MILWAUKEE – Brooke Parnello converted a penalty kick in the 81st minute and the Milwaukee women's soccer team defeated Northern Kentucky by a final score of 1-0 to claim the Horizon League Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (12-2-5) dominated the day against the Norse (8-4-8) before finally finding the late goal, sending them to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth year in a row and the 17th time in program history.


 
"It's never easy," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "I think I mentioned this the last game – people think we are just going to win 'because we are Milwaukee' but that's not it at all. We worked extremely hard. This was a tight game ... credit to Northern Kentucky. They were quite good on the day and were far better than they were the first time we played them, which is a credit to them. It was hard for us. It was an incredibly close game and we were fortunate to get on the right side of it and come out on top, 1-0. But this team deserves it. I believe we are the best team in the conference. We won both the regular-season title and now the tournament, so if there's any doubt that ought to prove it."
 
Despite dominating both time of possession and shots on the afternoon, Milwaukee found itself in a scoreless battle as the game ticked towards overtime. Following a late surge towards goal, a failed NKU clearance turned into a handball in the box and the PK was awarded.
 
"Unfortunately, I think we were tight from the beginning," Boyd said of the first half. "I think it took us a while to settle into the game. I thought we were better and calmer in the second half and created some very good chances. Their keeper was good – that's also part of it – she wasn't going to give us anything."
 
Parnello, who was named tournament MVP and had a goal in each game, stepped to the spot and delivered her fourth goal of the season, calmly putting the MKE offense on the board for the first time on the day at the 80:08 mark.
 
"She's been terrific," Boyd said of Parnello. "Fifth-year senior and two-time captain. She has been the one that, behind the scenes, has really been pushing this group and encouraging them. And they love her. You can tell that. She is such a supportive captain as well that it resonates really well with the players. I didn't know who was going to take the PK. I was waiting to see who stepped up and I saw it was her and I was like 'ok'. It fit really well that she did it."
 
Kendall Edwards and the defense did the rest, fending off a corner kick and a harmless shot the rest of the way until the clock hit zero and the celebration on the field commenced.
 
Edwards finished with three saves and recorded her eighth shutout of the season. She came up big when her team needed it the most, making a brilliant save of a header in the 78^th minute, scurrying across the goal box with a diving effort to keep it 0-0 just in front of Parnello's heroics.
 
"Kendall came up huge late in the game," Boyd said. "She had a big-time save to make and she did it. That's what you need, but the longer the game goes, you have a response. You can get tighter and tighter, but we got more aggressive, which is the important piece."
 
The team finished the contest with advantages of 18-8 in shots, 8-3 in shots on goal, and ended up with 60 percent possession overall. The MKE offense spent the whole contest with close calls and near-misses, hitting the post or crossbar on three separate occasions.
 
A Kayla Rolins header went high in the 13^th minute before Lainey Higgins was denied with an impressive save on a give-and-go with Rollins in the 28^th minute, with a follow-up header from Rollins missing right by a few feet.
 
A throw-in from the deep sideline also started some pressure, with Higgins again being turned away by an NKU save that deflected off the right post and back into play. Molly O'Regan was there to follow up but her attempt went off the left post in the 32^nd minute.
 
In the second half it was Rollins setting up the action again, only to see Kristina Karlof rifle her attempt off the crossbar in the 58^th minute.
 
The one goal was all that was needed as the team improved its unbeaten streak on the season to 12 games (9-0-3) heading into the NCAA Tournament next week. Rollins paced the offense with five shots; six different players were next with two apiece. Parnello was joined on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team by Edwards, Clara Broecker, and Higgins.
 
Up next, the team will find out its NCAA Tournament destination Monday, when you can celebrate with the Panthers as they learn their NCAA Tournament opponent. On Monday, November 6, join the team at the Gasthaus inside UWM's Student Union for an NCAA Women's Soccer Selection Show Watch Party. The event gets underway at 2:30 p.m. with the selection show starting at 3 p.m. Food and beverage will be available for purchase and admission will be free. First-round NCAA Tournament action will take place November 10-12.
 
2023 #HLWSOC All-Tournament Team
Brooke Parnello, Milwaukee (Championship MVP)
Clara Broecker, Milwaukee
Kendall Edwards, Milwaukee
Lainey Higgins, Milwaukee
Mickayla Kowalski, Northern Kentucky
Lydia Self, Northern Kentucky
Kaya Vogt, Northern Kentucky
Sarah Henson, IUPUI
Sam Slimak, IUPUI
Kaoru Hayashi, RMU
Kristi Kania, RMU