Live from the bus to Notre Dame...

Hello Panthers!

BIG SHOUT OUT TO CAROLE FORBES!!!!! For bringing us cookies! They are currently being devoured and they are delish! Also, we regrettably forgot to give a shout out to Deb Kness for the awesomest Halloween treat bags ever!!!!

This past weekend was the Horizon League Tournament and we were victorious in our quest for ye olde cup of the Horizon Empire! Our first challenger was of the Loyola kingdom (which is a member of the Horizon Empire). Our victory was captured by young Lady Dorre, when she slipped the goblet passed thine gatekeeper. Two moons passed and our next challenger was the knights of Wright State. History doth repeated itself when Lady Dorre once again got the goblet pass their gatekeeper.

The Kingdom of Milwaukee rejoiced with a feast of virgin lamb and spirits (non-alcoholic of course). We were paraded around the kingdom in chariots and were each granted the coveted title of Duchess. Lady Dorre was given also granted two goats and several nuggets of gold for her MVP (we couldn’t come up with a medieval equivalent).

As we were writing this scroll from our tower Lady Stern and Lady Kaul are rapping on our chamber door. Doth be yelling “Swag long board swaggy beanie swag flannel swag scarf swagger leggings swag”. The scriptures of our kingdom have been written such that swag is outlawed. We are writing to Lady Stern and Lady Kaul to beg that all swag hence forth be ceased.

For the first round of the NCAA tournament we play Notre Dame this Friday at 7pm at Notre Dame. We are really excited to play Notre Dame and looking forward to a good game!

Go Panthers!

Helen & Demi

Drama and conspiracy in Pantherland...

Hello Panther Fans!

We are a little upset at our readers right now because we had specifically requested either cookies or a check after our Senior Night and were presented with neither. We find this extremely disappointing after all the intimacies that we have shared about our season. Fortunately our teammates picked up the slack in a MAJOR way!

Our Senior Night began with our team decorating the locker room for us and making each of us a big poster that everyone signed. As if that wasn’t enough, we each got a goodie bag that all the girls loaded with candy and presents and cards. It was very touching to receive all of these thoughtful gifts. The coaches also gave us each an awesome framed photo and considerate card. As if that wasn’t enough, the senior parents bought each of us a sick nasty picture banner. To say the night was incredible is an understatement.

This game was our last regular season home game and it was for the Horizon League regular season title and hosting duties for the tournament. We were playing a tough Cleveland State team who was desperate for a win. Unfortunately for Cleveland State, there was no way we were going to lose this game. We ended with a 5-0 win, which was exactly the exclamation point we were looking for to end our regular season. Fellow senior Sammy Vovos got the scoring started early off a great finish from a Krissy Dorre cross. Then Krissy scored the next two goals in what can only be described as pure selfishness. The first goal, Demi was wide open on the back post for an easy tap in goal but instead Krissy had to beat three defenders and score an improbable goal. Needless to say Demi was a little hurt because it would have been a great ending to her senior night. Her next goal was extremely controversial because Helen was about to score when Krissy knocked her off the ball, in what would have been a PK if not for the fact that we were on the same team. She then scored and of course took all the credit. Again it would have been a great ending to Helen’s senior night, but I guess Krissy just couldn’t handle having the whole night be just about the seniors. The next goal was off a great 1v1 move and shot by Kelsey Holbert. The final goal was scored by Sara “I love Milwaukee” Zawacki [ed. note: If you pronounce Sara's last name right, that totally rhymes.] off a good battle in the box.

So, we earned our 13th straight Horizon League title and we are now hosting the Horizon League Tournament this coming weekend! Overall, it was a fantastic night in which we would like sincerely thank everyone who was a part of it and has made these last 4 years an unbelievable experience!

The Horizon League gave out their annual post season awards this week, with the Panthers being well represented! Kelsey Holbert, Kelly Lewers, and Helen Steinhauser all made first-team all-league. Krissy Dorre and Amy Kaufung made second-team all-league. Congrats to all the recipients, all are well deserved, but without the whole team none of these awards are possible!

