Sept. 26, 2010

Box Score

MEQUON, Wis. - Two second-half goals in a span of less than six minutes provided the difference as No. 17 Butler University knocked off the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team by a score of 2-0 at Fitting Field Sunday afternoon. The Panthers (2-4-2, 1-1-0) and Bulldogs (7-0-0, 2-0-0) played to a scoreless first half on the campus of Concordia University, with Matt Hedges strike in the 51st minute ending up as the game-winner. Butler added an insurance goal on a penalty kick, but Milwaukee could not find the back of the net despite outshooting its opponent once again.

"It's just disappointing because I think we played well against a very good team," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "We just have to bounce back and move on, we are still playing well. It's going to come as long as we keep working hard and keep putting the ball in dangerous areas. We just didn't have the quality that we had Friday night."

Down 2-0, the Panthers pressed on offense and ended up taking 10 of the final 13 shots of the game. The team strung together lots of possession and quality buildup, but was not able to get the clean looks they were in search of on scoring chances.

"At the end of the day, our finishing just wasn't very good today," Whalley said. "They (Butler) did not make many mistakes today and the ones they did, we did not capitalize on."

Milwaukee came out quick and nearly had the early lead and momentum. Just 67 seconds into the match, freshman Robbie Boyd had a chance from the top of the 18-yard box off a quality endline-serve from sophomore Cody Banks, but his attempt when just to the right of the post.

In the ninth minute, UWM looked to have broken into the scoring column as well, but sophomore Andrew Wiedabach's pretty 25-yard bender to the top of the goal was waved off because of an offsides call.

"When you have a chance to score like that, so early in the match, you have to because it changes the game," Whalley said. "We have to be more ruthless in front of the goal."

Tied at zeroes after halftime, Butler struck first off a free kick. The first touch went across the field and, after a serve to the front, was put in at the near post by Hedges. Following a Milwaukee corner, a foul in the box on the other side of the field gave the Bulldogs their second goal on the penalty kick.

"It's one of those where we paid the price for making a silly mistake and switching off on a set piece," Whalley said. "And a good team like Butler is going to punish you. I thought we defended pretty well as a team. It's tough to think about the second goal because you don't really have a hand in it."

Junior Bryce Boyd was credited with five saves, while his counterpart Fabian Knopfler made three to earn the clean sheet. Milwaukee held the 13-to-10 edge in shots, with Butler earning five of the nine corner kicks in the contest. BU was also whistled for 15 of the 28 fouls. Wiedabach had four shots to lead the offense. Kyle Pateros had three to lead Butler.

Milwaukee sets off for a weekend road trip next, taking on Detroit and Cleveland State. The first game of the trip will be at Detroit Friday, scheduled for a 3 p.m. CST start.