The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s soccer team faced two different outcomes in back-to-back double overtime games. With a win against Butler, the Panthers advanced to the championship game against Loyola, but after double overtime and a shootout loss, the women’s hopes are holding strong at the possibility of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

In the first game against Butler, senior Pam Shipway did not seem rattled as she tied the game with an amazing header in the 80th minute.

Having senior leadership like Shipway helped the Panthers steal a win from the Bulldogs Friday night at Engelmann field. It was Shipway who tied the game and then junior Sarah Teegarden won the game on a golden goal in the 108th minute of double overtime, preventing the game from entering into a shootout.

Last time the Panthers squared off against the Bulldogs, the Panther attack was on full throttle, scoring five goals. As Butler and Milwaukee took the pitch in the Horizon League tournament, the match would become more of a defensive battle than the two teams’ last meeting.

Most of the action in this match took place in the second half. It was senior Amanda Winn with a corner in the 62nd minute that was sent into the box shot off the post and then saved by Butler goaltender Annalise Larkin.

With no scoring for the first half and much of the second, the game looked to end up a dramatic shootout. Late in the second half, the Bulldogs were able to take a 1-0 lead on a goal from Carrie Twyman in the 75th minute. That lead would not stand long as Shipway added her goal in the 80th minute.

As the match went into the first overtime, the Panthers had momentum on their side, scoring late in regulation time. The first overtime was controlled by the Panthers as they took two shots and kept the ball in Butler territory for much of it.

When the second overtime began, it looked as though the Panthers would keep the pressure on. However, early in the second overtime it was Butler going on the offensive, pressuring the Panthers with two shots. With 3:39 left in the second overtime, UWM junior Sarah Teegarden got the ball off a rebound in the box and fired it into the back of the net for a golden goal victory.

Teegarden was mobbed by her teammates as the bench came running down to the Butler goal to celebrate. As the Panthers huddled together bouncing up and down doing their usual victory chant, “glory glory hallelujah,” fans were still soaking in the dramatic finish they had just witnessed. The win moved the Panthers into the championship game on Sunday against Loyola University at Engelmann Field.

It was a different outcome as the Panthers squared off against Loyola in the championship on Sunday afternoon. The first half went scoreless, and as the Panthers came out of the break they looked to take the game with two goals in under four minutes. Sarah Talbert notched her second goal of the season on an assist by Nicole Hirsch, then Hirsch took a deflection and netted it for her first goal of the season.

The Ramblers wouldn’t give up, cutting the lead down to just one in the 77th minute off a diagonal ball. They would later tie the game in the 82nd minute on a free kick header. At the end of regulation, the squads were tied at two and heading into overtime.

Both overtimes went scoreless, sending the match into a shootout. The Panthers went down in the shootout early after missing their first shot, but it was all even after Erin Kane stopped a shot by Jackie Vera to keep the shootout score at 2-2. After five consecutive stops by both goalkeepers, the game-winning goal came from Loyola’s Laura Trevillian, sending the Ramblers to the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid.

The Panthers chance at making an NCAA Tournament run is not over, the Selection Show for the tournament will take place on Monday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. on ESPNews when UWM will hope to be among the teams earning an at-large bid.

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