The Horizon League gave out another award to which the credibly and integrity of an athlete is being questioned. Sadly this involves someone who may or may not being currently writing this blog. Since Helen’s lawyers have advised her to not discuss this topic at this time, I, Demi Price, will finish this blog post solo. The Horizon League gave its Player of the Year award to Helen and when looking at past winners of this once “prestigious” award the first thing that popped into everyone’s mind was “there must be some mistake.” Not that Helen hasn’t had a great year, but in comparing her with past winners things don’t add up. For instance Sarah Hagen, who won the award the last three years, had 93 career goals and Cynthia Morote-Ariza, who won the award in '07 and '08, had 45 career goals. Helen has 10 career goals. Also Hagen and Morote-Ariza had numerous national team appearances. Helen never even made the regional ODP team. Obviously this has brought up major concern with the selection process for the award. The Horizon League has launched an official investigation into this matter. As an insider on this issue I will only say I believe in innocent until proven guilty, but Helen did cook dinner for all the Horizon League coaches at our house last Thursday.

Helen is now rejoining us in the blog and we both hope to see everyone at our semifinal game this Friday at 7 pm vs. Loyola at Engelmann Stadium. We would love a big crowd and are really looking forward to finishing this season right with a Horizon League tourney win!

Go Panthers!

Helen & Demi

Back Together...

Hello Panther Fans!

We are back to joint blog posts because we,  as they say, kissed and made up. We agreed we were both in the wrong, but will agree to disagree on what actually happened on Helen’s overtime winning goal.

So, Green Bay was a wet one. We started off the weekend with a trip up to Green Bay and on the way we stopped at an alum’s house for a pre-game meal. Linda Vance had a great spread and some Panther fans waiting for us at her house. The food was so good that Chad our trainer had to warn us not to over-eat before the game. To say it poured during the entire game was an understatement. It literally dumped gallons of water on us the entire game.

Side Note: Demi’s parents and grandparents arrived 45 minutes before game time in a motor home that they drove all the way from Billings, Mt., with stops in Saskatchewan to pick up the "g-rents."

Back to the game, Krissy had 2 first half goals to give us the eventual 2-1 win, putting us in a tie for first place of the Horizon League!

On Saturday, some Panthers traveled to Chicago to watch the US Women’s National Team take on Germany at Toyota park. These happen to be Helen’s two favorite teams, so she was very excited. It was an awesome game and she even got to see Panther alums Keara Thompson and Kenzie Gillispie.

Sunday we took on the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State. They were a quality opponent that we were excited to play. The game was a very physical battle with a lot of fouls called on both teams. The game ended 1-3, but the scored was not indicative oh how we felt that we played. We fought the entire 90 minutes, which paid off when Sammy Vovos sacrificed her body to give us a goal in the 78th minute. Even though it didn’t end how we would have liked, we felt good about how we matched up with them.

Sunday’s game was also our annual Pink Out game and Parents Day. We wore sweet pink jerseys that were auctioned off during the game (a.k.a. all of our parents bought our jerseys.) This was a great way to raise awareness and money for a great cause. We also honored our parents on Sunday for all their support and dedication to our team throughout the year. We truly have the most amazing group of parents and just wanted to say thanks again to all of you, this team wouldn’t function without each and every parent helping out.

Friday will our last regular season home game against Cleveland State at 7 p.m. It is also our Senior Night WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH. This is going to be Helen and Demi’s last regular season home game and we would love all of our fans to come out and support us! It is also a big game for the panthers because if we win then we win a Horizon League!

If you are a true fan of Helen and Demi’s you will bake them cookies and or write a check (per NCAA rules) and present them to us after the game!

Go Panthers!

Helen & Demi

Two sides of the same coin... TAILS

Hello Panther Fans!

This is Demi, and I wanted to write my own blog post this week. Helen’s really been acting differently since she scored 2 goals. She even asked me to call her “Apple” the other day, to which I refused. So I wanted to tell you about our games this past week. We had a great team win in Valpo. Helen scored in the first 5 minutes off a great lay off from Kelly. Our backline held strong and kept Valpo out of the goal the rest of the game.

Our next game was another great team performance with everyone pitching in to get the W. Kelsey started off the scoring early in the half off a great shot past their keeper. Loyola responded in the second half with a goal and so we headed to overtime. We really battled the whole game and never stopped believing in each other, which eventually paid off when Helen ended the game off a nice low shot inside the 18-yard box. This was truly a team win that each girl on our team earned. Overall 2 great wins for the Panthers!

We play next at Green Bay this Friday! Also, our Pink Out game is this Sunday at home at 1 p.m. Hope to see all the fans there!

Go Panthers!

Demi

Two sides of the same coin... HEADS

Hello Panther Fans!

It is just Helen writing to you right now because Demi is embarrassed about how poor she did these past few games compared to me.

So lets get to it: I had 2 consecutive game winning goals.

