The 2018 Lanther Diaries: Entry No. 2

Hi everyone, it’s Sara again!!

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote to you all. School has started, and I apologize for not updating you all sooner. Don’t worry though, your Lady Panthers have been continuing with their winning season! Since we have last talked, we have gone on two road trips, both ending in winning results. The first trip sent us down to Macomb, Ill., to take on the Western Illinois. Due to the rainy weather, we had to play inside on turf, but that didn’t affect your Panthers from getting a winning result. A 3-1 win raised our spirits even more as we headed to Iowa to take on the Cyclones of Iowa State! One of our tougher opponents this season, we came in with lots of energy for a close game. The game was tight until the very end. Not until the 72nd minute did we score the first goal and soon Iowa State came back leading 2-1 until the 89th minute when McKaela scored to send us to overtime! The drama only started in OT when Iowa State missed a PK, and finally Jelena scored the game winner from Haley Johnson in the 98th minute!

After the exciting weekend, we headed back to Milwaukee for another week of practice in preparation for our first Horizon League conference game. After only 4 days back at home, we hit the road again to Youngstown, Ohio to take on the Penguins. After what felt like 16-hour bus ride, we finally arrived with only one thing on our minds, WIN!

We took a while to get going at the start of the game, but after a substitution and boost of team energy, Schill found the back of the net in the first half that would be the only goal score the whole game. With a record of 1-0 leading into conference and continuing our unbeaten streak, we headed back home with our next focus on cross-town rival Marquette!

Monday came along, and the team was buzzing all day with excitement for the big game. After the pounds of bug spray were applied (sorry Olivia for using it all), we took the field ready for what some say our most intense game of the season. First half ended 0-0, and we were ready to attack and score goals once the second half started. After an onslaught of shots and attack from us, Marquette was able to find their goal off a free kick with 17 minutes left in the game. Quickly, we shook our heads and started attacking again and again. We weren’t able to take advantage in the final minutes ending our unbeaten streak and leaving us with the first loss of the season.

As defeat sat with us for the first time in 27 games, we used it as a tool for inspiration and motivation to continue with nothing but success for the season. We bottled the angry, frustration, and heartache from the loss, and used our new energized, focused mindsets to ready us for our next conference game ahead.

Saturday night back under the lights of Englemann Stadium, a new refreshed Lanther team came out buzzing against the Flames of UIC. It only took 1 minute and 18 seconds for to score the first goal! The scoring didn’t stop there, and we found the net twice more to end the first half to end the first 3-1. To no surprise, the second half started as the first, we found the net for the last time in the 47th minute leading us to a 4-1 victory and a 2-0 record to start of the conference season.

Ending the week on a high note, your Lady Panthers look forward this week to two more conference match ups. Wednesday night we are heading up north to face Green Bay (hopefully we end in a better result than the Packers this week), and then we host Wright State on Saturday at 2 pm before the men’s team takes on Green Bay!

I can’t wait to see you all come out to support your Lanthers this weekend, and as always come back for another shot … with Petrone!

Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 1 for 2018

Hello Panthers and welcome to season two, entry one of our Milwaukee Men’s soccer blog ‘Nights Under the Lights.’

As many of you know, my name is Francesco and I am a senior going into this upcoming fall soccer season. It’s my fourth and final year here in Milwaukee, and I know everyone surrounding the program is extremely excited for this upcoming season! With a very good mix of older players in their third and fourth seasons like myself, and a good chunk of new faces in the locker room as well, I know we have a team that can challenge for the Horizon League title and then some this 2018 year.

We’ve been after it since the first day of August as a team, with captain’s training starting up very early this year. Again, this is a time where we as captain’s get the team together without the coaches prior to preseason to play some small-sided games. We got some touches, got to know a lot of the new guys, and overall it was a very enjoyable time where we could just play without the pressures of official preseason.

After about a week and a half of captain’s training, it was time to get the real deal started. First things first, fitness testing on day one with some small-sided games. The coaches got after it right from the start, which is just what we needed. After a grueling preseason, with multiple days where we trained two, maybe three times, some heavy humidity and darting sunshine, along with a few preseason matches to get into form, we were ready for opening weekend in Macomb, Ill., against the Western-Illinois Leathernecks.

Last season we took three points from the Leathernecks on opening day at Engelmann Stadium, so we knew they were going to want to avenge that result. However, the game was on a Sunday late afternoon and they had played two days prior in Oakland, which was taken to double overtime. We knew we would be fresh, while a double-overtime on opening day is nothing but heavy on the legs no doubt, so we were looking forward to hopefully using that to our advantage. It was hot, and temperatures were in the late 90s and early 100s, with the humidity so intense the air almost felt sticky. After a rather slow first half, with each team feeling the other out, at the end of the first half sophomore Vuk Latinovich put away a free kick from about 25ish yards out! It was a great strike into the bottom corner, and from there we never looked back. The match ended 4-0 in favour of the Panthers, with additional goals from Alex ‘Whitey’ Sykes, Josh Kaye, and Sean Holmes. It was a fantastic start to the season and led to a happy ride home back to Milwaukee.

