Oct. 14, 2008

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Junior Nkuti Ndely scored in the 57th minute to give the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team a 2-0 lead, only to see Northern Illinois University battle back to force a 2-2 tie Tuesday night at Engelmann Field. The Panthers (3-6-5) took control with an early goal, but the Huskies (6-2-4) scored twice in the last 19 minutes of regulation to earn the draw and retain the LeWang Cup.

Senior Adam Skalecki put the Panthers on the scoreboard in the ninth minute, converting at the 8:40 mark for the quickest Milwaukee strike to start a match this season.

"We came out ready and took advantage," UWM head coach Jon Coleman said. "I liked how the guys engaged themselves early, set the tone and were the aggressors. We put in the hard work and got a point and we stopped the losing streak."

Ndely scored his first collegiate goal at the 56:23 mark, cleaning up a rebounded save at the left post to give UWM a 2-0 lead. But NIU, which came into the contest ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region, responded with two goals by Ben Thomas in an eight-minute span to send the game to overtime.

Each team had a couple of chances in the extra periods, with senior Ryan Germann making one of his eight saves in the 96th minute to keep the game from ending. NIU's Finn Jor took a pass that was chipped over the back line and was open for a one-on-one opportunity from close-range, but Germann made the point-blank stop.

Freshmen Eric Frazier and Nick Dundon accounted for the two Milwaukee shots in OT, with Frazier seeing his 25-yard free kick get saved and Dundon's 30-yard blast get stopped by Joe Zimka despite being redirected off a partial block.

The Panthers appeared to have control of the game late in the second half despite Northern Illinois dominating the stat sheet. The Huskies held a 27-to-8 advantage in shots for the game, including 11-to-5 in shots on goal. In addition, they nearly broke a school record with 16 corner kicks compared to just one for UWM.

"I am not much of a stats guy, but they did put the pressure on us quite a bit in the second half," Coleman said. "If we could have gotten another goal to kind of cap things, it would have been fantastic."

Germann made several spectacular saves in the second half to keep the game tied 2-2 on the scoreboard. In the 82nd minute, he made a sprawling stop of a Ben Thomas shot and also punched away a close-range effort at the post on Engebreth Faerden's volley in the 79th.

Milwaukee took advantage of an early error to score the first goal, as an errant back pass was picked up by junior Nicholas Gerard-Larson on the right side of the goal box. His centering pass found the foot of Skalecki, who finished to make it 1-0. Ndley's goal came off a free kick by freshman Ross Van Osdol. He sent a perfect serve to the middle of the box from 40 yards out, where freshman Tony Maxey's header was stopped by Zimka. Ndely than tapped the ball in at the near post to make it 2-0.

The Panthers return to action Saturday, traveling to Chicago for a big league matchup with Loyola starting at 7 p.m.