Panthers Dominate Purdue Fort-Wayne in Win 5-0

UW-Milwaukee women’s soccer took care of business against the Purdue Fort-Wayne Mastodons at Engelmann Stadium on Thursday with a 5-0 win.

The Panthers are now (6-4-1) (W-L-D) on the season as the Mastodons drop to (1-8-1).

Through 90 minutes, it never seemed the Panthers were on the back foot. The moments where the ball was in the Panthers’ defensive half were few and far between. A 73% ball possession rate will do that.

“I really do trust my backline all the time, so I can play them back whenever,” said forward Emily Petring. “This time, just finding gaps and playing us forward or long balls, it helps us a lot.”

Milwaukee had an unprecedented 29-3 shots advantage.

Horizon League Dominance

A Panthers win in the Horizon League. It has become the norm for the women’s soccer program.

The last conference loss for Milwaukee was all the way back in September of 2022 at Wright State.

Spread Out Attack

After losing standout attacking options from previous seasons (Kayla Rollins/Lainey Higgns), there was a question of where the offense would come from.

The Panthers have got production from many places, having 12 different goal scorers through 11 games.

“That sums us up this year, there’s no one player carrying the load,” said head coach Kevin Boyd.

The Goals

Defender Ellie Rebmann broke through first for the Panthers, scoring from the top of the box. The ball fell to her after a scram created by a Milwaukee corner kick.

The Panthers took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

Lola Wojcik scored her second goal of the season in the 49th minute. A Rebmann cross reached Wojcik, who finished first time.

Jenni Andjelic scored the third Panther goal in the 64th minute. A set play off a free kick saw Wojcik one-on-one with Mastodon keeper Jordan Imes. Wojcik’s shot was saved, but right into the path of Andjelic, who placed it in the top right corner.

Petring scored her fourth goal of the season, tying Missouri transfer Mallory McGuire for the team-high. Petring controlled a cross which led to her strike placed in the bottom left corner.

Petring came off the bench and played a productive 40 minutes.

“We’ve got two lines of forwards, tonight was the best I’ve seen,” said Boyd. “And that’s what all coaches want… when you can play them for 20 [minutes] and another group comes in for 20 [minutes], that gives you more energy running at a backline and eventually you’re going to wear the backline out.”

Abby Stoeck rounded out the goal scoring in the 84th minute with a header that came from a long throw-in.

Stoeck’s goal was the third Panther goal that came off a set-piece.

“We scored on two sets that we’ve been working on quite a bit,” said Boyd. “I’ve been waiting on those, and I thought we did quite well executing them.”

Tough Non-Conference Schedule Paying Dividends

For a second straight season, the Panthers took on a gauntlet of non-conference opponents to start the year.

“We throw them into the wolves in the non-conference, we throw them into a level that’s top 25 on a regular basis,” said Boyd. “They’re really tested that way.”

Of the three top-25-ranked teams they played, the Panthers lost all three. #23 Wisconsin, #22 North Carolina and #20 Michigan State all bested Milwaukee.

Last season, the Panthers were unable to get a signature win in their non-conference games.

This year, they got their big win at Minnesota.

“We found results in the non-conference, I would say that’s the difference,” said Boyd, comparing the start of the last two seasons.

Championship Rematch Sunday

In what will most likely shake out to be one of the bigger matches of the season, the Panthers will tango with the Northern Kentucky Norse on Sunday.

“It’s such a big game, we’re all really excited for it,” said Petring. “We’re just gonna go in with all the energy we have and get a win out of it.”

The Norse come into the game 3-0 in conference play, equal with the Panthers.

The last time the two matched up was for a bid to the NCAA tournament and the Horizon League Championship. The Panthers won 2-1 last November to head to the tournament for the 7th straight season.

The rematch is scheduled to start at 1:00 P.M. and will be streamed on ESPN+.