CANONSBURG, Pa. – The Milwaukee women's soccer team scored four goals in the first 18 minutes on its way to a convincing 5-1 victory over Robert Morris in the 2021 season opener Wednesday at Southpointe Fieldhouse.
The Panthers (1-0) got a seventh-minute goal from
Mackenzie Schill and were never threatened by the Colonials (0-1), stacking up a commanding 5-0 lead before RMU found a way to break up the shutout late.
The victory is MKE's eighth-straight in a league opener and also extends a larger streak as well. The Panthers are now unbeaten in 34 consecutive games (31-0-3) in regular-season Horizon League play.
Schill added a second goal in the 18
th minute and finished the afternoon with a team-high five shots, four of which were on goal.
"It was definitely exciting to be back on the field with the team in a competitive environment," head coach
Troy Fabiano said. "We were able to get off to a fast start by getting an early goal. I was very pleased with the performance after a layoff of almost 450 days."
Fabiano was also taking on his own alma mater, where he was named Northeast Conference Player of the Year and finished 10th in the nation in scoring as a senior in 1993 at Robert Morris.
Taylor Hattori gave MKE the 2-0 lead at the 16:22 mark off an assist from
Taylor Tabbert before Schill followed with her second, just 76 seconds later, assisted by
Haley Johnson
Johnson would also find the back of the net in the 19
th minute to make it 4-0 at halftime, capping a whirlwind of three MKE goals in exactly two minutes of time off the clock (16:22/17:38/18:22).
Jelena Sever got in on the scoring in the 77
th minute, netting her first of the year on a goal assisted by
Kat Van Booven.
Goalkeeper
Elaina LaMacchia commanded the first 76:43 in scoreless fashion, recording a pair of saves to pick up the victory in net.
Allie Strottman played the final 13:17 for Milwaukee.
Despite not having played a real game in close to 450 days, the Panthers offense was clicking quickly to the tally of 23-to-7 in shots and 7-to-2 in corner kicks on the day. A total of 17 of the 23 shots were on target, with 12 RMU saves keeping the score from getting more lopsided.
Up next, the Panthers are scheduled to host Purdue Fort Wayne in their home opener Feb. 10. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
