MILWAUKEE – Marquette scored the only goal of the game in the 84^th minute to stun the Milwaukee women's soccer team and escape with a 1-0 victory Thursday evening at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (3-2-2) couldn't catch a break all night against the Golden Eagles (2-3-1), hitting the crossbar or post on numerous occasions before running out of time late to find an equalizer.
 
"A game like this comes down to focus and what you are bringing to the game," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "People talk about luck – you create luck. You get luck by working really hard and giving everything you have to make it happen – that's where luck comes in. Being unlucky is not just hitting posts and things like that. We had chances on open nets that we didn't even hit on the goal … that is focus right there and that is my concern."
 
The result was Marquette's first victory at Engelmann Stadium since 2013 and came in front of a large crowd that showed up to see the big city rivalry matchup. The announced attendance of 1,160 was the biggest crowd for an MKE home game since 2015 and the fifth-largest crowd in program history.
 
With the game still scoreless and time winding down, the Golden Eagles took advantage of their best scoring chance of the night when Josie Bieda worked through contact after chasing down a loose ball sent over the top, finding the back of the net at the 83:28 mark.
 
"Credit to Marquette – they brought a ton of energy and thoroughly outplayed us the first half," Boyd said. "I thought we outplayed them in the second, but we keep committing errors in bad places and tonight those errors were attacking goal and not scoring; and then giving up chances and they got one."
 
Despite a 9-1 hole in shots at the break, it appeared as though the Panthers would come out victorious on a handful of scoring chances.
 
Lainey Higgins hit the post off a nice pass from Abby Stoeck in the 51^st minute, with Kayla Rollins unable to put the rebound on frame.
 
Kat Van Booven's header went wide after a spectacular buildup from Rollins and Brooke Parnello in the 65^th and Rollins snap-header at the far post off a corner kick narrowly missed in the 67^th.
 
A free kick set up another oh-so-close call for the MKE offense, as Rollins header off a perfect Higgins pass cracked off the bottom of the crossbar and somehow managed to come back into the field of play.
 
"The team came out with a new focus in the second half, for sure, but that means we gave away a half of soccer," Boyd said. "We were lucky it was tied at halftime. We fully gave away the first half and got lucky – it was a gift that it was zero-zero. The second half we played better but if you don't start the game right, you are chasing it from then on. We didn't bring it tonight – credit to them."
 
The Panthers were able to record two shots after falling behind, but a free ball sent into the box was covered by the MU keeper with about 20 seconds left and that was the clincher.
 
For the game, the visitors recorded a slim 15-13 shot advantage as well as a 7-4 edge in shots on target. Milwaukee had four of the seven corner kicks and saw Rollins lead the offense with six attempts.
 
In net, Kendall Edwards recorded five saves, including a highlight-reel diving stop at the upper-90 that kept the game scoreless in the 34^th minute.
 
The decision also snapped Milwaukee's unbeaten streak at home at 19 (18-0-1), a streak that dated back to September of 2021 and came into the evening as the third-longest current of its kind in the nation.
 
Up next, Milwaukee opens Horizon League play with a trip to Ohio to battle Cleveland State Thursday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. CST.