The Panthers broke the Horizon League record for consecutive regular-season conference games unbeaten with their 37th straight match without a loss. Since the opening conference game in 2022, the Panthers have gone 30-0-7 (W-L-D).
“That’s four teams worth of creating that record, which is quite remarkable… they’re the recipients of it right now, but it was four teams worth,” said head coach Kevin Boyd. “There are players at home right now or abroad playing pro that all contributed to that record.”
Senior defender Anna Champine has contributed to each of those four teams. Since her freshman season in 2022, she has been a stalwart in Milwaukee’s backline.
“Just seeing 37 [games] is adamant to the people who have put the work in every single day,” said Champine. “It’s a huge accomplishment for the program, for the girls who have been here for years past and many more years to come.”
Champine said the team was unaware of the record coming into the game.
“We don’t talk about those things; we always say, on the day, that game is the most important thing,” said Champine. “We never look back; we never look forward.”
The Panthers took care of IU Indy 6-0 at Engelmann Stadium on Thursday in a record-breaking night.
Who held the unbeaten record previously? Milwaukee, of course.
From 2016 to 2020, the Panthers had a 33-0-3 record before suffering a Horizon League loss.
Milwaukee now sits at 10-4-2 on the year with a 7-0-1 Horizon League mark. The IU Indy Jaguars drop to 3-10-2 overall and 2-4-1 in the conference.
Complete Performance
The result was never in doubt after a complete performance from start to finish.
“I thought we connected significantly better tonight, I also thought we were relentless in our drive to goal on a regular basis,” said Boyd. “We were really wanting to get at the back line continuously.”
In usual 2025 Panthers fashion, the goals came from everywhere. The six goals on the evening came from six different players.
“It isn’t just certain players in the spotlight, it’s all of us; different people can show up in different situations,” said Champine. “That says a lot about us as a team, we don’t put pressure on one player, we all show up for each other and push each other to be better every day.”
Lola Wojcik struck first with an upper-90 finish in the 12th minute.
Less than two minutes later, Kristina Karlof doubled the Panther advantage.
Jenni Andjelic scored the goal of the night after driving through midfield and unleashing a strike over Jaguar goalkeeper Sarah Bambrick.
Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett rounded out the first half scoring, pouncing on an IU Indy mistake, giving the Panthers a 4-0 lead.
Lockdown Defense
The Panthers’ defense has shut down most offenses since the end of non-conference action. In their past 10 games, Milwaukee has only given up three goals, all three coming from set pieces.
Both of Northern Kentucky’s goals came from long throw-ins, while Detroit Mercy scored off a corner kick.
In that span, the Panthers haven’t conceded an open play goal.
“We defend as a unit, it’s not just the backline, it’s not just the goalkeeper, it’s the team that does it,” said Champine about Milwaukee’s defense. “We’re going to press, that’s what teams say about us, it’s hard to play through us, because we’re so compact and we all work together, we’re all just one heartbeat.”
Much Needed Rotation
The Panthers were able to empty their bench with the result in hand. 13 substitutes saw action.
“It was great to get so many people on the field, it saves some legs with people going into Sunday,” said Boyd.
Leading goal scorer Mallory McGuire netted her 8th of the season 54 seconds into the second half.
Emily Petring finished the goal scoring for the Panthers in the 83rd minute, securing the 6-0 win.
Back Home After Road Trip
The Panthers enjoyed playing at Engelmann Stadium following a three-game road trip at Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy and Oakland.
On the road trip, Milwaukee grabbed a 5-0 win against the Vikings, a late 2-1 comeback win over the Titans and a 0-0 draw with the Golden Grizzlies.
“Road trips are a grind,” said Champine. “We got the results we wanted, obviously we didn’t lose, so we’re super content with that.”
The Panthers will play their last two regular-season games at home. Wright State comes to town on Sunday, trying to spoil the Panthers’ “Senior Day” game. In-state rival Green Bay heads down I-43 to round out the season on the 29th.
A Milwaukee win on Sunday secures the regular-season title and gives the Panthers home-field advantage throughout the Horizon League playoffs.