The first came at a 1-0 win over Valpo. Where I scored in the first 5 minutes to give us the win. The magic started when Kelly Lewers drove endline and played and an average ball back to me and I just flew past Valpo and hit a brilliant strike lower left corner. Exactly how I planned it happening 5 seconds before it did. It should also be noted that this is where I scored my first career goal... just thought you should know. The rest of the team played pretty good and we won 1-0.

Then for what is now being called the "Goal of the Century"... I scored the game-ending-double-overtime-bone-crushing-God-on-Earth-corn-muffin-good goal.

Now for the background on this incredible goal: Kelsey Holbert scored our first goal to put us up 1-0 early in the game, but Loyola scored in the second half to tie the game. So we went into overtime with the entire team looking to me for guidance and excellence and oh Boy did I deliver. With literally 24 seconds left I scored the much talked about goal and, from what I remember, it was an upper 90 bomb from half field (the readers should note that there has been some discrepancies in this recollection of my "puppy on Christmas morning" goal, but what I just told you is 100% true). All of my fans rushed the field and put me on their shoulders and I am pretty sure I heard them chanting “Long live Queen Helen.” They carried me all the way to Qdoba and everyone bought me a celebratory burrito. It should be noted that Demi refused to kiss my goal scoring foot after the game, so we are in a little bit of a fight hence the separate blog posts. I can basically guarantee another spectacular performance at our next game which is this Friday at Green Bay! But for those of you who can’t wait till then I will be signing framed headshots in the union tomorrow from 11-2 for anyone who wants to stop by!

Thanks so much for all the support I know I truly deserve it! Also Happy Birthday Mom, my birthday present to you was my 2 goals, your welcome! Love you! :)

Go Panthers!

Helen

Long, crazy trip...

Hello Panther Fans!

A lot has happened since our last post!

We had a devastating loss to Wright State in the 110th minute. The game was tied 0-0 going into the second over time and Wight State scored off a corner in the last 5 seconds. This loss hurt a lot and was not how we were hoping to start conference. But as always we continued to practice and focused on our next game.

We then embarked on our longest road trip of the year. We left for Detroit on Wednesday morning and arrived 6 hours later. Our hotel was basically a resort with a night club/arcade/billiards/bar/fitness center/swimming pool all in the courtyard. We were able to put our feet in the hot tub for a little bit which was a treat because we never get to do that! Since Helen lives in near by Ann Arbor her parents came to the hotel for a bit and Demi’s dad flew in for the trip as well. Our families went to the hotel restaurant, the traveling fork and we each got big ice cream sundae!!!

The next day we played Detroit and came away with a 2-0 victory! Kelly Lewers scored the first goal off a great flick from Krissy and Kelsey Holbert scored the second goal off a nice slip pass from Kelly. The back line was solid the whole game with Jamie Forbes coming up with some huge saves!

After the game a bunch of Panthers came back to Helen’s house to see all the animals. For those who don’t know Helen lives on a small family farm with pigs, chickens, and cows. There were brand new baby pigs and calves that were extremely cute! Everyone had a great time!

The next day we left for Cleveland were we stayed at the nationally ranked hospital the Cleveland Clinic! Just kidding, but not really. We stayed at a hotel that was part of the hospital. The bathroom of the hotel was unbelievably exquisite. There was a bathtub as well as a shower and even a telephone by the toilet. The Zen of the bathroom was superb! Later that night we went to Mia Bella in Little Italy and were pleasantly surprise by quaint the area was! We both got the gnocchi and it was amazing! However there was a clear discrepancy in portion size, as Helen’s plate had way more food on it. After dinner we both went back to our hotel rooms and talked to each other on the toilet phones, only Helen was actually going to the bathroom during the conversation.

We woke up bright and early to play Youngstown State at noon. We went down early in the first half 1-0 and we knew that we were going to have to work extra hard to get out of this. They got another goal midway through the second half. But we were able to get a goal back when Krissy ran down an errant back pass to the keeper and was able to poke it in the goal, great hustle by Krissy. Unfortunately we unable to get an equalizer and lost 1-2. Then we began our 9-hour bus ride home, big thanks to Chicago for all the traffic jams.

Now we rate our roommates:
- Helen roomed with Emily Scott in Detroit and gives her an A+ because she showed me her dance to Rihannas new single.
- Then Helen roomed with Krissy who also gets an A+ because she also likes mystery diagnosis and she watched a bunch of episodes with me.
- Demi roomed with Sky in Detroit and gives her an A+ because she always left the door open for her.
- Then Demi roomed with Kelsey Holbet and she gives her a B+ because she left her abruptly when her boyfriend showed up, but she did turn on the AC when it got weirdly hot in the room.

