UWM women’s soccer won their seventh straight Horizon League championship with a 2-1 defeat over Northern Kentucky on Saturday at Engelmann Stadium. The victory clinched a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Horizon League Offensive Player of the Year Kayla Rollins netted a brace to propel Milwaukee to the win. Rollins also won the Horizon League Tournament MVP award.
The top-seeded Panthers came into the match with a 12-6-2 record while the second-seeded Norse sported a 12-7-1 record.
The Panthers won the regular season matchup against Northern Kentucky 2-0 in September.
The championship game was physical and intense. There were 29 fouls in total with 20 coming from Northern Kentucky. A much different feel from the Panthers’ semifinal game against Robert Morris, which they won 7-0.
The Norse were the first team to settle into the match and did most of their attacking down the wings.
The Panthers felt more comfortable as time went on and eventually broke through in the 31st minute.
Rollins’ outside-the-boot finish beat Northern Kentucky goalkeeper Megan Gessner; forward Molly O’Regan then sent Rollins through for the goal.
“To see her growth, even from freshman year and from the beginning of the season, it’s been amazing,” said midfielder Senya Meurer. “She deserves everything.”
Milwaukee went into halftime with a 1-0 lead, but the intensity level did not drop once the second half started.
Norse forward Erykah Cornett picked up the lone yellow card of the match in the 52nd minute.
Controversy stirred in the 56th minute after a goal-line clearance from Norse player Caitlin Evans. Rollins took the shot that upon replay, crossed the goal line before Evan’s clearance, but no goal was given. No video review was available for the game.
Less than three minutes later Northern Kentucky equalized. Goalkeeper of the Year Parker Donahugh pinned a cross from the left flank off the crossbar which then bounced off the crossbar into the path of Norse forward Emilie Doersching who capitalized.
Despite the crushing goal, the Panthers stayed resilient and poised.
Milwaukee kept pushing and got rewarded for their effort. Horizon League Player of the Year and midfielder Lainey Higgins took a shot that was called for a handball, which gave the Panthers a penalty kick.
Rollins stood over the penalty and converted it with power into the bottom left corner. The Panthers took back the lead 2-1.
“We kept the heart, hope and the spirit within each other,” said Rollins. “We just had to come back stronger and get that next one like we did.”
The Norse continued their attacking down the flanks when they had the chance.
Donahugh was up for the occasion when she claimed a rifled cross from the right wing in the 74th.
Northern Kentucky’s last look at the Milwaukee goal came in the 87th minute when a Cornett header went wide of the net.
After keeping the ball by the opposing corner flag, the Panthers survived with a 2-1 win.
The Norse ended up with more shots, holding a 17-15 advantage. Milwaukee had eight corner kicks to Northern Kentucky’s one. The Panthers won the possession battle 62%-38%.
Milwaukee had four players make the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. Rollins, Higgins, Meurer and defender Elizabeth Reece.
The victory was Boyd’s 250th win as a head coach. This season was his third in charge of the Milwaukee program.
“There’s a culture of winning here… and my job was trying to keep that culture going and we absolutely have,” said head coach Kevin Boyd. “We’re just the stewards maintaining it.”
This is the second straight season of Milwaukee defeating Northern Kentucky in the Horizon League playoff championship game. Last season’s game ended 1-0.
Milwaukee’s tournament opponent will be announced on Monday, Nov. 11 at 3:00 p.m. The first-round Selection Show will take place on NCAA.com.
The Panthers faced multiple NCAA Tournament-level opponents at the beginning of the season but were unable to get a result from those matches.
“The beginning of the year was a challenge, there was a lot of learning,” said Meurer. “We learned a lot, and we’ve worked out our kinks, so I think we’re ready for the next level.
The first round of the NCAA Tournament will take place from November 15-17.
“We’re a formidable opponent going into the playoffs,” said Boyd.