU has had a hard season in women’s soccer, and the 6-0 loss was just one of many. So when Milwaukee hosted Cleveland State on Saturday night in the conference quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament, the fans weren’t worried. Unlike the last meeting between the two teams, the ending was too close for comfort, as Milwaukee won by a score of 1-0.

The one goal was scored in the 15th minute by Panther junior Beth Steuer, who cut into the box past a defender and walloped the ball past Vikings keeper Kelly Zinkiewich for the eventual game winner.

Zinkiewich had an Erin Kane-esque night for the Vikings, saving 10 shots on goal and allowing only one to Steuer. She performed exceptionally well considering she allowed four goals just two weeks ago in a blowout.

Head coach Michael Moynihan was pleased to get the victory, but wasn’t so high on their offensive execution.

“To have 15 shots in the second half and only one on target is not going to be good enough down the road,” Moynihan said. “We need to do a better job. In the first half, I thought we had some very good scoring opportunities, but just did not strike the ball well. If we finish those, I think it is an entirely different game.”

Milwaukee goalkeeper Erin Kane spent the night mostly as a spectator. Credit the defense, because Kane didn’t have to make a single save. It was only the fourth time in school history that the Panthers didn’t allow a single goal. The last time was exactly two years ago, Nov. 3, 2005 against the same team, Cleveland State.

Milwaukee goes on to face Butler for the eleventh time in the conference tournament. Game time is to be decided, but it will either be at 5 p.m. on Friday or immediately following that match. It will be the second-straight match in which they will play a team they already routed earlier in the season, as the Panthers took a 5-1 victory from the Bulldogs on Sept. 28. The conference championship game will be Sunday at noon, when UWM will play either number two Loyola, who they beat 2-1 on Oct. 16, or number three Wright State, who the Panthers defeated 2-0 on Oct. 21. All remaining games in the conference tournament will take place at Engelmann Field.

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