MILWAUKEE - Elaina LaMacchia saved a pair of penalty kick attempts and Chandler McDaniel sent the Milwaukee women's soccer team to a 4-2 win in the PK shootout against Oakland Thursday night at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (15-1-1) and Golden Grizzlies (4-11-4) ended up in the shootout following a 1-1 draw after regulation and pair of overtime periods.
 
LaMacchia came up huge, making saves of Oakland's second and third attempts. The Panthers got makes from Jelena Sever, Gaby Schwartz and Marissa Stovring through the first three rounds, setting the stage for McDaniel, who calmly slotted the spot kick into the upper right to set off the on-field celebration.
 
The decision sends Milwaukee to the Horizon League Tournament championship for the fourth year in a row, set to take on Cleveland State Saturday in a game scheduled to start at 6 p.m.
 
The Vikings set a school record with their 11^th win of the season in the first semifinal, getting past Detroit Mercy by a final score of 2-1.
 
Oakland made it tough for the Panthers, as the No. 6 seed had the No. 1 seed on the ropes for most of the night. A scoreless battle until well past intermission, the Golden Grizzlies stunned everyone when they were the first team to score. That happened in the 60^th minute, with Lauren Bos turning a bad pass directly into a beautiful strike, skimming the bottom of the post from distance to make it 1-0.
 
The Panthers did not give up, turning up the pressure immediately. It started paying dividends quickly. The team had consecutive corner kicks in the 63^rd minute, with a header by Kelli Swenson going just wide, followed by a save on a header by Erin Corrigan on the preceding CK.
 
A free kick set up the equalizer. Corrigan sent service into the box, flicked up and forward by Jelena Sever. Rafferty Kugler picked a perfect time to score her first collegiate goal, sending a header across the line before the OU defender could send it away. The goal came just over five minutes later to make it 1-1 and a new game.
 
The Panthers forced another save down the stretch, but had to head to OT for the third time this season to decide a winner. Julia Barajas nearly played hero at the end of the first overtime, sending a shot just wide and into the side netting at the 99:32 mark.
 
For the game, MKE posted advantages of 16-to-11 in shots, 6-to-5 in shots on goal and 6-to-3 in corner kicks. Barajas and Haley Johnson paced the offense with three shots apiece. LaMacchia was credited with four saves on the night, in a contest that officially goes into the books as a draw.
 
Up next is the title game, with Saturday's winner heading to the NCAA Tournament next week.

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