Milwaukee City Wire

Mallory McGuire led the Milwaukee Panthers women’s soccer team to a 5-0 win over Cleveland State on Saturday at Krenzler Field in Cleveland, Ohio. McGuire had a career day, scoring two goals and adding two assists for a total of six points, the highest single-game tally of her collegiate career.

The victory improved Milwaukee’s overall record to 8-4-1 and their Horizon League mark to 5-0-0. The Panthers extended their all-time record against Cleveland State to 26 wins, zero losses, and one draw. The result also marked Milwaukee’s twelfth consecutive win over the Vikings and pushed their unbeaten streak in regular-season league play to 34 matches.

"Whenever we can get a win in conference, we are quite happy about it," said head coach Kevin Boyd. "Wins are difficult to come by, and especially difficult when you are on the road and this is a tough place to play. For us to get not only a win, but a 5-0 win with the shutout is really a dominant performance by us. To do that on the road is outstanding by our team."

McGuire opened scoring early in the seventh minute with her fifth goal of the season. She scored again in the twenty-fourth minute after receiving passes from Ashlyn Skinner-Barrett and Emily Petring. Moments later, Petring netted her fifth goal of the fall with assists from McGuire and Lola Wojcik.

"Mal was exceptional today – she had her most impactful game of the season with the two goals and two assists," Boyd said. "But I really thought our starting lineup was just dominant the entire time they were on, and it was great."

Milwaukee nearly added another before halftime when Ellie Rebmann hit the crossbar late in the first half.

After halftime, Lola Wojcik scored her fourth goal of the season off assists from Kristina Karlof and McGuire in the fifty-second minute. Jenni Andjelic completed Milwaukee’s scoring just over a minute later with Kiersten White providing the assist.

The Panthers rotated players throughout much of the second half as Cleveland State increased its shot attempts late in the match. Goalkeeper Bella Hollenbach made three saves during this period to secure her fifth shutout this year.

"We got to get everybody that traveled on the field, which was exactly what we wanted. We're at a place we want to be – which is we want to be working on sharpening up the players that are coming in so that our picture looks the same, so our sets look the same, so that we're all on the same page all the way through. This is an ideal time for us to be discussing that; working on it so we would feel like we're right where we want. We now get the long drive home and settle in and get ready for a trip leaving Wednesday to go to Detroit. Good road win … first of three – focus is on the second one now," Boyd said.

Milwaukee finished with significant statistical advantages: outshooting Cleveland State 28-8 overall (15-3 shots on goal) while holding possession for 54 percent of playtime; Cleveland State led slightly in corner kicks with six compared to Milwaukee's five.

Next up for Milwaukee are away games against Detroit Mercy Thursday at 6 p.m., followed by Oakland Sunday as they conclude their stretch of three consecutive road matches.