FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Milwaukee women's soccer team found a quick goal for the second straight contest, using that momentum to claim a 2-0 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne Sunday afternoon at Hefner Soccer Complex.
 
The Panthers (6-6-2, 5-0-1 Horizon League) got a penalty-kick goal from Kayla Rollins just four minutes into the matchup with the Mastodons (7-7-1, 2-4-0 Horizon League) and were never threatened the rest of the way while extending the team's unbeaten streak in regular-season Horizon League play to 25 (19-0-6) in a row.
 
"I'll always say it … winning is hard and it's definitely hard to win games on the road in this conference," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "So we're quite happy, even though it wasn't the best soccer for us. We may not be really thrilled with the quality of what we put on the field itself, but we scored two goals."
 
Lainey Higgins added her Horizon League-leading eighth goal of the season before intermission, with the result improving MKE to 5-0-1 in the all-time against the 'Dons, who were handed just their second loss at home in nine games this season.
 
"They were good goals – the PK and a nice header by Lainey," Boyd said. "She has started stepping up and becoming a goal-scoring presence with her head now, which we love."
 
The team made the day easy for goalkeeper Parker Donahugh, who was called on for just one save in recording her fifth shutout in her last six outings. She lowered her goals-against average in conference games to a miniscule 0.17 in the process, charging off her line for the only recorded save of the match on a dangerous header following a free kick in the 81^st minute.
 
"I thought we were pretty good for a while and then we just fluctuated too much," Boyd said. "It's very difficult to play, especially on different surfaces. It's a tough surface to play on, their grass, and it's thick, heavy grass so the game plays differently. To Fort Wayne's credit, I thought they played hard. It was 'senior day', so it was emotional for them. Their record at home is quite good and they battled and made it very difficult for us for us. All in all, we got a sweep on the weekend, we got three points on the road and we're going home, so we're quite happy."
 
After getting a goal just 34 seconds into their match Thursday against YSU, the Panthers came out hot again when they earned a penalty kick just minutes into the day. Higgins was fouled by the goalkeeper to earn the chance, with Rollins converting for her seventh goal of the fall at the 4:05 mark.
 
The offense kept the pressure up, eventually finding a second goal on a pretty header from Higgins. Senya Meurer started the play by winning possession, sending a backpass to Anna Champine. She delivered a perfect serve to the box, where Higgins guided it just inside the post to make it 2-0 at the 19:58 mark.
 
The offense was not able to add to the total, but not for a lack of quality chances. In the 25^th minute, Zoey Pagels put a perfect header on a Meurer free kick, but the ball was cleared off the line by a defender.
 
In the 28^th, Rollins sent a shot just high, found open by a great touch from Jenni Andjelic. Stephanie Recinos nearly made it 3-0 just before intermission, only to see her attempt go just wide of the near post in the 44^th minute after a quality pass from Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett.
 
The offense finished with 13 shots, snapping what was a streak of five consecutive games in which it produced 20-or-more shot attempts. That streak was the longest for the program since 2008. That gave the Panthers the 13-9 advantage over the 'Dons in shots on the day, including a lopsided 8-1 in shots on goal. MKE also had four of the six corners, with Higgins leading the way with four shot attempts.
 
Up next, the Panthers are back home Thursday, welcoming Robert Morris to Engelmann Stadium in a matchup set to kickoff at 7 p.m.