Next up was the University of Dayton Invitational, where we were scheduled to meet up with both the University of Dayton Flyers and Ohio State Buckeyes. First up was Dayton on the Friday night, and it being their home opener we knew the atmosphere would be electric. It was something we were all looking forward to, and the build-up to the match was very exciting. The fans were loud, both teams were ready to use the energy to their benefit. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way we had planned, and we ended up losing the match 2-0. It wasn’t our best performance by any means, but we knew we could be better and we were determined to make things right come Sunday.

Preparation began for Big Ten side Ohio State, and preparation on Saturday consisted of both a pool and video session to help us get ready for the battle. It was another hot and humid day, where again temperatures were reaching the high 90s with the luxury of high humidity yet again. However, we as a team were more than eager to make things right in terms of our performance. We started off the game much better and in control, with good possession and dangerous counters as well. Finally, our play paid off and Evan Conway scored a brilliant flick on goal from a Latinovich cross and we were one-nil up! It was well deserved, and we carried that goal with us the rest of the match to win 1 nil. It was a great win that everyone contributed to in good style.

Our next matches come at home finally, against Valparaiso on Friday night and University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, both at Engelmann stadium at 7PM. We will continue to work hard and make each session and match count! Thanks for tuning in and we hope to see you at our home opening weekend!

Frankie

The 2018 Lanther Diaries: Entry No. 1

Hello Panther fans, and welcome to this year’s “Lanther Diaries” blog!

If you don’t know, my name is Sara Petrone, and I am a senior on the team from New Lenox, Ill. I am a history major with a minor in American Sign Language, and this year I will be your insider to all things Lanther Soccer!

It’s crazy to believe it has already been over a month since the team has returned to campus for another year of panther soccer! Preseason flew by with many days of what felt like never ending two a days, but your Lady Panthers worked hard and we all survived with help from teammates and dreams of a winning season! From the start of preseason, we were able to show off with two exhibition wins, but the real test came on August 17th during our home opener against Northern Illinois.

Before we kicked off the season, the team gathered for their own friendly competition in preparations for the following game day. The third annual hyrdo games were in full effect in Milwaukee!! Events involved the consumption of a large amount of water that would make any athletic trainer happy. Our team broke into five groups representing various countries around the world. Team Ireland came out with the big win of the night, but everyone was a winner at heart. I have attached some pictures, so you can enjoy our team spirit as much as the team did!

After the fun of the hydro games, it was time to ring in the season with a win! Going into the game Friday, we knew what needed to be done. Win! The game started, and we had no problem kicking off with a bang. In the 11th minute, Lolo started the scoring, then Haley Johnson found the net herself shortly after, and finally a goal by Kelli Swenson to end the scoring for the night. A great 3-0 start to our season!

The following week, we took on Eastern Illinois, and to no surprise your panthers were back at it winning! Another 3-0 win with goals by Erin, McKaela, and Chandler! With two wins, the team was ready to take on crosstown rival Marquette, but the weather had other plans. After two hours waiting in the locker room listening to the musical stylings of Gaby Z, playing hang man, and battling in many games of ninja, both teams agreed to reschedule the game for September 17th.

We moved forward and started to focus on our next battles ahead. Another two-game weekend at home was in front of us with Robert Morris on Friday and DePaul on Sunday. After a week of tough practices, the team came out to win again this weekend! Friday, the beautiful goal scored by McKenna off the cross from Schill gave us the edge to a 1-0 win, and it pumped the team to come into Sunday with an attitude to win again. As Sunday approached, your Lanthers were on the prowl for a win not only to put up more points, but an opportunity to tie the Horizon League’s all-time win streak (23-0-1).

From the kick off, we knew it was going to be our most challenging game yet. DePaul put up a good fight in the first half ending with no score, but this would not last long because in the 50th minute Haley Johnson put us on the board with a header off of Erin’s corner. This did not stop DePaul who came back and tied it up five minutes later, but your girls dug deep and Schill found the net again with less than 20 minutes left in the game. We were able to hold off the Blue Demons to come out with another winning result which allowed us to tie the Horizon League’s win streak of a record of 20-0-4.

This weekend we look ahead to extend our streak as we hit the road to Western Illinois and Iowa State! Come back next week to see how your Lanthers played and what crazy shenanigans happened on our first road trip of the year!!

See you all next week for another shot … with Petrone!