On the strength of a 1-0 win at Oakland on Friday night, Milwaukee claimed its 14th consecutive Horizon League regular season title in women's soccer.
Oakland entered the contest having not allowed a goal in its last four Horizon League contests, but a Vienna Behnke goal in the 13th minute was all the Milwaukee team won need.
Milwaukee will be the number one seed in next week's Horizon League Tournament and will receive a bye into the semifinals. The semifinals and finals will be played at Milwaukee's Laura Moynihan Field at Englemann Stadium.
Wright State used an 79th minute goal by Liz Soto to get past Cleveland State, 1-0, on Friday and earn the number two seed. The Raiders will also receive a bye into the quarterfinals.
The tournament will begin on Tuesday with two quartefinal matchups. Oakland, the third-seed, will host sixth-seed Youngstown State at 7 p.m. ET, while fifth-seed Valparaiso will play at fourth-seed Detroit at 2 p.m. ET in the other quarterfinal match.
The two winners on Tuesday will join Milwaukee and Wright State in the semifinals to be played on Friday.
Friday, November 1 Results
Milwaukee 1, Oakland 0
Wright State 1, Cleveland State 0
Detroit 1, Youngstown State 0
Valparaiso 0, Green Bay 0 (2ot)
Milwaukee 1, Oakland 0
Vienna Behnke scored in the 13th minute and the defense did the rest from there as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team clinched the Horizon League Championship Friday with a 1-0 victory over Oakland University at OU Soccer Field.
This marks the 14th-consecutive year the Panthers have claimed the Horizon League crown, the longest active streak in women's soccer.
Milwaukee finishes the regular season with an 8-8-1 overall record, including a 6-1-0 mark in conference play. Oakland falls to 9-8-1 overall, 4-3-0 in the league.
UWM will now host the conference tournament, starting with Friday's semifinal matchup.
"Oakland is just a really, really good side and they have some great players. They created some great chances. Give them a lot of credit for the match they brought to us tonight," Milwaukee head coach Greg Henschel said. "I give our team a lot of credit for coming out on top of a good team like that. I'm really pleased with the result. I think we would have liked a better second half out of our team, but I think we played well in the second half we just didn't play as well as we can and as well as we usually do. I'm really proud of the team for finding that result tonight. They were not easy conditions to find that result."
With both teams feeling each other out early, Behnke saw the game's first chance and pounced on it. The junior forced a turnover near the OU end line, beat her defender and then calmly slotted the ball near post to beat the keeper.
"We've been seeing that type of moment from Vienna all season," Henschel said. "I was really glad to see her capitalize on that moment and make it hers and it was just a fantastic finish and a great individual effort on her part."
Milwaukee looked like it was going to add to their goal total shortly after Behnke's blast. Krissy Dorre was sprung behind the defense and had the keeper one-on-one but was called offside. Then, Dorre played a through ball to spring Kelly Lewers, but the side judge again raised his flag at the last moment for the offside call.
From there, the Panther defense took over. Milwaukee was dominant on the back line all night long, limiting the Grizzlies to just 11 shots with keeper Paige Lincicum tallying five big saves on the night, none bigger than her save of Joan Sieja's blast from point-blank range in the 73rd minute.
"Our team is really starting to engage the game a little bit differently," Henschel said. "I think it does cause teams, even good teams like Oakland, problems. Our defending was really quite good tonight. Of course there are areas we're going to work to improve, but our group is working very well and with great concentration.
Milwaukee will now host the Horizon League Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, the Panthers will play the host to the lowest remaining seed Friday, Nov. 8.
"Again, I'm really proud of this team for all that they've achieved. To maintain their position on the top of the conference this year was not easy," Henschel said. "If you look at our roster, you know how many young kids we have on this team and I think it bodes well for the future because we had one senior in the starting lineup tonight and I'm looking forward to our team continuing to strengthen themselves in the offseason and adding our recruits next year is only going to strengthen us. Having said that, I think the seniors need to be recognized. They have really done a lot for this team over their four years and, I will say this, I'm proud to keep that Horizon streak alive for people like Michael Moynihan and David Nikolic because that is a pretty neat thing that they've created and I'm just happy to be a part of it."
Wright State 1, Cleveland State 0
The Wright State women's soccer team wrapped up the regular season Friday night with a 1-0 Horizon League win over Cleveland State at Alumni Field.
The lone goal of the contest came at the 79:06 mark of the second half as senior forward Emilie Fillion delivered a corner kick from the right side to senior defender Liz Soto, who headed in a shot for her third goal of the season. It was the fifth assist of the year for Fillion.
WSU's defense took over from there as they held the Vikings to just four shots on the night, one in the second half, while the Raiders attempted 16 shots, nine after halftime. Senior goalkeeper Brooke McCurdy recorded a pair of saves as she posted her seventh complete shutout of the season and third straight.
