MILWAUKEE – A barrage of second-half goals by the Milwaukee women's soccer team turned a scoreless game at the half into a comfortable 4-0 victory over Youngstown State Friday night at Uihlein Soccer Park.
 
The Panthers (15-1-1, 8-0-1 Horizon League) scored twice in 77 seconds early in the second half to put the game away against the Penguins (4-12-1, 2-7-0 Horizon League). The contest was played at Kohler Engines Stadium due to field conditions at Engelmann Stadium.
 
"The biggest thing we told them, was be a little patient and your chances will come," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "One of the things we stressed was to play fast and they did that. It was difficult circumstances – we were supposed to play at home, the weather wasn't the best – but I give our team a ton of credit because they found four quality goals against a team that was very organized and kept numbers in the back."
 
Haley Johnson's header at the 56:17 mark opened the floodgates, with Milwaukee finally finding the back of the net after a scoreless first half. The goal was set up by a combination of passes from Rafferty Kugler and Taylor Hattori, with Johnson burying the eventual game-winner for her sixth goal of the fall.
 
"I think that is big for her confidence," Fabiano said of Johnson. "One of the things we stressed with her is that she drifts away from the goal and we want her as close as we can to the goal because she has the ability to score goals."
 
Just 77 seconds later, it was Johnson again, this time finding Jelena Sever in the box. She settled with her right and fired with the left, sneaking her fourth goal of the campaign inside the left post at the 57:34 mark. Mackenzie Schill also picked up an assist after feeding Johnson on the wing.
 
Natalie Auble provided a highlight in the 71^st minute, sending a rocket into the upper-90 from the top of the box. The goal, assisted by Chandler McDaniel, was scored at the 70:17 mark.
 
It was Johnson again to close out the scoring, volleying a pass from Hattori into the right corner of the goal at the 73:52 mark.
 
The defense did the rest, with Elaina LaMacchia (76:03/1 save) and Olivia Davies-McDaniel (13:57/2 saves) combining on MKE's seventh consecutive shutout and 11^th overall.
 
The Panthers were knocking on the door in the first half, but were held off the scoresheet. A YSU defender helped clear the first near-miss, volleying McKaela Schmelzer's header off a corner kick off the line in the 24^th minute.
 
Sever just missed a second goal in the 63^rd minute, sending a close-range volley just wide and Johnson nearly had a hat trick as well. Her on-target volley was past the goalkeeper and cleared off the line by a defender in the 65^th minute.
 
The Panthers dominated the stat sheet, putting up a 19-to-4 advantage in shots, 9-to-3 advantage in shots on goal and also earning nine of the 10 corner kicks in the match.
 
Eleven different players recorded shot attempts, led by three each from Johnson and Sever. Johnson finished with two goals and one assist, with Hattori and McDaniel adding a pair of assists.
 
LaMacchia extended her scoreless run to 11 straight appearances and 995:51 straight scoreless minutes – on the verge of becoming just the seventh goalie in NCAA history to top the 1,000 plateau. The win also extended Milwaukee's unbeaten run in Horizon League regular-season play to 33 (30-0-3).
 
Up next, the Panthers will serve as host for the Horizon League Tournament. The team receives a bye from Monday's first-round action and will play in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. Once their opponent is known, the information will be updated on the MKE website.
 
The senior class of McKaela Schmelzer, Chandler McDaniel, Olivia Davies-McDaniel and Gaby Zabala were honored in a pregame ceremony, marking the final regular-season appearance for the group.
 
"Senior Night is always fun," Fabiano said. "Especially with this being my fifth year and we have had those kids all four years. Just to look back at the success of the program and them having such a major part of it is just huge."
 
The class has combined to go 60-8-8 overall, which includes a 32-1-3 mark in conference games.
 

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