Nov. 9, 2001

Final Stats

Athens, Ohio - Led by the clutch scoring of sophomore Danielle Berkemeier (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) and sound goalkeeping of junior Katie Karlander (Carmel, Ind./Syracuse), Miami's women's soccer team toppled third-seeded Eastern Michigan, 4-1, Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The RedHawks (13-6-1) will play in their third straight MAC championship game Sunday, Nov. 11 at noon against Central Michigan, which defeated Ohio 2-1 in four overtimes.

With the win, the RedHawks, the No. 2 seed, up their all-time mark in the MAC Tournament to a sparkling 7-0-1.

Miami got on the board first, when first-team all-MAC selection Danielle Altiero (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) took a crossing pass from Katie Milligan (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville) and headed it past Eagles keeper Nicki Allen at the 27:51 mark of the first half, giving the RedHawks a 1-0 lead they would take into the locker room.

Milligan picked up a goal of her own six minutes into the second half, as she nailed a shot past Allen from five yards out to put her team up 2-0. Less than a minute later, Eastern Michigan's Jessica Hupe, the MAC's second-leading scorer, answered right back, chipping a ball over Karlander's head to cut the deficit to 2-1. Hupe's goal ended Miami's 650-minute shutout streak.

Berkemeier then showed why she was named Thursday to the All-MAC First Team. After getting tackled in the goalie box, she scored on a penalty kick to give Miami a 3-1 lead and some much-needed breathing room. The Eagles (15-6-0) then tried to generate some extra offense by bringing Allen across midfield, but the plan backfired when Berkemeier broke past her and put in an empty-netter.

With her two goals, Berkemeier now has 98 career points, leaving her two points shy of becoming the fourth player in MAC history to reach the 100-point plateau.