MILWAUKEE – Goals from
Natalie Zodrow and
Emily Petring in a span of just 2-minutes, 42-seconds on the clock flipped the match around in helping the Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Youngstown State on a rainy Thursday night from Engelmann Stadium.
The Panthers (9-4-2, 7-0-0 Horizon League) didn't let a first-minute goal by the Penguins (4-8-4, 4-1-2 Horizon League) phase them, tallying the equalizer in the 18th and then the game-winner from Petring in the 20th minute.
"I almost feel like it's someone in a fight and they're kind of half there and messing around, then they get punched in the face, and then all of a sudden they're mad and respond," head coach
Kevin Boyd said. "That's what we've been doing. Three games in a row where we give up a goal first and have to respond. The beauty is we respond, and we respond in an extremely aggressive manner, and we end up getting a goal from it. And today, I thought we were really good after we gave up the goal for quite some time. I mean, the stats showed it. It was 16 shots in the first half to four."
Milwaukee remains perfect in league play this fall at 7-0 with the decision. In addition, the beat goes on for the longest active streak of its kind in the nation, as the program is now unbeaten in 46 consecutive (38-0-8) regular-season Horizon League matches, dating back to 2022.
Milwaukee is now also on a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) in the series against YSU, as well as improving to 13-0 at home against the Penguins all-time.
On a night when the rain came down all evening and heavier in the second half, the visitors struck first before all the fans could even get to their seats. Just 46 seconds in, the Panthers faced a deficit. The team stayed calm and kept firing, nearly drawing even in the fourth minute. Petring found
Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett for an open look in the box, but a solid save by the YSU keeper kept it at 1-0. The MKE offense would go on to record the next seven shots after the visitor goal before finding the equalizer. It came on a corner kick, with Zodrow heading in her first of the fall off
Ashlyn Derosier's service to make it 1-1 at the 17:17 mark.
"Obviously, I'm not happy with us giving up an early goal, but credit to Youngstown State." Boyd said. "They came out, and they got after us right away and found one early, and it was a nice goal that they got. We made three errors leading into it, but they did a great job getting a goal and putting it away. I also thought they played well in the second half, and I did not think we played well in the second half."
A few possessions later,
Maya Wilson won a 50-50 ball near midfield, heading it to Petring in space. She did the rest, motoring down the field before sending a well-placed shot to the far post for her ninth goal of the season at the 19:59 mark. Not only did the goal move her into a tie for the lead in the league, but it also stood up as her conference-leading fourth game-winner of the fall.
"There's something to be said for a team finding a way to win, but I don't think this is a script that's going to keep us winning if we keep doing that," Boyd said. "So, we need to learn to start the game better, and then we've been a second-half team all year, so I don't know what tonight was about. I don't know if it was because of the rain and all that just made everything sloppy, and we never found our feet second half, but we've got to be better than that."
The rain was steady through the first half but came down very heavily during intermission and throughout most of the second half.
"It played a role for both teams," Boyd said of the weather. "There's a lot more turnovers and missed touches than normal. I thought we really struggled with our first touch in multiple situations on bouncing balls and air balls and just sloppy. Our technical wasn't great, and our speed of play was too slow. So, we're working on moving the ball quicker in a better rhythm, and we need to play harder in the second half."
After 16 shots in the first, the offense produced just four in the second to finish with a 20-12 advantage on the night. MKE also grabbed advantages of 6-5 in shots on goal, and 7-4 in corner kicks, while holding 63 percent of possession on the night. Skinner-Barrett led the way with four shot attempts. In net,
Lauren Nidey did post four saves for the win.
"Our standard is higher than what we performed at tonight, and that has to be my concern and the team's concern," Boyd said. "It's great to win games, but if you meet your standard, you're going to win games. I think we escaped with one."
Up next is "Senior Day" Sunday, with the Panthers hosting Robert Morris at Engelmann Stadium. Game time against the Colonials is set for 12 p.m.
