FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Kayla Rollins recorded a hat trick to lead the way as the Milwaukee women's soccer team dispatched Purdue Fort Wayne by a final score of 5-0 Thursday at Hefner Soccer Complex.
 
The Panthers (8-2-2, 5-0 Horizon League) got a jumpstart when Rollins scored twice in the opening minutes and then poured it on in the second half against the Mastodons (5-5-4, 2-2-2 Horizon League), a team that came into the contest ranked first in the Horizon League with their 0.77 goals-against average.
 
"We are thrilled with the 5-0 win," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "That doesn't happen often, we just got on top of it and played well. But we have been talking about it quite a bit – while we had been having good moments, we haven't put everything together. But we have had a really good vibe to it and been trending up. We've been waiting for that moment where we are going to hit it, and today we hit it. We played well, we were good on both sides of the ball, we were good in transition, and we were smart when we had it."
 
The MKE offense got its foot on the gas early, despite the rainy and windy conditions. Rollins chipped the goalkeeper off a centering pass from Kristina Karlof at the 6:08 mark and, just three minutes later, doubled the advantage after slotting a left-footed one-timer past the reigning Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year for a 2-0 advantage at the 9:09 mark, coming off a well-placed pass from Kat Van Booven.
 
"Our attack was dangerous, it was composed," Boyd said. "It was very much possession-oriented. Our possession in the box was so calm and composed."
 
The offense had a couple of solid chances to add to the lead but was unable to convert. Then the defense came up big next. In the 26^th minute Clara Broecker was in the right place at the right time after a scrum in front of goal allowed an open look for the 'Dons. Her deflection knocked a would-be goal over the crossbar and avoided what would have been a 2-1 scoreline at the time.
 
The next MKE goal would finally come in the 64^th minute, with Karlof again starting the play. She kept a would-be clearance in play, found Lainey Higgins, and she did the rest in netting her fourth goal of the season.
 
"In the second half, we talked about a couple of defensive things that we needed to clean up and then just staying on top of them," Boyd said. "We were better in the second half than we were in the first and I thought we were pretty good in the first half. We also missed at least three breakaways so we felt like we could have gotten more. We had 23 shots on the day – a dominant performance – and that is what we have been trying to play for. Credit to Purdue Fort Wayne, they didn't quit. Even at the end they were pushing on us. They are a good team … it was a little unlucky for them that they caught us firing on all cylinders."
 
From there the offense kept hitting. Rollins nearly had her hat trick in the 70^th minute after running onto a turnover near midfield. She used a nice crossover to create space at the top of the 18 but a quality save thwarted the chance.
 
The first hat trick since 2017 (Anna Smalley vs. UIC 9/23/17) then came off a set piece in the 77^th minute that involved numerous touches. Brooke Parnello took a long free kick from the wing and sent it on goal. After a deflection, Molly O'Regan cracked one from close-range that was saved by the keeper. The ball popped in the air where Rollins was waiting for the header chance. That attempt was cleared by a backline defender and grabbed momentarily by the goalkeeper. After a momentary bobble, Rollins was there to pounce and punched in her third of the game and make it 4-0.
 
The roll she is on continues to impress as Rollins has now scored at least one goal in eight of her last nine appearances (five consecutive) and has tallied all 11 of her goals on the season over the past nine matches.
 
The Panthers weren't quite done, getting the fifth and final goal of the day just 61 seconds later. It was Van Booven again, running onto a turnover near midfield and taking off to goal. Her shot was deflected right to O'Regan, who buried it at the 77:38 mark for her second of the campaign.
 
Van Booven did record a pair of assists on the day, nearly entering the scoring column herself on a few occasions. She ended the contest with a team and career-high eight shot attempts. She rocketed an opportunity just high in the 21^st minute and was turned away at the goal line in the 66th minute.
 
For the day, the Panthers had impressive stat advantages of 23-9 in total shots, 14-3 in shots on goals, and four of the five corner kicks. After the eight shots from Van Booven, Rollins equaled her career-high with six (5 on goal) and Higgens finished with four. Karlof also had the first two-assist performance of her career. In net, Kendall Edwards made the two saves she was called on for to record her fourth shutout of the season.
 
Up next, the team returns home to host Wright State Sunday. The game, which kicks off at 1 p.m., pits the first-place Panthers (5-0/15 points) against the second-place Raiders (3-1-1/10 points) from Engelmann Stadium.