MILWAUKEE – On a chaotic, weather-filled afternoon, Tournament MVP Haley Johnson scored the only goal of the contest and Kendall Edwards recorded her sixth shutout of the season to send the Milwaukee women's soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Youngstown State Saturday at Engelmann Stadium in the Horizon league Tournament Championship.
 
The Panthers (12-3-3) held off a final push by the upstart Penguins (9-8-3), who came in as the No. 5 seed and had already defeated seeds No. 4 and No. 2 in the first two rounds, to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season and 16^th time in program history. It continues an incredible recent run for the program, a five-year stretch in which the team has posted an impressive win-loss record of 73-11-6 for an .844 winning percentage.
 
"Credit to Youngstown State," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "They were the five seed and came in on a run. They beat the four seed, they beat the two seed, and they took us to the wire. That is quality coaching and just a really good team in the way they played. So, hat's off to them as well."
 
With a wind advisory in place and the forecast calling for storms and wind gusts to as high as 50 mph, the start of the game was delayed 30 minutes after a line of weather went directly through the UWM campus area, sending the teams and fans running for cover and equipment and soccer balls scattered across the field.
 
"What was funny is this was also the opponent that when we went there (a 1-1 draw back on Sept. 25-26), we got shut down 30 minutes in and had to stop the game until the next day. So it just seems like this fall, us and Youngstown were going to be weather-challenged. In the warm-up today, we had a massive gust come through and we had to get everybody off the field quickly – it was crazy."
 
Once the game actually started, the MKE offense wasted little time in making a statement, seeing Lainey Higgins nearly score a goal at the 61-second mark, only to see it clang off the left post and head back into play.
 
"As a coach, you are concerned … 'are you going to be ready to go? … are we re-focused at the start?'," Boyd commented on the hectic start to the day. "To hit the post to start out the game set the tone pretty well for us."
 
Natalie Auble followed that at the 19:07 mark with one off the crossbar, part of a 12-2 advantage in shots in the first half with the wind at their backs.
 
The only goal came in the 24^th minute. YSU had a throw-in from their defensive side that Johnson disrupted. The ball went to Senya Meurer and then to Clara Broecker for two quick touches before being sent back to Johnson near midfield.
 
Johnson then sent a long shot on goal, bending in the wind before taking a high bounce up-and-over the Penguin keeper, who could only get a hand on the ball before sneaking past and finding the back of the net for Johnson's eighth goal of the season.
 
"The difficult part of today is that a lot of the soccer disappeared," Boyd said, about the weather. "You are just competing for air balls and loose balls and challenges and you just roll up your sleeves and battle and deal with the elements. We got one in the first half when we had the wind and were on top of them the entire half. I was concerned going into half that we only had one goal. I felt like we needed to get more. I felt like the wind was worse in the second half and just stayed in our faces. We created some really good chances but didn't put them away."
 
The defense did the rest, with Edwards coming through with the play of the game in the 63^rd minute. She was credited with three saves on the afternoon, saving the day with a full-out diving stop of a 20-yard YSU free kick that looked headed for the net. Edwards got just enough of the attempt to push it wide and protect that 1-0 lead.
 
"The huge moment of the game was the save that Kendall made on the set piece," Boyd said. "You can't say that won the game for us, but it saved the game for us and that is what good keepers do for you. They make sure you stay in it and that is where Kendall's big moment was today."
 
Shots were even in the second half at 6-6 and Youngstown State created more chances than in the opening frame. A foul with 29 seconds left in the match set up one final threat to extend the game to overtime. With the YSU keeper coming up to start the play, the Milwaukee defense did its job, forcing a harmless attempt that led to a goal kick and a chance to run out the clock and start the celebration on the field.
 
In the end, the MKE offense posted advantages of 18-8 in shots, 7-3 in shots on goal, and 4-1 in corner kicks. Auble led the way with seven shots; four other players finished the day with two.
 
Johnson was named Horizon League Tournament Most Valuable Player in the postgame ceremony, adding a pair of goals in the semifinal win Thursday to her game-winner today.
 
She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Edwards, Meurer, and Higgins.
 
With the Horizon League Tournament title under its belt, the Panthers are advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in program history. First-round action will take place November 11-13. The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Selection Show will air this Monday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. on NCAA.com. The team will find out its opponent and where it is headed at that time.
 
"It's pretty incredible what this group managed from what we saw on the field last spring," Boyd said. "We were so raw and behind in what we were trying to do. Now, they know exactly how we are trying to play and we are fully confident in playing. Credit to this squad. We deserved to win today and we did. It's all in their character and coachability that allowed it to happen."
 
All-Tournament Team
Haley Johnson, Milwaukee (MVP)
Kendall Edwards, Milwaukee
Lainey Higgins, Milwaukee
Senya Meurer, Milwaukee
Taylor Berry, Youngstown State
Brooklynn Kirkpatrick, Youngstown State
Abriana Rondin, Youngstown State
Ashton Kudlo, IUPUI
Maya Turner, IUPUI
Gabrielle Fanning, Purdue Fort Wayne
Isabelle Wissel, Purdue Fort Wayne