MILWAUKEE – Emily Petring and Kristina Karloff scored two goals apiece to help power the Milwaukee women's soccer team past SIUE by a final score of 7-0 Sunday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (3-4-1) scored early against the Cougars (1-7-1) and were in control from start to finish, posting season-high totals in goals (7), shots (24), and assists (12).
 
The 12 assists marked the third-most in a game in program history, behind a pair of 16-assist outings that currently hold the standard.
 
Karlof added an assist to lead the way with five points (2G/1A). The brace was a career-first for Petring (2G), while Zoey Pagels, Maya Wilson, Natalie Zodrow, and Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett all finished the contest with two assists each.
 
"I am really happy with the way we played today as a whole," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "The question was, how was going through that gauntlet [of Power 4 opponents on the schedule] that we went through, how would that translate to how we would play today against an opponent that would be more in the vein of what we will see in conference. And obviously, it translated really well today – we got some nice goals and the way that we were trying to attack was what we were working on in training. We had a full week of training prior to this game, so we were able to address some things that we needed to, and I think those things showed up today."
 
Mallory McGuire opened the scoring in the eighth minute, slipping her third goal of the season inside the post off passes from Pagels and Karlof.
 
Pagels then nearly made it 2-0 in the 12^th minute, rocketing a shot off the crossbar that came booming back into play.
 
Lola Wojcik came through next, volleying in a great combination – Ellie Rebmann had the sideline throw-in and the flick towards goal came from Skinner-Barrett – to make it 2-0 at the 27:48 mark.
 
"It was nice to get that early one and I was really happy to see Lola get a goal," Boyd said. "Last year and this year, she gets opportunities for herself but has been carrying the burden of scoring on her shoulders where she hasn't gotten a goal. So, it was nice to get that monkey off her back."
 
The crossbar played SIUE's best defender again next, seeing Kiersten White's rocket from about 30 yards away go thundering off the woodwork and straight down and back into play in the 30^th minute.
 
From there, the offense took care of finishing: Petring got the first of her two in the 32^nd minute, chipping in a ball that came from the duo of passes from Skinner-Barrett and Jenni Andjelic.
 
"She's been playing well anyway, so I was happy to see her get a couple of goals," Boyd said about Petring. "The thing about her, she is a goal scorer. When she gets chances, she just places them – she does really well with that. Her goals, she made them look easier than they were, which is the way you should do it."
 
Petring was in the right place at the right time next, slotting in a rebound of a shot that was partially-saved off the foot of Maya Wilson to make it 4-0 at the 41:30 mark.
 
Up 4-0 at the break, the offense continued to push, with Karlof getting her first of the day with a great volleyed shot to the far post, just past the outstretched arms of the SIUE keeper at the 49:07 mark, assisted by Pagels and Zodrow.
 
It was Karlof again in the 57^th, once again assisted by Zodrow.
 
After Boyd subbed multiple players into the game in the second half, the reserves continued with good pressure before adding the final tally of the day, a blast from distance by Taylor Richards that was set up by Wilson and Kennedy Patterson at the 87:16 mark.
 
In net, Bella Hollenbach played the first 67:45 without the need of a save; Lilly Hanke came in and made one tough stop to help keep the clean sheet intact in her 22:15 of field time.
 
For the game, MKE posted final advantages of 24-5 in total shots, 12-1 in shots on goal, and 8-1 in corner kicks, while also recording 67 percent of the time of possession on the afternoon. McGuire and Karlof paced the offense with four shots apiece, as 25 different players saw the field. In fact, just one starter was on the field for longer than 68 minutes.
 
Up next, the Panthers will open Horizon League play with a pair of road matches, starting with a game at Robert Morris Thursday, set for a kickoff of 3 p.m. CT.