DURHAM, N.C. -- Sarah Hagen scored a goal late, but it was not enough as the No. 15 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team fell to Ohio State 2-1 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening at Duke's Koskinen Stadium.
A historic season comes to an end for the Panthers (19-3), who won a school-record 19 games, won the program's first NCAA Tournament game and advanced to the second round for the third time ever.
"Obviously disappointed with the loss," Milwaukee head coach Michael Moynihan said. "After the game we didn't want to focus on breaking this game down too much. It's an emotional moment for us. We've had a phenomenal year and achieved a lot of program firsts. We'll look back on a lot of fond memories of a special group. In terms of as a coach trying to break this down, I was a little disappointed with our play building into the attack. Ohio State deserves some credit for pressuring our midfield pretty well, and taking away a lot of the rhythm of the game that we normally establish."
The Buckeyes (12-8-2) advance to Sunday's third round, where they will take on the winner of No. 1 seed Duke and Georgia.
Ohio State forged an advantage in the midfield early, but could not crack the Milwaukee defense for much of the game. The team repeatedly launched shots from distance throughout the first half. Neither team found the back of the net in the opening frame and the match went into halftime scoreless.
It was more of the same in the second half, but UWM came out with more fight and had more chances going forward. The team finished with eight shots in the period after just two in the first 45 minutes.
The Buckeyes struck first, as Paige Maxwell blasted a high shot into the goal from just inside the penalty area in the 68th minute. They would add an insurance goal that held up as the game-winner in the 85th minute when Caitlyn Martin slotted a low shot just inside the near post from 15 yards.
The Panthers pushed forward in the final minutes, but did not get on the board until the final minute. Hagen was fouled at the top of the box and lined up for a free kick from 19 yards out. She then cracked a shot that took a slight deflection off an OSU defender and into the goal with 15 seconds to go.
Ohio State finished with a misleading 21-10 shot advantage, with the majority of shots coming from at least 20 yards out and posing little threat to the Panthers. The Buckeyes also took the game's three corner kicks.
Jamie Forbes made four saves in goal, including a leaping save at the end of the half to push a shot over the crossbar.
Milwaukee's goal was the 93rd of Hagen's storied career and extended her single-game school and League records to 26 goals and 61 points this season. It was also the final collegiate game for seniors Keara Thompson, Makenzie Gillaspie, Laurel Ragalie and Mary Wandolowski.
Thompson set a school record by playing in her 87th career game, while Hagen tied a school mark with her 86th career start.
(Recap courtesy of UWMPanthers.com)
