CLEVELAND, Ohio – A pair of goals in the first 154 seconds of the afternoon set the stage for the Milwaukee women's soccer team on its way to a 5-1 victory over Cleveland State Saturday afternoon at Krenzler Field.
 
The Panthers (9-1, 2-0 Horizon League) ran out to a 3-0 halftime lead against the Vikings (3-5-2, 0-2 Horizon League), nearly posting their fourth shutout in a row before a late goal that spoiled the clean sheet.
 
"Going on the road is always tough in the conference," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "I thought our quick start was the key to our performance today. Even when we gave up a goal late, we responded well with a goal within a minute."
 
Milwaukee set the stage for the day in the opening minute, with Gaby Schwartz converting a penalty kick following a hand ball in the box. She hit the back of the net officially at the 1:01 mark, making it 1-0 before most fans had found their seats for the afternoon.
 
Taylor Hattori then made it 2-0 at the 2:34 mark, finishing a pass from Rafferty Kugler to help the squad hit the two-goal mark faster than all but one game in program history (trailing only the 2-0 lead against Loyola Chicago done in 1:43 back in October of 1998).
 
The team made it 3-0 before the half, with Haley Steel heading in a loose ball in front off a corner kick in the 32^nd minute to extend the advantage to a comfortable margin at intermission.
 
Hattori recorded the first two-goal performance of her career early in the second half, finishing off a perfect combination of passes from Haley Johnson on the far side of the box. McKaela Schmelzer sent it in to Johnson to set up the strike, making it 4-0 at the 53:25 mark.
 
A CSU tally off a deflected clearance got the home side on the board in the 83^rd minute, with MKE getting the goal back just 50 seconds later when McKaela Schmelzer headed in a Chandler McDaniel corner kick at the 83:35 mark.
 
Goalie Elaina LaMacchia did what was needed, finishing the afternoon with three saves in her 81:39 of scoreless time in goal. Olivia Davies-McDaniel subbed in and closed out the final 8:21 to help the team record its sixth straight victory.
 
Milwaukee ended with edges of just 14-to-13 in shots (6-to-4 in shots on goal), as well as a 4-to-3 advantage in corner kicks. Eleven different Panthers recorded shots, led by a trio from Hattori.
 
The Panthers open October with a pair of league games next week, starting by hosting Green Bay Wednesday. Game time is set for 6 p.m.