Shout out to the Zawackis for the treat bags at Detroit, the muffins were delicious and to the Steinhausers for the treat bags at Youngstown, the puzzle was very fun and hard.

Next we take on Valpo and are looking to get back on the winning track!

Go Panthers!

Helen &Demi

NOTE: Ice Cream Sundae > Freeze Pops...

One week ago today we took on UW-Madison under the lights of Englemann Stadium. We unfortunately lost 2-1 in overtime, but we felt it was a step in the right direction as far as our shape and team mentality. Our goal came from super senior Sammy Vovos, who quite literally ran off the bench, on to the field and headed the ball in the goal with out stopping. We had a great student section and overall crowd at the game to make for an electric atmosphere. We really appreciate the fans for coming out and supporting your Panthers!

Our next match was against Iowa State, so we left early Saturday morning for the beautiful trip to Ames, Iowa! The highlight of our Saturday was getting ice cream after dinner! We would like to take this opportunity to call out Mel Coderre for ordering two freeze pops when she could have ordered ice cream, like the rest of us normal folk. The lovely ladies who we overwhelmed with our vast number of orders accidently made an extra chocolate dirty worm (basically a sundae with gummy worms) that Demi and myself got to share on top our mint chocolate chip ice cream cones (perks of being a senior and not Mel Coderre), needless to say it was delicious!

The game didn’t go as planned, Iowa State got a very fortunate goal on a hail mary shot early in the first half. We settled down and created some scoring opportunities, but couldn’t get a goal before half. We talked about keeping the ball more and looking to play feet instead of so direct at halftime. We came out with a lot of pressure, but credit to Iowa State for not giving up. They eventually got another goal late in the second half after we had pushed up to try to get a goal back. We were not happy with our over all play in this game but did learn a lot.

As stated in the last blog we will be rating our roommates from the trips so here they are:
- Helen stayed with Steph Condon and she gives her an A++ because she was hanging out with her family the whole time so she got the room all to herself!
- Demi stayed with Kelsey K and she giver her an A+ because she found the best movies on TV to watch such as A League of Their Own and she also likes to sleep in a cold room!

Solid roomies for the weekend! Big Shout out to the Scotts for the treat bags on the way home, they were amazing!!!

Come out this Saturday at 3p.m. to cheer on your Panthers in their first Horizon League game of the season vs Wright Sate!!!

Go Panthers!

Helen & Demi

No soccer, plenty of games at Purdue...

Greeting Panther Fans!

Lots happened this past weekend even though there was actually no game played. We left for Purdue on Thursday morning and compared to last trip it was very uneventful. The day was beautiful and sunny and our team was in particularly high spirits, mostly Emily Scott because Rihanna won the VMA for best video…..she cried in her towel.

Since we are roommates back in Milwaukee we don’t room together on trips and so we have decided we are going to start rating who we room with on our trips. Helen roomed with Kelly Lewers and is giving her a 'B' because she never had her key and wasn’t in the room that much but she gets positive remarks for watching funny videos with her. Demi roomed with Amy Kauffung and she is giving her a 'A' because she didn’t shower all weekend, so she had the shower all to herself, and spent memorable moments laughing at Emily Scott’s reaction Rihanna winning.

The next morning we woke up to a wonderful continental breakfast provided by the hotel that included a waffle and omelet station. An incident occurred in which there was a poorly-constructed joke by none other than media god Kevin Conway that occurred in the waffle station line. The story starts out that it was Kevin, then Demi and then Helen in line. We were commenting on the delishesness of the Danishes and how good the waffles looked when all of a sudden Kevin turns to us and says “It’s neither a pea nor a nut” and waited for our response. Needless to say we were stunned and to this very moment still do not understand said “joke”. [editor's note: It was "Y'know a danish is neither a pea nor a nut," a play on the fascinating fact about peanuts and a non sequitur. Understandably, probably not the setting for absurdist humor. An error in judgement on my part. - kc]

The rest of the day was nice and sunny and we rested for our game. We got to the field at 5 to be ready to warm up at 6 and promptly at 5:50 the first of many lightning stirkes occurred. For all of our non-soccer readers for every lightning strike the game gets delayed 30 minutes. So, we started a team game of hang man in the locker room waiting for the okay to go out on the field. After 26 games of hangman we moved on to Pictionary. We now had organized into teams and the competition was palpable. More lightning strikes occurred and we soon moved on to Charades. Shout out to Morgan LaPlant for coming up with all the words and phrases we had to either draw or act out…..MVP of the game for sure. Soon there was tornado sirens going off and the field had accumulated at least 3 inches of rain on it. So by 8:00, the game was called, but more importantly our Charades/Pictionary game was tied 31-31. We solved this problem on the bus ride home with a classic breath-holding contest. The rules were that the last person holding their breath wins it all for their team and if you passed out it was an automatic victory. Demi’s team won but she was the first one out. Helen took an acceptable third place finish. Credit to Sammy Vovos for securing the victory for her team.

