MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's soccer team used a big second half to cruise to a 3-0 victory over Detroit Mercy Sunday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
The Panthers (5-4-2, 3-0-0 Horizon League) quickly got on the board after halftime to take full control of the match, handing the Titans (3-6-1, 1-2-0 Horizon League) the defeat while also extending a pair of long streaks in the process.
"Detroit is a good team, we knew that coming in," head coach
Kevin Boyd said. "We knew they were a potential contender this year, so we had to bring our game. I thought we played pretty well the first half. We really didn't give them anything. They got a couple corners early on us and then the longer the half went, the more of the ball we got."
With the win, Milwaukee is now unbeaten in 21 consecutive (19-0-2) against UDM, a streak that dates back to the 2006 campaign. The team is also now unbeaten in 42 straight (34-0-8) matches in Horizon League regular-season play.
Scoreless at the break, the MKE offense kicked it in gear quickly and took advantage of a defensive miscue in the 51
st minute. Following a handball in the box,
Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett buried the ensuing penalty-kick chance to make it 1-0 at the 50:37 mark.
Playing from ahead, the team continued to push, finding a big insurance goal in the 75
th minute. It was started by
Emily Urban with a free kick from near midfield. The ball landed in front of goal, where
Taylor Richards spun and buried the close-range effort for the 2-0 advantage, her second of the season.
"When we got into halftime, we talked about what we needed to do and some things that could get us to go a little better and a little more quality getting to goal, and I thought that came out," Boyd said. "We fortunately made the PK and we had another set piece a little bit later than that that was just a scramble in the box and a loose ball, and Taylor (Richards) just spun and hit one kind of point blank and got it by the keeper, which is outstanding for her."
With time winding down,
Abby O'Brien closed the scoring with a jaw-dropper, blasting one home from over 30 yards away for her third of the fall at the 84:16 mark. She was assisted with quick centering passes for the chance from
Natalie Zodrow and
Kiersten White.
"Abby just took a step forward and hit one, and she absolutely hit a banger," Boyd said. "Quite a goal for her, and we don't see that many of those kind of 25, 30-yard goals, but that was a good one."
Lauren Nidey finished the day with her second straight shutout – and sixth of the season – with just one save. She did what was needed in corralling dangerous crosses but the back line in front of her continued its recent dominance. After allowing just five total shots to Oakland Thursday, with zero on goal, the team gave up just nine total shots on Sunday, with only one on target.
"One shot on goal in two games is remarkable, and obviously goalkeepers and back lines take huge pride in trying to get shutouts and limit chances, and they're doing that," Boyd said. "But in reality, it's our team defending as a whole. I mean, that's something we've been focusing on since the first game and trying to build our defending, and I feel like we're in a really good spot in terms of how we're defending and the effort that we're putting in and the ideas behind it."
The first half made it to 0-0 despite a handful of quality chances for the Panthers, the closest coming in the 23
rd minute when
Maya Wilson sent one off the left post after she was found open in front by Skinner-Barrett.
A nice save of
Maya Allen's header off a corner kick in the 19
th minute also kept the contest scoreless at the time.
For the day, MKE ended up with advantages of 16-9 in total shots, 8-1 in shots on goal, 3-2 in corner kicks, and 57 percent of possession. Skinner-Barrett led the way with four shot attempts.
Up next, the Panthers hit the road for a big trip, taking on Northern Kentucky and Wright State next weekend. First will be a clash with the Norse, set for a 6 p.m. kickoff Thursday Oct. 1.
