CARY, N.C. – McKenna Stratton scored in the 77^th minute and Elaina LaMacchia posted her sixth shutout of the season to lead the Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Elon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Wednesday at WakeMed Soccer Park.
 
"At this point in the season, you are advancing and it feels great," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "I think as the game progressed – I think we struggled a little bit in the first 15 minutes – we settled in. I think when we made substitutions, we really settled things down and the subs gave us a burst. And then in the second half, they (Elon) cleared a couple off the line, the goalkeeper makes a couple of saves, and you were wondering 'when is it going to come?' and we just stayed with it."
 
The Panthers (9-1-1) turned up the intensity in the second half against the Phoenix (6-4-0), finally breaking through as the game hit the latter stages. The defense held tough the rest of the way, needing to defend one final corner kick as the horn sounded to advance with the victory.
 
"The defense was organized, kept people in front of us … that has been our strength." Fabiano said. "Elon is a good team. I think we were able to limit their opportunities going forward and really focused on eliminating their set pieces. We are advancing and it's a great opportunity for our program."
 
The goal came on Stratton's second effort, set up by Julia Barajas. Barajas dribbled through traffic and toe-poked a shot on goal from the top of the 18. Stratton and the Elon goalie arrived at the same time, with Stratton putting home the rebound left-footed to set off the celebration at the 76:40 mark, her first goal of the season.
 
It was a culmination of pressure and opportunities for Milwaukee, allowing the offense to finally put one away. And it started early in the second half, with Mackenzie Schill forcing tough saves on a breakaway in the 52^nd minute and then on a free kick just 70 seconds later.
 
Maggy Henschler was next, coming through with back-to-back shots off a corner kick in the 56^th minute, seeing the second one cleared off line by back line of defense.
 
The first half was a defensive battle, with the shot count ending, 4-3, in MKE's favor over the first 45 minutes. The Panthers were unable to record a shot until the 31^st minute from Stratton, followed shortly after by the first forced save on an attempt from Morgan Koerber.
 
Stratton couldn't quite get on the end of a cross from Taylor Hattori in the 38^th minute, while Barajas nearly broke the scoreless deadlock in the 43^rd minute. She took a pass from Rachel Phillpotts at the top of the box, turned and fired inches wide of the right post. LaMacchia needed only one save prior to the break, with the closest Elon chance coming with a shot off the left post in the 31^st minute. She finished with just that one for the day.
 
For the game, Milwaukee finished with advantage of 10-to-6 in shots and 6-to-1 in shots on goal, while the Phoenix had the 6-to-5 edge in corner kicks. Stratton led the way with three shots, while Barajas had a pair and picked up the assist on the game-winner.
 
The Panthers advance to play top-seeded Florida State Saturday, May 1. The game will take place at WakeMed Soccer Park (Field 4), set for an 11 a.m. CST kickoff. Today marks the fourth time in program history that the Panthers have advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The team claimed a victory over Illinois State in 2011, while also advancing in penalty-kick shootouts following scoreless draws in 2005 and 2006.