The Panthers beat in-state rival Green Bay 3-2 at Engelmann Stadium on Thursday to clinch the regular season title. The result also gives Milwaukee the one seed and home-field advantage throughout the Horizon League Women’s Soccer Championship (postseason tournament).
It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but a late first-half goal paired with an early second-half flurry propelled the Panthers to a 3-2 win.
“It’s pretty intense, it’s a bit contentious,” said head coach Kevin Boyd. “They had quite a few fouls on us, and we managed to find a way to win and win the conference.”
The victory also marks Milwaukee’s 39th straight Horizon League regular-season game without a loss, an ongoing conference record.
The Panthers end 2025 with a record of 11-4-3 (W-L-D) overall and an 8-0-2 mark in conference action.
The Phoenix dropped to 6-8-4 overall and 4-3-3 in the conference. Their 15 points in the Horizon League were good enough for a 5th-place finish and postseason spot.
Panthers Outplayed?
Green Bay dictated the flow for much of the first half, but the Panthers still found a way to break the deadlock.
Against the run of play, Mallory McGuire scored from a tight angle to take the 1-0 lead.
McGuire’s nine goals on the year tied Erykah Cornett (NKU) and Ava Trethewey (RMU) for the most by anyone in the Horizon League.
Lola Wojcik and Emily Petring both scored seven goals this season, tying each other for the second most of any Panther.
Petring had 13 goal contributions on the year, putting her near the top of any Horizon League player despite primarily being used as a substitute. Her seven goals and six assists came in just 727 minutes of gametime over the season.
Milwaukee went into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.
2nd Half
In just over four minutes out of the break, the Panthers’ lead ballooned to 3-0.
Wojcik scored a wild goal, deflecting a Green Bay clearance attempt into the back of the net in the 47th minute.
Kristina Karlof scored less than three minutes later. Kiersten White found McGuire, who fed Karlof in on goal.
The Phoenix were rewarded for their play when Laney Stark scored with a thunderous strike from outside the box, over Panthers’ goalkeeper Bella Hollenbach.
Playoff Feel
As the second half went on, the game started to get chippy. There were 23 fouls committed throughout.
Wojcik was given a yellow card in the 89th minute after a challenge that resulted in a free kick for Green Bay.
“Being rivals, it was definitely a little more intense,” said midfielder Natalie Zodrow. “We take every game sort of like [a playoff game], we go into it like it’s the biggest game we’re going to play.”
Panthers Surrender Late Goal Again
With 25 seconds left in the game, Green Bay brought it within one after Rebecca Stoeckmann connected off a corner kick.
“We just need to keep our heads in the game for the entirety of it,” said Zodrow. “Towards the end, we lost it a little bit, I think just for the whole game we need to stay locked in.”
The Panthers survived the last 25 seconds to stave off the Phoenix comeback and secure the 3-2 win.
That is the second straight game where the Panthers have surrendered a late goal. The Wright State Raiders spoiled the Panthers’ “Senior Day” with a goal in the last minute of the game to earn a 2-2 draw.
“I was not happy with the way we closed out the game again, that’s a concern I’ve got for our team,” said Boyd. “That’s two games in a row we’ve given up goals late that we absolutely should not be giving up, and that’s something we have to fix.”
Green Bay outshot Milwaukee by nine, a rare occurrence for the Panthers in a Horizon League game.
Horizon League Women’s Soccer Championship
Milwaukee will face the lowest-seeded team advancing from the quarterfinals at Engelmann Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 1:00 p.m.
The championship game is slated for two days later.
“We always like being home, we’re so much better when we are home,” said Boyd. “A tradition we’d like to continue, hosting the semis and final.”
The championship winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.