The Milwaukee Panthers’ women’s soccer team started strong, but eventually fell to Harvard by a score of 4-2 at Engelmann Stadium on Thursday.
The Panthers applied pressure early and were especially disruptive when Harvard tried to play the ball through the midfield. This disruption caused many opportunities on the quick counterattack.
Lainey Higgins opened the scoring with a precise finish from the top of the box into the bottom right corner in the 30th minute. She now has a team-leading 4 goals on the season. Zoey Pagel’s through-ball set up Higgins to do the rest.
Two chances came from forward Molly O’Regan by way of Higgins in the first 15 minutes that were saved by Harvard goalkeeper Rhiannon Stewart.
With troubles building up through the midfield, Harvard found most of their success attacking down the wings.
The prowess out wide struck gold for the Crimson when Jade Rose scored a shocking equalizer. After beating two Milwaukee defenders down the right flank, Rose scored off a “shoss,” a term coined by head coach Kevin Boyd, a mix between a shot and a cross. It was unclear if Rose was crossing or shooting on the play, but it resulted in a game-tying goal, the same 1-1 score that the teams carried into half-time.
After another strong start at the beginning of the half for the Panthers, Harvard started to take control of the contest.
In the 60th minute, Harvard took the lead. A Jade Rose cross from the right side found its way to an unmarked Josefine Hasbo who slotted it past goal keeper Parker Donahugh in the bottom-left corner.
“We let them dictate the energy and momentum of the game,” said Higgins on Harvard’s three-goal second half.
Harvard maintained possession for much of the second half, with Milwaukee struggling to find a rhythm on offense.
“Good teams when they get the ball, they’re going to do what they do,” said Boyd. “They open up the field really wide, and they throw a lot of numbers forward.”
The Crimson found their way back to the scoresheet through a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Hasbo scored her second goal of the night as she calmly placed the ball in the right corner as Donahugh stayed middle.
Less than four minutes later, Harvard would score their final goal of the evening through a one-timed finish by Lauren Muniz through a near-post cross from Jade Rose.
Before time ran out, 2023 Horizon League Player of the Year Kayla Rollins found the back of the net for Milwaukee.
Rollins has been used as a substitute the past four games but has still had a good amount of game time.
“I had a talk with Kayla today,” said Boyd. “I told her we could easily insert her back into the starting lineup because of the way she’s performing now.
“Well, what do you want?,” Boyd posed to Rollins. “Do you feel a need for us to insert you into the starting lineup? Or, when you come off the bench… we’re getting a punch, and it’s a dangerous punch.”
Boyd made clear that they are trying to find the best role for Rollins to showcase her abilities, which may be as a starter or a substitute.
The Panthers’ 1-6 record through six games of the season tells a bleak story, but when looking at the competition they faced, the start of the season was never going to be easy.
Boyd considers Xavier, Ohio State and Harvard to all be top 25 teams, with Wisconsin and Minnesota pushing into that range.
While the results haven’t been there, Higgins assured that there has been growth since the start of the season.
“Throughout each of these games we’ve improved,” said Higgins. “Each and every game we’re getting better.”
Along with the tough schedule, the Panthers have had to implement a lot of new players into the team this year.
“It’s been a challenge getting everyone on the same page,” said Higgins. “It’s something we find really valuable… We’re still trying to find players to fill certain roles, and we are giving a lot of people opportunities.”
This includes four transfers and 11 freshmen.
Next up for Milwaukee is a battle at Marquette on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT.
“Marquette is obviously a big rival of ours,” said Higgins. “We’re looking forward to getting gritty with them and competing well with them.”
The past two meetings with Marquette have been split by each team. In 2022, the Panthers came away victorious with a 1-0 win. But in 2023, Marquette responded with their own 1-0 win.
After the match with Marquette, Horizon League action will be the Panthers next challenge. The Panthers have dominated the Horizon League in recent history, bringing the Horizon League title to Milwaukee for six straight years.
“We know that every team is going to give us their best game,” said Higgins, whose Milwaukee team has won six consecutive titles.
She also brought up the idea to take lessons learned from playing big teams like Harvard and bring it into their Horizon League matches.
The first match in the Horizon League will be at Northern Kentucky on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m.