The Panthers faced the UW-Eau Claire BluGolds in their final Tier I League match of the Fall 2007 Season. UW-Eau Claire has one of the longest traditions of success in Wisconsin Collegiate Women's Rugby, so UWEC was not a team the Panthers could afford to take lightly.

However, in talks with UW-Eau Claire coach Erin "Rosie" Rosenberger, the Eau Claire Women had sustained a lot of season ending injuries over the course of the Fall Season. As such they would be playing their best side, albeit comprised of much newer players. However, this by no means suggested the the Eau Claire players would take the match lightly.

As such, prior to the match the coaches and referee agreed to unlimited substitution. This afforded both teams the opportunity to rest some players and develop others to their potential.

As the match kicked off on the unseasonably hot 87° day (a record high), the Panther forwards quickly established control of possession and began to move the ball up field through forward pick-and-drive and ball-in-hand rugby. At 1:05 in the match, scrumhalf Caila Ney picked the ball from the base of the ruck and scampered across the goal line for a try.

On the restart, the Panthers re-established control of the ball and moved up field on a combination of forward ball-in-hand and back line attack. At 3:16 Open Wing Brittany Biedenbender took the ball wide around the BluGold defense to touch down for a try.

After the restart and a bit of transition in possession, the Panthers again attacked toward goal when Caila Ney took the ball in the loose to touch down for her second try at 9:11. Tina Gill's conversion attempt found its mark at 10:02, and the Panthers lead increased to 17-0.

At this point the UW-Milwaukee Coaching staff began to substitute in their supporting cast, all of whom would be in place by the end of the half.

UW-Milwaukee again showed strong ball control as they moved the ball steadily towards the goal line At 15:36 fullback Amanda Verhaegen took the ball wide from a BluGold clearing kick and rounded the defense for a try. Tina Gill's conversion attempt at 16:30 was good and the Panther lead moved to 24-0.

Keeping the pressure high, the Panthers took the restart and controlled pace, possession and position. At 19:50 scrumhalf Caila Ney touched down for her third and final try of the day, increasing the Panther lead to 29-0.

The Panthers had firm control of the match, and continued to control the ball at the breakdown. However, the unexpected heat and humidity of the day began to take a mental toll on the Panthers as they began to hit the breakdown with high body position and failed more times than not to properly execute their long-body posts. The scrappy play of the Panthers kept them in control of the ball, and the Panthers put in tries again at 24:09 (Lindsey Fickau - Inside Center) and 28:54 (Erica Murillo - Tight Head Prop). The Panther lead stayed at 39-0 until the final seconds of the half.

As the Panthers had substituted all available reserves by the 25th minute, the newer players had their first chance to work as a group under first-side match pressure. After about 10 minutes of adapting to the increased pace and more aggressive defense, it was clear that the newest members of the Lady Panthers were more than capable of handling themselves on the field.

So, as the half moved into injury time, Carissa Knox - substitute outside center for Kendra Johnson - took the ball through two Eau Claire defenders and touched down for her first try of the season. As the half-time whistle blew, the Panthers lead 44-0.

The second half saw the BluGolds take the field with renewed enthusiasm. Within the first minute, the BluGolds made a break blind against the Panther defense. Substitute fullback Jenny Welch covered the field to put a simply brilliant hit on the Eau Claire ball carrier to save the sure try. However the Panther defense failed to drop in support of their fullback's valiant effort, and the Eau Claire support picked the ball from the tackle and crossed the goal line at 41:31 for their first try. The Eau Claire conversion at 42:32 was good, and the BluGolds had cut the Panther lead to 44-7.

The Panthers stiffened their resolve, and held the BluGolds at bay for several more minutes until the Blugolds again made a break going into the 48th minute. Fullback Jenny Welch again made a great try-saving tackle, but didn't have the defensive cover to keep the BluGolds at bay. As before, the Eau Claire support runners took the ball and crossed the goal line at 48:20 for their second and last try of the day. The BluGold conversion at 49:30 was good, and the Panther lead had been cut to 44-14.

After the second UWEC try, the new Panther players decided they had had about enough. With more aggressive rucking, tackling and defensive poaching, the Panthers ended the BluGold's scoring for the day. Although it took a bit for the Panthers to find their offensive rhythm, every single player out there had matured considerably.

So it was at 62:00 that substitute wing Lia Arntsen took the ball wide past the BluGolds and touched down for her first try of the season, increasing the Panther lead to 49-14. And 12 minutes later, following in support of Lindsey Fickau, Lia Arntsen picked the ball from the tackle and crossed the goal line at 74:34 for her second try. This capped the Panther lead at 54-14, and that's where things stayed for the remainder of the game.

Incredible congratulations are in order for the Lady Panthers (new and returning). Everyone took a big step in maturity and one more step towards the playoffs!

Lady Panther Lineup:
1) Julia Thorne
2) Theresa Trott
3) Amy Mayer
4) Cori Jensen
5) Katy Martello
6) Meghan Hausman
7) Amber Faught
8) Lara Yuhas
9) Caila Ney - 15 (tries @ 1:05, 9:11 and 19:50)
10) Tina Gill - 4 (conversions @ 10:02 and 16:30)
11) Brianne Jones
12) Lindsey Fickau - 5 (try @ 24:09)
13) Kendra Johnson
14) Brittany Biedenbender - 5 (try @ 3:16)
15) Amanda Verhaegen - 5 (try @ 15:36)
Reserves:
Erica Murillo (Prop) - 5 (try @ 28:54)
Carissa Knox (Outside Center) - 5 (try @ 40:56)
Lia Arntsen (Wing) - 10 (tries @ 62:00 and 74:34)
Anna Nusslock (Prop)
Jenny Welch (Fullback)
Kristen Baneck (Wing)
Jessica Winkowski (Flanker, Inside Center)
Nacia Schreiner (Lock)
Kara Knox (Scrumhalf)
Nikki Russell (Prop, Flanker)
Aimee Uher (Flanker, Lock)