CLEVELAND, Ohio – Mallory McGuire scored early to open her big day, leading the Milwaukee women's soccer team to a convincing 5-0 victory over Cleveland State Saturday afternoon at Krenzler Field.
 
McGuire wrapped up her afternoon with a career-high six-point effort, scoring the first two goals of the contest for the Panthers (8-4-1, 5-0-0 Horizon League), while also adding a pair of assists to help her team improve to 26-0-1 all-time against the Vikings (3-5-4, 0-2-3 Horizon League).
 
In addition to advancing MKE's win streak over today's opponent to 12 straight in the series, it also extends its unbeaten streak in regular-season league play to an impressive 34 consecutive (28-0-6) matches.
 
"Whenever we can get a win in conference, we are quite happy about it," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "Wins are difficult to come by, and especially difficult when you are on the road and this is a tough place to play. For us to get not only a win, but a 5-0 win with the shutout is really a dominant performance by us. To do that on the road is outstanding by our team."
 
McGuire jumpstarted her team early, striking for a goal on what was the third of three successive shots from her, finishing off the head-to-head battle with the keeper for her fifth of the season at the 6:27 mark.
 
"Mal was exceptional today – she had her most impactful game of the season with the two goals and two assists," Boyd said. "But I really thought our starting lineup was just dominant the entire time they were on, and it was great."
 
Despite heavy possession and shot attempts, the Panthers didn't find another goal for over 15 minutes – but then nearly made some history with goals just 34 seconds apart to mark the third-fastest back-to-back strikes in program history.
 
It was McGuire again at 23:39, finishing off a through-ball combination from Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett and Emily Petring to double the lead.
 
Before the fans even had a chance to sit back down, the team found another tally at 24:13, with Petring doing the same for her fifth goal of the fall, assisted by McGuire and Lola Wojcik.
 
Milwaukee nearly added to the lead before the break, but Ellie Rebmann's shot off a corner kick in the 43^rd minute went begging off the crossbar.
 
At the break, it was 15-1 in shots and the MKE offense kept its foot on the gas pedal. Wojcik continued her recent strong play, finding the back of the net in the 52^nd minute off assists from Kristina Karlof and once again, McGuire. The goal was her fourth of the season.
 
The final tally came off the head of Jenni Andjelic, set up by Kiersten White, at the 53:13 mark.
 
Milwaukee subbed reserves frequently the rest of the way, with CSU getting the large chunk of its shot attempts down the stretch.
 
Bella Hollenbach wasn't super-busy behind an impressive effort by the rest of the defense, but made three saves in the second half to record her fifth shutout of the campaign.
 
"We got to get everybody that traveled on the field, which was exactly what we wanted. We're at a place we want to be – which is we want to be working on sharpening up the players that are coming in so that our picture looks the same, so our sets look the same, so that we're all on the same page all the way through. This is an ideal time for us to be discussing that; working on it so we would feel like we're right where we want. We now get the long drive home and settle in and get ready for a trip leaving Wednesday to go to Detroit. Good road win … first of three – focus is on the second one now."
 
In all, Milwaukee recorded advantages of 28-8 in total shots, 15-3 in shots on goal, and had 54 percent possession. CSU grabbed the 6-5 edge in corner kicks. McGuire collected a career-high nine shots to lead the offense along with the six points (2G/2A/GWG).
 
Up next, the Panthers remain on the road for a tough stretch, wrapping up three consecutive games away from home with contests at Detroit Mercy Thursday and Oakland Sunday. Kickoff against the Titans is set for 6 p.m. CT.