Thanks to all the parents and fans who came out even though we didn’t have a game! Big shout out to the Scott’s and Kauffung’s who made treat bags for our ride home!

We are hoping to reschedule this game sometime in the near future but in the mean time come out and support us this Wednesday vs UW-Madison!!! The game is 7 p.m. at Engelmann!

Go Panthers!

Helen & Demi

[editor's note: A peanut is actually a "legume." - kc]

A Loose Interpretation Of The Road Trip To Illinois...

Greetings Panther Fans!

We took our first road trip of the year to luxurious Champaign, Illinois. We started the trip with a 5-star cooler lunch spread, featuring an incredible view of I-94 from the always-favorite Oasis. We arrived at our hotel, if you could call a 50-story international resort a hotel. Then we left, in our 200-yard limousine, to go to practice. We were greeted outside the football fieldhouse, if you could call a 50,000-seat stadium a fieldhouse, by a bevy of albino doves (we each got to take one home more on that later). Then as a welcome gift Illinois had personally flown in world-renowned hockey superstar Patrick Kane to help us with our training session and offer support.

Many of you readers may not know but Helen and, as she affectionately calls him "Patty Watty," went to high school together (true story) and actually lived about five miles from each other. So it was a sort of homecoming of sorts for her. Pat greeted her with a huge embrace and they were so happy to rekindle their friendship.

Demi, a hockey-loving-maple syrup drinking-Calgarian, started weeping uncontrollably. Our trainer Chad was forced to immediately sedate her (totally legitimate sedation) as she lost control of all body functions and became clearly disoriented. Demi was unable to practice due to her condition, but was able to play in the game the next day due to a hearty bowl of cinnamon toasters (knock off brand).

After our training session Pat flew everyone in his jet the the miles to Olive Garden, if you could call a 7-star lounge bistro an Olive Garden, where everyone was treated to unlimited pasta, bread sticks and salad. After dinner Pat got in his plane and flew back to Chicago and we in our limo back to our “hotel,” where everyone was treated to their own private suite and complementary bubble bath, and that is how the best day of our lives came to an end.

We arrived to the field the next day knowing that Illinois was going to be a good test for us. Both teams came out battling, but unfortunately Illinois got on the board first. We went into half time down 0-1 on this very hot and humid day. The second half didn’t go as we hoped, giving up two more goals, but we did score a very nice goal as well. Kelsey Holbert drove end line and hit a nice cross to which Kelly Lewers put in the back of the net. While unhappy with the loss we were overall happy with the improvement in our team shape and possession.

A big shout our to Carol Forbes for making the team treat bags for the ride home, they were awesome!!!

P.S. All doves and alive and healthy except for Hannah Kaul’s, which due to unfortunate bath room incident is no longer with us.

Go Panthers!
Helen & Demi

Disclaimer: Our account of this trip is loosely based on real details.

Short and Sweet

This was a tough weekend for the Panthers. Two losses is not how we saw this weekend unfolding, but we learned a lot about what we have to work on. We realize that it is still early in the season and there is plenty of time to figure everything out.

On the plus side it is always nice to see all the support we have! Our fans came in great numbers against Marquette and sat through the pouring rain on Sunday as well! We really appreciate all the support!

We are looking forward to a good week of practice and will be back ready to take on Illinois this Saturday!

Go Panthers!
Helen & Demi

Intro to 2012...

Helen Steinhauser, blogger behind last season's "Notes from the Midfield" returns for a second year giving people a behind-the-scenes look at Milwaukee Women's Soccer. She will be joined by fellow senior, midfielder, roommate and BFF Demi Price. The pair get the season started with a video look at the important parts of preseason.

Back in 2012...

Notes from the Midfield will be back in 2012. Helen will once again be sharing her behind the scenes perspective... maybe with a special guest? Check back next week for the first installment. - kevin conway