On the night meant to honor the players of senior standing on the Golden Grizzlies’ women’s soccer team, Saturday night took on an undertone of sadness as the players celebrated their dedication to the sport after a tough loss to the Milwaukee Panthers. 

The game started out with tentative aggression from the Grizzlies, but turned into a defensive showdown between the two teams. With every blocked shot and attempted tackle, the idea of scoring got further and further away. Both teams had good offensive drives in spurts, like the beginning four minutes of the game for the Golden Grizzlies, but each and every drive was eventually snuffed out by the defensive efforts of both teams. 

The Grizzlies unchecked aggression would open up various opportunities for them on the offensive side, like the loose ball that led to a Grizzlies shot that unfortunately cleared the top of the goalpost, and their boundless energy would become the base on which their seemingly impervious defenses were built upon. 

The Panthers were no slouches on defense either, putting on a masterful showing as they held the Golden Grizzlies to 0 points for the entire game. They were everywhere on the pitch. It felt like there was no spot on the field they could not cover. 

The first half ended with neither team scoring a goal as neither team could find a hole in the opposing defense. After an hour of the game had elapsed, the Panthers finally broke through the defensive wall of the Grizzlies and scored the first goal to put themselves up 1-0. 

The Golden Grizzlies, still playing with their high-tempo and energized style, tried to respond immediately with a shot of their own, but the Panthers’ goalie was able to make the save before the ball hit the back of the net.

Milwaukee would then capitalize on the momentum that they built with their first successful drive by scoring their second goal after following up a perfectly placed corner kick with a well-timed header to put them up 2-0. 

After securing what seemed to be an insurmountable lead, the Panthers would start to focus on making said lead last as long as they possibly could. Milking the clock during each possession, the Panthers would hold onto the ball and drag out each interaction for as long as they possibly could. 

This, in turn, made the Golden Grizzlies even more desperate to score as the weight of the clock ticking down began to bear on them more and more. Every comeback the Grizzlies would try to mount after getting the ball away from the complacent Panthers team would then be stuffed by the Panthers’ defense. 

The Panthers, the nation’s highest scoring team, would end the game against the Golden Grizzlies with a score of 2-0 and would leave Senior Night victorious. With the win, Milwaukee also clinched the Horizon League regular season title.  

The Golden Grizzlies, now locked into the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Horizon League tournament, will return to the pitch on Oct. 27 to face off against Detroit Mercy in the final game of the regular season.