ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Milwaukee women's soccer team battled Oakland to a 0-0 draw behind a strong effort from goalkeeper Kendall Edwards Saturday afternoon at Oakland Soccer Field.
 
The Panthers (9-2-5, 6-0-3 Horizon League) out-shot the Golden Grizzlies (5-5-7, 3-1-5 Horizon League) by a count of 11-2 on the day and recorded 63 percent of the possession but were unable to find a goal in the road contest.
 
"Winning in the conference, especially on the road, is really hard," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "It was an interesting game. Oakland strategically put nine people behind the ball at all times, so we were always facing a lot of people trying to get through. And that is hard to break down and the stats kind of show it. They just made it hard on us, so credit to Oakland."
 
With the point they picked up in the standings, the team did earn an outright claim to its third consecutive Horizon League regular-season championship. Not only does it mark three in a row for the program, but also eight of the past nine and an incredible 21 crowns in the past 23 seasons.
 
"A tough game, 0-0 draw on the road," Boyd reflected. "The good news for us is that we have won the conference outright. It's no longer potentially shared so we are happy about that and celebrate our championship a little bit and prepare for our final game against Green Bay at home."
 
Milwaukee came out the aggressor, getting a shot off a turnover from Lainey Higgins just 93 seconds into the match that whistled over the crossbar.
 
Kat Van Booven blasted a volley off a loose ball in the 14^th minute, but a strong save by the OU keeper kept the game scoreless.
 
The 0-0 scoreline at intermission nearly changed immediately into the second half. A quick foul set Higgins up with a free kick from just inside the midfield circle. Her service to the post was chipped into the back of the net at the 45:12 mark by Kayla Rollins, but the score was waved off because of a foul call in the goal box.
 
"We were much better in the second breaking it down, but just never got the chances we wanted," Boyd said. "I can't say never – we actually scored a goal in the first few minutes of the second half, but the play was called back by a foul on the play."
 
Edwards then made the play of the day just a few minutes later, coming up with back-to-back saves on a counterattack by the Golden Grizzlies. She sent the first one away and then somehow reacted by knocking the second one over the endline a split-second later.
 
"Big-time save by Kendall," Boyd said. "They did get a counter in the second half and got a chance – Kendall made a save on the first one and it bounced loose to another player and somehow – and I have no idea how she did it – but she blocked that ball wide of the goal. 'Player of the Match' for sure was Kendall today. She is far and away the best goalkeeper in this conference and it's not even close."
 
Van Booven was off target from distance in the 72^nd and Rollins tried for her 12^th of the season again in the 74^th minute, picking up a turnover in back, creating space, and nearly sneaking one into the upper-90.
 
From there, the last chance for MKE came on service into the box from Elizabeth Reece in the 89^th minute that was snatched before it could get to Rollins. OU's last chance let Edwards shine again, punching a cross away from danger in the closing seconds that looked like it was about to set up a goal at the back post that would have stolen it for Oakland.
 
For the game, Milwaukee did claim advantages of 11-2 in shots, with each team putting just a pair on goal. Van Booven finished with a team-best four shots and Edwards recorded those two saves for her sixth shutout of the season.
 
Up next, the conclusion of the regular season comes Wednesday, hosting Green Bay under the lights starting at 7 p.m.