MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team had its season come to a heartbreaking end Thursday night, falling in a penalty-kick shootout following a 1-1 draw against Wright State University in a Horizon League Tournament semifinal at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (11-3-4) scored first and led until late in the contest, only to see the Raiders (9-7-2) capitalize on an 83^rd-minute goal before moving on with a 4-3 victory in penalty kicks.
 
"First off, congratulations to Wright State," UWM head coach Troy Fabiano said. "They fought all the way to the end. We were on our heels a bit in the second half and could not finish it out."
 
The teams traded makes the first two rounds and goalkeeper saves in the third. At the start of the fourth round, Milwaukee's attempt went off the cross bar and painfully caromed out, setting the stage for Wright State to win it in the final round after two more made attempts both ways.
 
That gave Mattie Cutts, who did not even appear in the 110 minutes of game action, the chance to seal it. The freshman went low and left, with goalkeeper Paige Lincicum getting a hand on it but not enough to keep it out of the net. The celebration was on as the Raiders will advance to Saturday's tournament championship where they will take on Oakland University with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.
 
"Penalty kicks are always a tough way to lose," Fabiano said. "We wish we could have finished our earlier chances and avoided the shootout altogether."
 
Oakland won the first semifinal of the night, also in a PK shootout, 4-1 after playing Northern Kentucky to a scoreless draw.
 
The result was a tough one for the Panthers, who officially earned a draw in the game to finish the 2015 season on a 10-game unbeaten streak (7-0-3), not having lost a game since the end of September.
 
"With the season ending tonight it is hard to look back," Fabiano said. "We achieved more than anyone outside our team thought was possible. We have a great foundation to build on for the future. While it is difficult to look forward today, we do have a bright future and we will only continue to get better."
 
Back and forth at the start with a windy night playing tricks with any balls in the air, Milwaukee dented the scoreboard first in the 27^th minute.
 
Sophomore Anna Smalley broke free for a one-on-one chance with the WSU keeper, only to see her shot partially saved and carom back in front of the goal. Junior Maria Stephans was charging in the whole way, one-timing a blast top shelf from close range for her fourth goal of the season at the 26:16 mark.
 
The Panthers had a handful of opportunities to net an insurance goal, but it would never come.
 
Smalley played an endline cross in the 37^th minute, but sophomore Aubrey Krahn's volley went inches wide of the left post.
 
The Raiders kept pushing and found the equalizer late, with Natalie Sedlock sending in a shot from the wing that trickled in as the UWM defense converged in front of the goal line.
 
Smalley also had a quality chance in the 85^th minute, but WSU keeper Hallie Pyle made an outstanding save coming off her line to keep it at 1-1 as the final minutes of regulation ticked away.
 
The teams combined for seven shots in the overtime sessions, with Krahn nearly sneaking in a bouncing attempt in the 104^th minute. Wright State also had a shot at a golden goal in the 108^th, but Aaliyah Patten's shot from the wing bounced off the cross bar and out of bounds.
 
Lincicum finished with six saves on the night, allowing her first goal since September 30^th. Her scoreless streak came to a close at 697:53, good for the second-longest streak in program history.
 
For the game, WSU finished with a 17-to-12 advantage in shots and a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. It also earned nine of the 12 corner kicks on the evening, with Milwaukee whistled for 12 of the 21 fouls. Stephans and Smalley paced the UWM offense with three shots each. Bryce Huber led the Raiders with a game-high five.
 
That brings a very successful 2015 campaign to a close for the Panthers at 11-3-4 overall, adding their 15^th regular-season Horizon League title in the past 16 years to their list of accomplishments.

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