MILWAUKEE – More second-half offense propelled the Milwaukee women's soccer team Thursday night, doing all of its scoring after intermission in a 3-0 victory over Western Illinois at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (6-1) scored in the opening minute of the second half against the Leathernecks (2-3-1), adding two more the rest of the way to run their unbeaten streak at home in regular-season play to 26 games (24-0-2) in a row.
 
"I think we came out a little bit slow and were not moving the ball fast enough," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "We have to be a little bit better and we just have to make sure we are ready, especially with only one game left before we start conference play."
 
Julia Barajas, Taylor Hattori and Rachel Phillpotts all found the back of the net to help Milwaukee take control of a scoreless game at the break. The Panthers dominated the contest, totaling a shot advantage of 15-to-4 on the night, as well as 61 percent possession in the matchup to improve to a perfect 7-0-0 all-time against WIU.
 
"Any time you can add people that score goals, it just makes you more dangerous," Fabiano said. "Then they [defenses] can't hone in on one player. Haley (Johnson) has scored a lot of goals for us so far, but now you get some other people putting the ball in the back of the net, so hopefully that builds some confidence for them."
 
After recording seven first-half shots that didn't find the back of the net, the Panthers dented the scoreboard just 57 seconds after the game restarted. Rafferty Kugler started the play, carrying the ball across the field. She found Jelena Sever near the top of the 18, taking a touch and dropping off for Barajas on the left wing. She did the rest, sending a pretty left-footed shot to the far post to make it 1-0.
 
Just over five minutes later, more great passing doubled the advantage.
 
The Panthers reclaimed a long ball at midfield and broke towards goal. After getting knocked around, Mackenzie Schill fed Haley Johnson on the right wing. Johnson sent a perfect serve to the far post where Hattori was waiting, making it 2-0 at the 71:40 mark with a pretty finish.
 
The final goal came in the 72^nd minute, when Phillpotts sent a rocket from the top of the 18 into the upper corner of the goal to put an emphatic stamp on the victory.
 
For the game, MKE also ended up with advantages of 8-to-3 in shots on goal and had all six of the corner kicks. Barajas paced the offense with four shots (three on-goal), while Johnson added a pair of assists.
 
In goal, the tandem of Elaina LaMacchia (76:46/2 saves) and Allie Strottman (13:14/1 save) combined on the shutout. LaMacchia's work included a nice diving save in the 24^th minute that kept the game 0-0 at the time.
 
Up next, the Panthers remain at home and welcome Marquette Sunday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. for the contest against the Golden Eagles.

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