MILWAUKEE – Goals from Lesley Kiesling and Maggy Henschler and another shutout from Elaina LaMacchia in goal sent the Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Oakland Saturday afternoon in the Horizon League Tournament Championship at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (18-1) got a goal in each half to put away the Golden Grizzlies (11-9-1), punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and 15^th time in program history. It has been an incredible run for the program, a four-year stretch in which the team has posted an impressive win-loss record of 60-7-3, an .879 winning percentage.
 
"I definitely want to thank the fans for the support and the great crowd that came out today to watch us play," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "It never gets old. What a lot of people don't understand is the success that they have had – and they continue to have – always comes against everybody's best shot. To run the table this year in the Horizon League, and host this, and still win this is huge for this group. It just shows the mentality of these players."
 
On a perfect fall afternoon for soccer, that great crowd turned out to support Milwaukee, taking control of the match with a goal in the 24^th minute. The start of the game was a bit choppy, with teams trying to get a feel for what was ahead.
 
"I don't know if it was nerves or just the excitement of being in the championship game," Fabiano said of the disjointed start to the day. "For most of our players, it's their fourth time around. But I felt like both sides were feeling each other out and trying to get possession and it was a little uneasy."
 
That changed at the 23:35 mark, when Henschler banged in the eventual game-winner. It came off a corner kick, with Jelena Sever getting the first attempt on it. Her shot was blocked and the ball came right to Henschler on the right wing, sending the ball back to the far post for her third of the season.
 
It stayed that way until well into the second half. Kiesling nearly came up with an insurance tally in the 68^th minute, seeing her snap-header off service from Mackenzie Schill pushed away inches from crossing the goal line at the post.
 
LaMacchia then played her role perfectly, punching away a ringing free kick at the 69:00 mark before also having to quickly push wide the rebound attempt and preserve that 1-0 advantage on what turned out to be Oakland's best two scoring opportunities of the afternoon.
 
"We've talked about it over the years, maybe she is not as busy as others, but she is a gamer and she showed up today," Fabiano said of LaMacchia.
 
Kiesling then took matters into her own hands, cementing Horizon League Tournament MVP honors for herself with a pretty goal in the 76^th minute. Shill started the threat, sending the ball ahead to Rafferty Kugler on the right sideline. Kugler flew down the pitch and sent a well-placed cross to Kiesling, one-timing the ball into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead and her 10^th goal of the campaign at the 75:09 mark.
 
"In the second half, we just wanted to keep them in front of us because of some of the success we had in Oakland with them trying to break us down [when the teams played two weeks ago]," Fabiano said. "Then we talked about hitting on the counter and got a great goal by Lesley to put it away."
 
A fairly even match on the scoresheet, both teams finished with 11 shots, with the Grizzlies the slim 5-4 edge in shots on frame. MKE forced five of the eight corners and possession was nearly split in half (52/48 OU). No Panther player had more than two shots on the day.
 
LaMacchia concluded the match with five saves, joining Kiesling on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. In addition to those two, Henschler and Rachel Phillpotts rounded out the Milwaukee representatives.
 
With the Horizon League Tournament title under its belt, the Panthers are advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in program history. First-round action will take place November 12-14. The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Selection Show will air this Monday, Nov. 8 at 3:30 p.m. on NCAA.com. The team will find out its opponent and where it is headed at that time.
 
All-Tournament Team
Lesley Kiesling, MKE (MVP)
Elaina LaMacchia, MKE
Maggy Henschler, MKE
Rachel Phillpotts, MKE
Sami Lopez, OAK
Sophie Wilsey, OAK
Kendra Zak, OAK
Savanna Hayes, GB
Emily Murphy, GB
Lydia Self, NKU
Megan Sullivan, NKU