Oct. 23, 2013

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Kelly Lewers found the back of the net two times to help the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 2-0 win over Green Bay Wednesday evening at Engelmann Stadium.

Milwaukee (6-8-1, 4-1-0 Horizon) now moves into first place in the league standings with the win, while Green Bay falls to 4-7-4 overall and 1-4-0 in conference matches.

The win also marks number 300 in Milwaukee women's soccer program history.

"It was a fantastic effort by the women all the way through," Milwaukee head coach Greg Henschel said. "They created unbelievable chances from the first minute to the last. Hit a couple crossbars in the first half, hit a post in the second half but scored two really nice goals. It was a statement of the fight and effort that this team always puts forward to find those two goals. I'm really proud of them."

The Panthers came out the gates firing on all cylinders, with an offensive barrage in the game's early going. UWM tallied six shots in the first 11 minutes of play, but Kelsey Holbert and Lewers both hit the crossbar and Morgan LaPlant's shot was reigned in by Phoenix keeper Katy Pilarzyk.

Pilarzyk again made a great save to keep UWM off the board in the 40th minute, punching a Krissy Dorre blast over the cross bar for one of her three saves on the night.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee's defense was up to the task on the other end of the field, fending off numerous chances by GB and, despite the two teams combining for 19 shots in the first half, the game was still scoreless at intermission.

That quickly changed in the second half. Kelsey Holbert took a corner kick just 10 minutes in for Milwaukee that was sent toward the box. After an initial clearance by the Phoenix, Amy Kauffung launched the ball from the right wing and placed the ball right at the streaking Lewers who got a foot on the volley and perfectly chipped the keeper.

Milwaukee then added a second goal just six minutes later to give themselves some insurance room. Lewers carried the ball on the attack just inside the box and had her initial charge poked away but the clearance bounced right back to the feet of Lewers who knew what to do with it to make it 2-0.

"I don't think there was any doubt in what we were going to achieve tonight," Henschel said. "The halftime locker room was very positive and very focused on the task at hand. We just stayed the course and stayed focused on the task at hand and that was good to see.

"Kelly has just been fantastic this season. Krissy Dorre has been excellent. Our entire offense has been really strong throughout the year and we have really taken some big steps, even since last year. It was exciting to see Kelly continue to bring more of that consistency every match."

LaPlant nearly added another on the offensive night for the Panthers, but her shot in the 69th minute hit the left post and trickled out of bounds.

With the two-goal lead provided by the offense, Milwaukee's defense shut down Green Bay in the second half. GB registered just five shots after the break, with Paige Lincicum making three strong saves to record the shutout.

UWM outshot the Phoenix 20-12 on the night, and took seven corners to Green Bay's four. The foul count was nine on GB and seven called against the Panthers.

The win also was number 300 in program history, something Henschel said he and his team are honored to be a part of.

"We just talked about that in the locker room and I think the whole team feels a lot like the staff; we're just humbled to be a part of it, to be honest with you," Henschel said. "We're carrying the torch right now and we hope we get to keep carrying it, but there have been some fantastic names, people that I'm very proud to be associated with. From all the players that have been in this program to the previous coaches; the whole Moynihan family has had a huge part of this program and have been a huge part of getting to 300.

"There are other great names like Pete Knezic, he's been a fantastic part of Milwaukee soccer and he was the women's coach here for a time. Brian Tompkins is still in the game. It's humbling to be a part of those kinds of people and this kind of program. The Moynihans have really done a lot to bring this program to where it is and bring this facility to where it is. The team talked about it and we left with an effort to pursue (win number) 301 on Saturday and it's great to be a part of, there's no doubt about that."

Milwaukee returns home for its final regular season home contest of the year Saturday, welcoming Youngstown State to Engelmann Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m. for senior day.