Sept. 23, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

SPOKANE, Wash. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team scored first, but was unable to hold onto the lead as they tied Oregon State 1-1 on Friday in the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Classic. The Panthers (3-1-2) held the 1-0 advantage until the 69th minute, when Oregon State (3-2-4) scored the equalizer on a penalty kick.

"I was disappointed that we didn't get the win," UWM head coach Louis Bennett said. "In every phase of the match, we had opportunities to go ahead and finish the game. Right at the end, we missed a back post header that would have given us the victory."

The first overtime went back and forth with no quality offensive chances, as both teams finished without a shot attempt. The Panthers had the better offensive opportunities in the second extra session, with two of those coming in the final minute.

UWM nearly escaped with the win in the final seconds. Sophomore Zeke Dombrowski sent a diagonal pass to fellow sophomore Martin Castro at the left wing of the 18-yard box. Castro settled the ball and sent a cross far post. Senior Kyle Zenoni got a head on the ball, but sent it wide left as time expired.

The other opportunity came with 60 seconds left. Junior Dale Weiler took a pass down the right sideline and then beat his defender to the inside of the field. He sent a shot far post, which was saved by Beaver goalkeeper Packy Denihan. The Beavers best chance came with 1:15 left in the game, but freshman goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum made a diving save on a 25-yard blast off the foot of Oregon's Ryan Johnson to preserve the tie.

The second overtime got interesting on the field as well, as both teams became increasingly frustrated with the officiating in the game. Seven yellow cards were issued in the final 11 minutes, including five on the Panthers. Two of those went to the bench, as Bennett and assistant coach Jon Coleman were each carded. With 1:47 left in the game, senior Neil Dombrowski was dropped at midfield during a deadball situation. Play was stopped and three yellow cards were handed out, including the one on Bennett.

"It was an interesting, difficult game that was made even more complicated by the opposition, the bench and the referee," Bennett said. "I've been in the game a long time as a professional and as a coach, and this was one of the poorest showings of intercollegiate athletics I've seen. It was becoming farcical at the end."

Fernstrum was making his first collegiate start and played well. The defense backed the effort, allowing no shots at all in the first half and just two shots on goal in the match besides the penalty kick.

"Grant played well," Bennett said. "Even though he only had two saves, he had to organize a lot of things and he did it well. I thought our best players today were Fernstrum, [Billy] Meier and [Steve] Bode. The defense played superb."

The penalty kick came after a play in the middle of the second half when sophomore Tenzin Rampa was called for a hand ball in the box. The Beavers Daniel Leach then converted the opportunity to make it 1-1 on the scoreboard at the 68:29 mark.

The Panthers nearly took a 2-1 lead with 16 minutes left in the match. After a flurry in front of the goalie, Neil Dombrowski blasted a 20 yard shot that went off the cross bar.

Milwaukee outshot the Beavers five to zero in the first half. They had scoring opportunities in the first but were unable to convert them. In the 15th minute, Rampa sent a header wide on a cross from junior Craig Mallace. Sophomore Troy Spielmann also had a quality chance, sending a shot from the top of the penalty area off the right post.

The Panthers did convert at the 24:41 mark to give themselves a 1-0 advantage. After a corner kick attempt rebounded back to him, Weiler sent another serve towards the goal. Junior Steve Sperl and Zeke Dombrowski both got a touch on the ball before Bode was there to finish for his second goal of the season.

Milwaukee had the 10-5 edge in shots overall, as well as having the advantage with eight shots on goal to Oregon State's three. The Beavers had six corner kicks to the Panthers one, with both teams committing 18 fouls. Fernstrum finished with two saves while Deenihan made seven.

UWM will be back in action on Sunday in the event, taking on host Gonzaga University. The game against the Bulldogs is set for a 2 p.m. start local time.