Oct. 9, 2010

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - JC Banks scored his second goal of the game in the 109th minute to help the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay escape with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team Saturday night in front of a crowd of 1,117 at Engelmann Field. The Panthers (3-6-2, 2-3-0 Horizon), playing a man down after an 85th-minute red card, came back from an early goal against the Phoenix (6-4-1, 2-2-0 Horizon) to force overtime, only to see Banks help Green Bay retain possession of the Chancellor's Cup with the winner at the 108:08 mark.

Banks took advantage of an unfortunate opportunity to end it, as a UWM turnover at the back line gave him the chance for the one-on-one with the goalkeeper to net the golden goal.

"The result was very disappointing, but I thought tonight was a spectacle for college soccer in the city of Milwaukee," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "We had a great crowd, the field was fantastic. We showed great character, especially with 10 men after we had one get sent off. We just have to go back to the drawing board and try and teach these guys. Hopefully, they will learn their lesson and stop making these silly mistakes that we get punished for."

The Panthers played down a man from the 84:18 mark, when freshman James Ashcroft was red-carded for taking down Banks on a long ball with no one ahead of him and the goal.

Milwaukee was outshot, seven-to-five, in the first half but came out strong in the second. Sophomore Cody Banks tied the game in the 58th minute, firing a shot past Ryan Wehking in the box, assisted by sophomore Andrew Wiedabach and senior Peter Sanger.

Wiedabach had two header chances, one in each overtime session, but both went just wide of the net.

"When you have 10 men, obviously, you are stretching," Whalley said. "I don't think we had any true, clear-cut chances in overtime - we had a few headers here and there - but a lot of the time we were stretching and chasing the ball because we had one less man. We took the game to them, but we have to learn our lessons. Too many times, we have thrown away points by not being switched on until the end."

Banks had a chance in regulation, sending a great header just high of the net with about 11 minutes to play. Wiedabach had the same outcome in the 71st minute, sending his header off a Banks free kick just high of the frame.

"I thought we played poorly in the first half," Whalley said. "We had a good chat at halftime and felt our quality was very, very good after half. We got a goal that we deserved and probably could have won the game in the second half, but ultimately, they have an All-American who had two good chances and took them both. We didn't defend very well on either goal and it's just very frustrating because there is no doubt about the commitment from the players out there. They put a lot of effort, worked very hard and I was proud of how they played and the courage and desire they showed, but we are not learning from our mistakes."

Green Bay took control early, getting a score in the 12th minute on Banks' first goal. He headed home a short flick off a pass he took on a corner kick to give UWGB the lead.

For the game, UWM again outshot its opponent, this time by a count of 17-to-15. Green Bay had four of the seven corner kicks, while Milwaukee was whistled for 25 of the 42 fouls in the contest. The match also featured nine yellow cards.

Offensively, Wiedabach paced the squad with five shots, with junior Tony Maxey adding four. Sophomore goalkeeper John Shakon made four saves in defeat, as did Wehking for the win.

Just one game will be on the schedule again next week, as the Panthers travel to Loyola next Saturday, the team sitting at the top of the Horizon League standings heading into play tonight. Game time in Chicago is set for 7 p.m.