MILWAUKEE - Haley Johnson scored just 78 seconds into the match to get the Milwaukee women's soccer team off and running to a 4-1 victory over UIC Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium.
 
"Obviously, that builds some confidence," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "We wanted a quick start and, 1:18 in, that's a quick start. I thought we played pretty well. The biggest thing we stressed for our team was the tempo. I think in our last game, we picked up the tempo a little too late. That was our focus."
 
The Panthers (8-1-0, 2-0-0 Horizon League) extended their lead back to two goals over the Flames (2-9-0, 1-1-0 Horizon League) just before halftime and never looked back.
 
Johnson netted her fourth of the season before many fans in the stadium had found their seats. Chandler McDaniel started the play, sending a diagonal pass across the field to Gaby Zabala streaking down the right sideline. Zabala zipped a service on target to Johnson at the top of the 18, and the freshman did the rest. She took a quick touch and sent the shot inside the right post and MKE was off and running.
 
Classmate Jelena Sever nearly got in the early action in the 12^th minute. She volleyed a pass right over a defender and sent a curling left-footed shot on goal, with a nice stop by the UIC keeper needed to keep it at 1-0.
 
It did not stay that way long. McKaela Schmelzer saw to that in the 14^th minute, heading a well-placed service from the foot of Erin Corrigan inside the left post to make it 2-0 at the 13:27 mark. Rachel Phillpotts was also credited with an assist on the play after finding Corrigan with the pass that started it.
 
UIC got one back on a free kick from Emily Kavanaugh in the 33^rd minute, but it was another Milwaukee freshman that cemented the tone of the game. Haley Steel came through with her first collegiate goal just 40 seconds in front of the halftime horn, heading in a Corrigan corner kick to make it 3-1.
 
The intermission did not slow down the Panthers. And it was Corrigan again, with what is becoming her specialty. For the sixth time this season, her corner kick resulted in a goal, finding Schmelzer at the back post for a 4-1 advantage at the 46:48 mark.
 
"We just continue to focus on that," Fabiano said. "She is able to serve a ball and we have come kids that are pretty dangerous in the air. We spent a little more time refining that, because I felt against Marquette we gave a couple of those away that we maybe should have had some better opportunities."
 
It was Corrigan's third helper of the match and marked the third time Schmelzer tallied a pair of goals in a game in her career as well.
 
The offense tried hard to tack on, but never did find the fifth goal. McDaniel came close on a pair of occasions – once seeing a diving save stop her from scoring on a thru ball in the 57^th minute and again in the 66^th. The second time came off a pass from Lourdes Onwuemeka that McDaniel had past the keeper, but saw it bang off the crossbar and stay in play.
 
The Panthers also had a second goal from Johnson wiped away in the 78^th minute on an offsides call.
 
For the contest, Milwaukee posted generous advantages in shots (20-to-7), shots on goal (11-to-5) and corner kicks (8-to-1). Schmelzer and McDaniel finished with a team-best four shots apiece. Corrigan's three assists tied (with 10 others all-time) for third place on the single-game assist list. In all, 23 different players saw time on the field for the Panthers.
 
Elaina LaMacchia made four saves in just over 81 minutes in net. Redshirt freshman Allie Strottman made her collegiate debut with nine scoreless minutes.
 
Up next, the Panthers travel to Green Bay Wednesday, taking on the Phoenix in a 7 p.m. start midweek.
 

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