MILWAUKEE – Kristina Karlof scored once and assisted the other two goals as the Milwaukee women's soccer team advanced to the Horizon League Tournament Championship game with a 3-0 victory over Oakland Thursday afternoon in semifinal action from Engelmann Stadium.
 
"This is what we play for … this is why we are here," head coach Kevin Boyd said postgame. "Our goal all along – win the conference, win the conference tournament. So now we have to take care of Saturday."
 
The Panthers (12-4-3) led the Golden Grizzlies (4-8-8) by a score of 1-0 at the break on the strength of an early goal from Kiersten White before breaking it open in the second half to advance to the title game for the 10^th consecutive season.
 
Even out of the gates, White picked an ideal time for the first goal of her collegiate career, as the freshman defender headed in service from Ellie Rebmann to make it 1-0 at the 10:31 mark. The play was started with Karlof on a corner kick.
 
"That was not unusual, especially in semifinals, teams are full of energy, it's tense and a little bit chaotic at times," Boyd said of the even start. "I thought we played really well for the first 20-25 minutes but then tailed off a little bit – little details that we have to take care of that decide games. And then in the second half I thought we were very good coming in. We talked about a couple of things we needed to do better at the half, and I thought those things showed up in the second and the scoreboard reflected that."
 
It went to intermission relatively even stats-wise, but the MKE offense came out on the front foot in the second. Natalie Zodrow nearly had the second goal in both the 48^th and 49^th minutes, seeing her headers off Karlof corner kicks saved nicely each time denying the threats.
 
The second goal came just a few minutes later, with Rebmann winning a ball and finding Karlof by herself. She took a few touches into the box and ripped a shot inside the near post, netting her seventh of the season at the 50:21 mark.
 
The third goal was an interesting one, with a Karlof corner again setting it up. Emily Petring went flying in at the far post, using her shoulder to redirect it inside the woodwork to make it 3-0 at the 67:20 mark, her eighth of the season.
 
"You look at it – eight corner kicks – that tells you we are on the front foot going at them," Boyd said. "And then we just wanted to be dangerous on them. Tina (Karlof) put in some outstanding balls and was picking different people, target corners there, and I am not surprised we got a goal."
 
The defense did the rest, with Bella Hollenbach recording her seventh shutout of the season with four saves.
 
On the day, Milwaukee earned advantages of 13-10 in total shots, 6-4 in shots on goal, and 8-2 in corner kicks while also finishing with 57 percent of possession. Petring and Zodrow each finished with a team-high three shot attempts. Karlof had four points (1G/2A); Rebmann had a pair of assists as well.
 
Up next, the Panthers go in search of their eighth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament Saturday. They will play the No. 5 seed Green Bay Phoenix, who pulled off a big upset in the second semifinal Thursday evening when they upended No. 2 seed Northern Kentucky by a final score of 2-1.
 
The title game, which sees Green Bay playing in the contest for the first time in program history – and the Panthers competing for the crown for the 25^th time in school history – will kick off at 1 p.m. from Engelmann Stadium Saturday afternoon.