DAYTON, Ohio – Second-half goals from
Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett and
Denise Camarena helped the Milwaukee women's soccer team overcome a 1-0 deficit at the half and claim a 2-1 victory over Wright State Sunday afternoon from Alumni Field.
"We got our sweep (on the weekend) and we are very happy about that," head coach
Kevin Boyd said. "A very, very challenging trip for sure to get two wins on this road trip, especially with it being the second week in a row of double games. I mean, that's a credit to the team."
The Panthers (7-4-2, 5-0-0 Horizon League) came out strong on both sides of the ball in the second half, finding the equalizer in the 55
th minute against the Raiders (5-7-1, 3-2-0 Horizon League). Meanwhile, the defense did not allow shot attempts of any kind from the 29
th to the 74
th minute, setting the stage for Camarena to net the game-winner at the 81:26 mark to send MKE home with the big road win.
"Wright State played well," Boyd said. "They're every bit as good as we heard they were. They went up on us 1-0, very deservedly so. And then we got to halftime, thankfully, only down 1-0. We did not play very well and did not bring a lot of our defining characteristics into that first half."
Milwaukee remains perfect in league play this fall at 5-0 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 44 consecutive (36-0-8) regular-season Horizon League matches, dating back to 2022.
The Panthers came out in the second and immediately threatened, nearly evening the scoreboard just 50 seconds into the period on a shot from
Maya Wilson. They kept up the pressure with looks in the 50
th (Wilson) and 51
st minute (Skinner-Barrett and Camarena) before Skinner-Barrett broke through in the 55
th minute, assisted by
Emily Petring.
"The team responded extremely well in the second half," Boyd said. "We got on top of them immediately. And our goal came 10 minutes into the second half. So now we're tied up 1-1. We stayed on them."
With the defense on lockdown, Milwaukee found the winner as the game was getting late, and it was all Camarena.
"We got the goal late through Denise pressing, which was just pure effort," Boyd said. "And two seconds before she got the goal, I had said to our other coaches, I'm like, 'Denise is working her tail off'. And lo and behold, she pressed the goalkeeper, blocked the keeper's pass and ended up picking her off, getting in behind her, and finding the open net."
The day nearly started quickly, with
Ashlyn Derosier forcing a save just 48 seconds in. Wright State took momentum next, scoring in the 10
th minute. The MKE offense kept up the pressure down the stretch of the first, forcing stops on shot attempts from
Payton Green in the 34
th minute as well as a flurry a few minutes later that resulted in a block of a
Keani Martinez attempt followed by a save on
Natalie Zodrow's effort in the 39
th minute.
On the day, Milwaukee posted advantages of 17-5 in total shots, 8-4 in shots on goal, and 7-5 in corner kicks. Petring led the way with five shots; Wilson wrapped up the afternoon with three of her own.
In goal,
Lauren Nidey was credited with three saves in the victory.
"A couple other players were outstanding on the day,
Emily Urban and
Natalie Zodrow were just warriors for us," Boyd said. "One in the midfield (Zodrow) and one just cleaned everything up in the back (Urban). Just a really good result and a very challenging road trip. We're happy to be coming home and we're happy we don't play again until Saturday."
Up next, the Panthers will be back home for one game next week, set to host Northern Illinois Saturday. Game time against the Huskies is set for 4 p.m. as part of a women's/men's doubleheader that day.
