MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Milwaukee women's soccer team scored once in each half and limited Robert Morris to just three shots on goal during a 2-0 victory in its Horizon League opener Thursday at North Athletic Complex.
 
"We won and we got the shutout, so obviously, objective achieved," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "I would consider it a little bit of an ugly win. Certainly, we gave up a lot more chances than we felt like we should have, but we also dealt with a lot. Winning on the road in this conference is very difficult. You end up dealing with multiple challenges, from not only the extensive travel that exists, but also things like field conditions and it was also quite hot today."
 
The Panthers (4-4-1, 1-0 Horizon League) got goals from Emily Petring and Zoey Pagels and a three-save shutout in net from Bella Hollenbach to take care of the Colonials (2-5-1, 0-1 Horizon League), extending their record in the all-time series to a perfect 10-0-0 against RMU with the victory.
 
"We had a sick player out that was one of our starters," Boyd said of all the variables on the day. "We then took a head injury in the first half and multiple people were going down – we had a makeshift squad on the field. But that's why we train, that's why our players have to be ready at all times. And the players that stepped in did a good job and closed out the game and got us the win, even if it wasn't picture-perfect in the way we drew it up. They still found the way to get it done, so credit to a number of players that stepped on the field."
 
On a hot mid-September day with temperatures in the upper-80's, both teams took some time to put together things on the attack. The MKE offense did not record a shot of any kind until the 26^th minute, forcing the first RMU save of the day off a long free kick from Savannah Sievert.
 
Petring forced a challenging save on a turn-and-shoot look from the top of the 18 in the 34^th minute and it was Petring again that finally broke through. Payton Green started the play with a long throw-in from beyond the midfield stripe and Petring did the rest – carrying the ball through the defense and into the attacking third. Seven touches later, she fired a shot to the far post that found the back of the net at the 39:15 mark.
 
It stayed just 1-0 until the 57^th minute, when Ellie Rebmann won the ball back from the Colonials off a goal kick. Her header found Petring, who then passed off to Pagels. This time it was Pagels doing the rest, driving to the top of the 18 and sending a well-placed left-footed shot to the upper corner of the goal for her third of the season at the 56:29 mark.
 
"Emily's been playing well, and she got the first goal," Boyd said. "And then Zoey got the clinching second goal that that kind of put them away."
 
The defense and Hollenbach made it stand up. Overall, the backline conceded just seven total shots, with Hollenbach making her toughest save of the day – coming with just 42 seconds left in the match – to keep the clean sheet intact and ice the shutout win. The decision helped the Panthers reach 30 consecutive regular-season league games unbeaten, now 24-0-6 since September 15, 2022.
 
On the day, MKE posted advantages of 12-7 in total shots, 5-3 in shots on goal, and 4-2 in corner kicks while also finishing with close to 60 percent of possession on the day. Petring led the way with three shot attempts, while her goal and assist also was tops on the squad.
 
The team remains on the road, traveling to Ohio to take on Youngstown State Sunday. Game time against the Penguins is set for 11 a.m. CT.