Engelmann Stadium at the University of Milwaukee was the host stadium for the Horizon League tournament in women’s soccer. The championship game on Saturday was a showdown between the hometown Milwaukee Panthers and the NKU Norse.
This was a game between the top two teams in the Horizon League meeting on the biggest stage, as Milwaukee and NKU combined for only one loss during conference play all season. They came into this game tied for the longest winning streak in the country, having each won their last seven games. The winner would hold the conference championship trophy and punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.
The first half was dominated by the host team, as Milwaukee controlled the ball for the majority of the first half. The offense for the Panthers was aggressive and shot heavy with the team winning the shot totals 9-5. The Panthers defense was also effective as they did not allow one corner kick from NKU at all in the first half.
The first points of the game would be a product of that aggressive shot-taking for Milwaukee as Kayla Rollins would find the back of the net, off of a Molly O’Regan assist that gave NKU’s conference foe a 1-0 lead going into the half.
The second half was much more even in terms of shot attempts and time controlling the ball on offense. The Norse would turn up their level of aggression and outnumber the Panthers in total shots for the half 12-6.
One of those 12 shots for the Norse was another timely goal from Emilie Doersching, who took advantage of a beautiful pass from senior Lilly Yordy to tie the score at 1-1. That goal was Doersching’s second of the season.
However, the Norse would not have much time to celebrate. Just seven minutes later, the Panthers were able to regain the lead when Kayla Rollins registered her second goal of the game, sneaking the ball into the net on a penalty kick past the outstretched hands of goalie Megan Gessner. That was the first goal Gessner had allowed in the last 200+ minutes of play.
NKU was able to get more shots on goal after that penalty kick, but came up empty on any of them finding the back of the net, despite leading in shots 17-15 and shots on goal 10-7.
Those misplaced shots led to the 2-1 victory for Milwaukee to claim the Horizon League championship in front of their home fans.
The Norse finished the season with a record of 12-7-1 and a conference record of 8-2-1, with both of those losses coming to Milwaukee.
After the conclusion of the game, three Norse players were given All-Tournament honors as Kylie Anderson, Emilie Doersching and Kaya Vogt were all recognized for their excellent play throughout the tournament.