Nov. 6, 2010

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - A pair of seniors hooked up on "Senior Day" to help the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw against No. 22 Michigan State University Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Field. Greg Rosenthal found the back of the net off a flick from Abe Gibbons at the 87:59 mark to force extra time. The Panthers (6-9-3) had the best opportunities in the overtime periods, but ended up settling for the draw against the Spartans (11-6-1), a team that came in ranked in the top 25 of most polls and No. 12 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).

"I was real pleased with the way we played," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "To get a positive result against a team like that is great. I think Thursday was one of our worst performances of the season and, today, against probably one of the best teams in the country and in the RPI, we took them all the way to the edge. And, I think, chance-wise, we probably could have won the game."

The scoring play for Milwaukee began with a free kick from junior Ross Van Osdol, headed to Gibbons by junior Tony Maxey. His flick found the foot of Rosenthal, volleying a low shot to the near post at the 87:59 mark to send the Panthers to their ninth overtime game of the season - a new program record.

"We showed some real good character, we didn't give up and we scored with about two minutes to go," Whalley said. "I thought we had some real good chances in overtime to win the game. We played a lot of the game with five freshmen on the field as well, so it really shows the future of this program."

In the first overtime, UWM had a couple of quality chances for the golden goal. The first came off a corner kick in the 95th minute. Freshman Robbie Boyd sent the corner to the far post and Maxey headed it back into the middle. Junior Aaron Gibbons had a short crack at it, but somehow his close-range attempt was saved.

Just 40 seconds later, freshman Jordan Record nearly had the winner, but his 25-yard blast off a centering pass from Van Osdol went clanging off the post.

Sophomore Cody Banks had two opportunities in the second overtime, but was unable to put either of them on target. UWM had one last chance for a score, but freshman Riley Weiner was whistled for offsides with eight seconds left before he ever got the chance at the one-on-one break.

Milwaukee hung tight all match, finding a way to equalize after Brent Rosendall had given the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute with his eighth goal of the season.

For the game, MSU ended with the 15-to-12 edge in shots and five of the nine corner kicks. Sophomore John Shakon had two saves in the first half, with junior Bryce Boyd making two of his own in the second half and overtimes. Avery Steinlage recorded four saves for Michigan State. A physical game, UWM was whistled for 33 of the 52 fouls and received four of the seven yellow cards.

Milwaukee will await results of the final weekend of league play, knowing it will be in the Horizon League Tournament but not knowing its final spot in the standings or opponent. The game will take place next week Tuesday, time and place to be announced.