Oct. 24, 2009

Box Score |  Quotes (Video)

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team dropped a hard-fought game against Valparaiso University Saturday night at Engelmann Field, falling 1-0 when a late own goal provided the only scoring of the contest. The Panthers (3-10-2, 2-3-2 Horizon) had the run of play for the majority of the second half against the Crusaders (8-6-1, 3-2-1 Horizon), but a defensive miscue in the 76th minute was all it took to snap Milwaukee's three-game unbeaten home streak.

"We let one slip away," UWM head coach Jon Coleman said. "We were right in the game and I think we had worked hard. We put ourselves in the situation to win the game - we had some great opportunities in and around the goal and it's unfortunate."

Freshman goalkeeper John Shakon made four saves in the game. His counterpart, Valpo's Ryan Schwarz, made six saves - including several on quality chances for the UWM offense.

Two of the biggest came in the second half and provided the difference. Junior Peter Sanger led junior Robert Refai on a through ball that gave Refai a one-on-one breakaway with Schwarz in the 57th minute. Schwarz's diving attempt was off target, only to have the shot get stopped from the back of the net by his foot.

Three minutes later, it was Refai again, as he one-timed a terrific pass from junior Greg Rosenthal on net, only to see Schwarz make a diving stop and keep the game at 0-0 at the time.

The game's lone goal came at the 75:54 mark, when Clayton Lyons crossed one from the right end line into the front of the goal box. A UWM defender attempted to clear the ball, only to have it go directly into the goal at the near post.

The Milwaukee offense had a couple of other chances to break through. Rosenthal lofted a shot over the keeper in the 47th minute, but the attempt went just high. Freshman Andrew Wiedabach almost had a goal off a header on a corner kick in the 43rd minute and freshman Cody Banks had his 15-yard attempt from the left wing get saved at the post in the 23rd minute.

Shakon made a couple of impressive stops of his own in the first half. A diving stop on 10-yard one-timer in the 29th minute was a game-saver, as was a quality save in the 23rd minute on a blast by Roby Del Giudice from the top of the six-yard box.

For the game, UWM won the battle of the stat sheet. It carried a 13-to-10 advantage in shots and earned a 6-to-4 edge in corner kicks. Refai led the offense with a game-high four shots. The Panthers were also whistled for 20 of the 33 fouls in the match.

In addition, the team wore special orange Puma jerseys were auctioned off afterwards to help support breast cancer awareness and research.

The Panthers close out the month of October with a big game at Green Bay. Game time against the Phoenix is set for 7 p.m. Friday night. The contest will be televised on TWC Sports 32.