Detroit 1, Youngstown State 0
The University of Detroit Mercy women's soccer team secured the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Championship and a home playoff game with a 1-0 win over the Youngstown State Penguins Friday evening at Farmers National Bank Field in the regular season finale.
"It was a huge victory winning this game on the road and giving us a home playoff game," said UDM women's soccer head coach Mike Lupenec. "I thought we played good enough to win and it's a good feeling to get the road win in this conference and we have to prepare for our game on Tuesday."
Sophomore Jennifer Borawski knocked in the winning goal for Detroit (10-7-1, 4-3 Horizon League) in the 37th minute on a loose ball in front of the net.
The Titans will now host a first round game in the Horizon League Championship this Tuesday (11/5) at Titan Field at 2:00 p.m. Detroit's opponent will be determined following the conclusion of the remaining games on the Horizon League schedule to be completed this evening. The remaining games include Cleveland State at Wright State (7pm), Milwaukee at Oakland (7:30pm), and Green Bay at Valparaiso (7:30pm). All times are Eastern.
Friday's game against Youngstown State (4-12-1, 2-5 Horizon League) started with the Penguins breaking in with a shot off the post in the 21st minute.
Even with that attempt, it was Detroit who got on the board as a corner kick helped set up the Titan offense. Junior defender Alyssa Lotito took the corner and after a shuffle inside the 18-yard box, the Youngstown State goalkeeper got her hands on the ball, but not enough to control it, and Borawski knocked it out of her hands and into the goal for a 1-0 Titan lead at 36:30.
Both teams had great chances in the final five minutes of the opening half as senior forward Kaitlyn Quarrell volleyed a shot high over the net from freshman defender Kaitlan Vossen in the 41st minute. The Penguins had their chance with a free kick just outside the 18-yard box in the final minute after a Detroit foul, but the shot headed just wide of the net.
At the end of the first half, the Titans held a 1-0 lead and a 5-4 overall edge in shots. UDM had five corner kicks in the opening frame, while the hometown Penguins mustered one with each team registering a shot on goal.
Detroit held on for the win despite a late push from the home team. Youngstown State had an 8-5 overall lead in shots in the second half and finished with a 12-10 advantage, including 3-2 edge in shots on goal.
UDM sophomore goalkeeper Martha Dunbar made three saves recording her second-straight shutout and fourth in the Horizon League this year. It was her seventh overall blanking on the season.
Valparaiso 0, Green Bay 0 (2ot)
After learning earlier in the day that it had secured a berth into the Horizon League Championship, the Valparaiso women's soccer team closed out the regular season on Friday night at Brown Field by battling to a 1-1 (2ot) draw with Green Bay.
Valpo came out strong in the early going, with a couple of solid early scoring attempts. But it would be the Phoenix who cracked the scoreboard first, as Jenna Harrington fed Ahna Logan, whose shot from the top of the box snuck past Kristen Manski (St. Charles, Ill./North) into the lower left corner to give Green Bay a 1-0 edge 12 minutes into the game.
Valpo found the equalizer just over 10 minutes later, however. Rita Craven (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) played a through ball into the area, where freshman April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) ran onto it. Cronin's strike to the far post found the back of the net for the rookie's first career goal, knotting the fixture at one apiece.
"I liked how we responded tonight to giving away the early goal, and the way we got it back before the half," said Crusader head coach John Marovich. "We had a nice buildup and were patient with possession, and I felt like we were rewearded for our patience with a goal. As the game went along, the weather didn't help matters in trying to earn three points, but that's the Horizon League - every team is this league is a good side, and it's not easy to get wins. Tonight, we knew what our future held for us, and we made sure to do what we needed to do to prepare for Tuesday."
While both sides had plenty of shot attempts on the evening (Valpo - 16; Green Bay - 15), neither side was able to find the back of the net in the final 87 minutes as the match ended in a draw. Manski stopped eight shots to earn the tie for the Crusaders, while Katy Pilarzyk made three saves for Green Bay (4-8-5, 1-5-1 Horizon).
The Crusaders were guaranteed a spot in the tournament with a loss by Youngstown State Friday afternoon, and had actually secured the fifth seed in the bracket prior to the end of their contest. As the five seed, Valpo will travel to fourth-seeded Detroit for a 1 p.m. (CT) kickoff on Tuesday afternoon in first-round action. Details on tickets and live coverage will be available in the coming days.
"We're excited about being in the Horizon League tournament and getting the chance to go back to Detroit," said Marovich. "We're just going to get ourselves prepared over the next few days - physically, mentally and emotionally - after a long, hard season for the exciting time of year that is postseason play."