GREEN BAY, Wis. – Four first-half goals set the tone for the Milwaukee women's soccer team on its way to claiming a 5-1 victory over Green Bay in a suspended match that was finished up on Thursday afternoon at Aldo Santaga Stadium.
 
"Yesterday was a very challenging situation – coming up here on the bus for two hours, getting the game time changed before it even started [the match was moved from a 7 p.m. start to 5 p.m.], altering our day," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "First half, we did very well, and then we get shut down for a while with the lightning delays. We got a window to come back out, we score another goal to go up 5-0 and then we get shut down again at 61:49 and unfortunately can't restart the game."
 
The Panthers (10-6-2, 9-0-1 Horizon League) and Phoenix (4-8-5, 2-5-3 Horizon League) played two-thirds of the match Wednesday night before lightning delays caused a suspension of the contest in the 62^nd minute with MKE ahead, 5-0.
 
"Bus home, get home at 11 p.m. last night, leave this morning at 9:45 a.m. and we're back up here going at it again in the rain," Boyd said of the hectic 24-hour span. "We just didn't perform today. I know how hard this is … I told the team this was a tremendous challenge we were facing. And in this period today, they outperformed us and got a goal. So our shutout that we wanted didn't happen. But as a whole, we are thrilled. We won the title outright, 28 points, so the only blemish was a tie. And we gave up a total of two goals out of the 10 conference games, which is also a tremendous achievement. So, we're happy and unhappy at the same time. We're happy with what we achieved in conference. We're disappointed with our 28 minute-performance today."
 
Kristina Karlof came up big with a five-point (2G/1A) outing. Kayla Rollins netted the eventual game-winner and scored for the fifth consecutive outing and added an assist to help lead the way.
 
The Panthers closed out the regular-season title with their 15^th unbeaten conference schedule in program history, as well as the fifth in the past seven years - a stretch that has seen them post a stellar 58-2-5 (a .946 winning percentage) ledger in conference contests.
 
The rout marked the team's eighth win in a row over the Phoenix, as well as extending an unbeaten streak against GB that now reaches 10-0-1 over the last 11. With the decision, the team also extends its unbeaten streak in regular-season Horizon League play to 29 (23-0-6) in a row.
 
The original game time yesterday was moved up two hours to try and beat the weather, yet the teams started late due to an initial lightning delay and then waited out another 74-minute delay just as the second half was set to start.
 
Milwaukee's first goal came at the 13:22 mark, started on a break to goal by Lainey Higgins. Her ball into the box was knocked high by a GB defender, only to find Karlof waiting to pounce. She took one touch to create some space before sending a left-footed laser into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
 
It was Higgins again creating more problems, chipping a perfect ball over the backline for Karlof. Her shot was partially saved by the goalkeeper charging off her line. The rebound came to Rollins, who pounced and sent a turnaround shot up and over the last defender for her 13^th goal of the season at the 17:04 mark.
 
Zoey Pagels shined in her return to her former school, starting with a brilliant header goal off a corner kick from Elizabeth Reece in the 22^nd minute. She then helped start the fourth goal, sending a long ball down the left sideline for Jenni Andjelic. Andjelic fired a high arching ball on goal, where Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett was waiting to head in her first collegiate goal at the 42:18 mark.
 
Karlof added her brace just into the second half after playing a give-and-go with Rollins in the 49^th minute.
 
For the contest, the Panthers enjoyed advantages of 16-8 in shots, 10-1 in shots on goal, 4-3 in corner kicks, as well as 55 percent of possession. In net, Parker Donahugh saw her shutout streak come to an end at 558:55 following the late Phoenix goal.
 
Up next, the team will enjoy the bye in the first round before hosting the semifinals and finals for the Horizon League Tournament next week. Action gets underway Thursday as the team will play in the 1 p.m. game, taking on the lowest-remaining seed following first-round action. All match-up info will be posted to the MKE website when available and tickets are already available for purchase at this LINK.