Sept. 26, 2010
By: Robert Ivory
Final Stats
Kelly Zinkiewich moved into fifth place on the Horizon League all-time saves list, but the Milwaukee Panthers continued their dominance over the Vikings with a 3-0 win Sunday afternoon at Krenzler Field. Sarah Hagen, Sara Stern, and Meghan Elvington each tallied goals for the Panthers. The loss is the first for the Vikings at Krenzler Field (5-1-2) this year, drops them to 5-5-2 overall, and 1-1 in the Horizon League. Milwaukee is now 6-3-2 and 2-0 in Horizon League play.
"We just had a tough time possessing the ball," head coach Derrek Falor said. "The best defense they had was us not having the ball. The more we possessed the ball the further up the field we went. If we would have played a full 90 minutes like that, then we could have found more seems in the first half."
The Vikings would give up the first goal at the 32:24 mark of the first half. From 25 yards out and on the left side of midfield, Panther Kelly McGrath played a ball into the box. The ball found the feet of Sarah Hagen, whose back was to the goal and had a defender on her. She turned towards the net, ripped a shot and beat Viking goalkeeper Kelly Zinkiewich for the 1-0 lead and her seventh goal of the 2010 campaign.
Milwaukee continued to keep the pressure on the Vikings, as Cleveland State did not net a shot on goal in the first half. The Vikes did a good job clearing the continual pressure as different members of the backline stepped up to clear the chances Milwaukee had in the first half.
However, the pressure was just too much for the Vikings in the final minutes of the half. With just 2:30 left, Milwaukee's Sarah Hagen played a cross into the box that was cleared away, but right to the foot of Sara Stern. Stern, standing 15 yards out, had an easy shot, putting the right footed shot in and put the Panthers up 2-0 before heading into the half.
"I think that was just us battling our demons in the first half," Falor said. "I think the second half was better as we made our adjustments and tried a couple of different combinations up top."
In total, the Panthers had six shots on goal in the first half to the Vikings none and Vikings goalie, Zinkiewich, had four saves to her name. With her third save, Kelly moved past Laura Sandt of Green Bay for fifth place in Horizon League saves history. Kelly would finish with 10 saves, bringing her career total to 360 and needs only three more saves to tie for fourth place.
Cleveland State improved their possession of the ball in the second half, but the stellar defense of Milwaukee limited the Viking chances. The Vikings possessed the ball at midfield, but it seemed that the chances would end with a pass too long for the forward and would roll into the Milwaukee goalie's waiting hands.
The Viking's first shot on goal came just three minutes from time when Natalie Daniels held possession of the ball in the corner. Daniels dribbled down the goal line, tried to cross the ball in, but the Milwaukee goalie Gabby Guaiuni caught the ball.
"I think (Daniels) dug as deep as she could today in those last 20 minutes," Falor said. "I thought that she had some opportunities in the second half."
On the counter attack, Milwaukee found their third goal. Hagen found herself with some time in the left side of the box and ripped a low shot that beat Zinkiewich, but hit off the post. Forward Meghan Elvington put the rebound into the open net, giving the Panthers their third of the day.
Cleveland State will now face Youngstown State on Friday (Oct. 1) with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Krenzler Field.
