We headed to Butler this weekend for the Horizon League Conference Tournament. This was a huge weekend because it was do or die, win or go home. The only way that we could go on to the NCAA Tournament was to win the conference tournament. It also turned out to be the perfect opportunity for some redemption against the two teams we lost to in regular season play.
First up was Wright State in the semi-finals on Friday. This was the second game in a row we played Wright State, losing 1-0 to them in our final regular season game. The loss was fresh in our minds and not something we wanted to repeat. We came out with a lot more energy in this game and took it to Wright State from the beginning. Apple got us on the board first when she finished a cross from Sperl in the 16th minute. Wright State cleared the ball off of a free kick but Sperl won it back and took it end line before sending a cross in to Apple who finished with her head. We didn’t let up and scored the second and final goal of the game in 25th minute. Sperl sent a great ball in the box off of a free kick that held up perfectly for Helen to volley into the net. We created numerous more chances that we didn’t quite convert but our two goals proved to be enough to send us to the finals on Sunday.
On Saturday we had training in the afternoon and then went to cheer on the volleyball team who were also playing at Butler this weekend. We got a little bit rowdy and were probably some of the most obnoxious fans the Butler parents had seen, but UWM won in four games and we’d like to think that we may have contributed just a little bit.
When Sunday finally arrived, we couldn’t have been more ready. The regular season loss against Butler had been especially disappointing because it was a home game and we were all really eager to make a huge statement. Without a doubt, we achieved that goal. We scored first in the 31st minute when the Butler goalie fumbled a ball in the box and Stern slotted it in. We went in to halftime with a 1-0 lead but came out for the second half and completely took control. We scored four more goals, two from Apple and one each from Meghan and Helen. The game ended 5-0 for Milwaukee; we were tournament champs for the third straight year!
Thanks to everyone who made the trip to Indianapolis to support us this weekend. Also thank you to the Hagen’s and Wandolowski's for this weekend’s treat bags.
After driving home Sunday following the game, we headed to Via on Downer Monday afternoon to watch the NCAA Tournament draw and to find out who and where we will be playing next weekend. We head across town to Marquette to play Wisconsin in the 1st round. The other two teams in our bracket are Marquette and Central Michigan. We have a week to prepare for a big state rivalry game and hopefully to make history and earn a spot in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time, with two wins.
