MILWAUKEE – Kelli Swenson scored on a long free kick and Elaina LaMacchia and the defense made it stand up as the Milwaukee women's soccer team claimed a 1-0 victory over Cleveland State Saturday night in the Horizon League Tournament Championship.
 
"We put ourselves in this position the past couple of years," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "I give Cleveland State credit, it was just back-and-forth competition and we were fortunate to put a ball in the back of the net."
 
The Panthers (16-1-1) and Vikings (11-7-1) played an even battle all night, with the lone goal coming from an unexpected source in an unexpected situation.
 
A long free kick, from about 40 yards out near the right sideline, decided the title. Swenson placed a perfect kick on net, with Haley Johnson charging from the left and McKaela Schmelzer coming from the right. Instead of another Panther getting a touch, the ball bounced around the 6-yard box, froze the goalie and went straight in on one bounce at the 56:31 mark.
 
The goal, just Swenson's third of the season, ended up the game-winner, handing Milwaukee the title after back-to-back seasons coming to a close in heartbreaking fashion in the conference tournament finale.
 
"The last 20 minutes, became defending too much pressure, but it feels good," Fabiano said. "To get over that hurdle feels good. For the program, for the girls before this, just for everybody involved."
 
The win sends the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament for the 12^th time in program history, and the first time since the 2013 campaign.
 
"We have been able to win a lot of games 1-0, get a goal and you bend but don't break – we have been able to do that all year," Fabiano said. "With the youth and mixture of seniors, this is just a great feeling for everyone involved with the program."
 
Swenson – who was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season earlier this fall – was also named the MVP of the tournament in the postgame celebration and awards ceremony. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Erin Corrigan, Schmelzer and LaMacchia.
 
The game started slowly both ways, with the first shot not getting recorded until Schmelzer sent one high in the 25^th minute.
 
It was Schmelzer again in the 29^th minute, putting a loose ball in the box just over the crossbar after a touch from Julia Barajas set her up.
 
The other quality first-half opportunity came from Jelena Sever, who sent an impressive bicycle kick nearly on frame, going wide right in the 32^nd minute.
 
LaMacchia made four saves, with the only late one being a fairly simple stop in the 85^th minute, sealing her eighth individual shutout – and the team's 10^th – of the season.
 
"Not by plan, but we sort of went into a shell and had to defend and absorb a lot of pressure." Fabiano said. "But, in a championship game, you take it any way you can get it."
 
Game totals saw even counts in shots (13-13) and shots on goal (4-4), but amazingly enough, corner kicks – something Milwaukee thrived and excelled on during the regular season – were 7-0 CSU.
 
Johnson paced the MKE offense with four shots; Schmelzer was the only other players with more than one, finishing with a pair.
 
2018 Horizon League Women's Soccer All-Tournament Team
Kelli Swenson, Milwaukee (Tournament MVP)
Erin Corrigan, Milwaukee
McKaela Schmelzer, Milwaukee
Elaina LaMacchia, Milwaukee
Stacy Morris, Cleveland State
Essence Canady, Cleveland State
Sarah Krause, Cleveland State
Carly Fiorido, Detroit Mercy
Casey Courtiuier, Detroit Mercy
Lauren Bos, Oakland
Kendra Zak, Oakland
 
The Panthers will enjoy the rest of the weekend and get ready for the NCAA Tournament on Monday, with the NCAA DI women's soccer selection taking place Monday at 3:30 p.m., streamed live on NCAA.com.