Oct. 15, 2011

Box Score | Match Report

MILWAUKEE - Senior Robert Refai and freshman Laurie Bell scored second-half goals to help the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team to a 2-2 tie against Wright State University Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium.

The Panthers (5-6-2, 2-1-2 Horizon League) took a 2-1 lead on Refai's seventh goal of the season in the 69th minute, only to see the Raiders (6-4-2, 2-1-1 Horizon League) respond with the eventual tying goal in the 71st minute. Milwaukee dominated the run of play and outshot Wright State, 6-to-1, in the overtime periods, but had to settle for its second-consecutive 2-2 draw in league play.

"It's disappointing because we scored two goals in both games," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "If you are scoring two goals a game, you should realistically be winning them. We created a lot of chances tonight and ultimately, we could have scored more."

With the first overtime session featuring no real threats either way, the second one saw UWM with opportunities to record the golden goal. In the 102nd minute, junior Cody Banks saw his header off a great feed from freshman Nick Langford go just wide.

In the 107th minute it was Langford, who had his close-range shot off a blocked attempt from a teammate stopped at the line by WSU's Craig Feehan. Not to be outdone, freshman goalkeeper Josh Rohde made a spectacular save to keep the Raiders off the scoreboard, stopping a breakaway attempt by Will McAteer early in the second OT.

"It's frustrating because we need to stop conceding so many goals," Whalley said. "We haven't kept a clean sheet in a while and it's been a while since we only conceded one goal. We need to get back to our bread and butter, which is keeping clean sheets and playing better defense."

Down 1-0 after a slow first half, the Panthers took over in the second. The defense locked down and did not allow a shot by WSU for the first 25 minutes. In that time, the offense turned the 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage.

"We didn't create a lot of chances in the first half," Whalley said. "I told the guys at halftime we needed to step up and improve our play drastically. It's just frustrating, because right now we are not stringing 90 minutes together. We strung 70 minutes together today. It's disappointing to not be playing 90-minute games. I think if we do that, we can compete with anybody in the league."

Bell tied the game, 1-1, scoring his second of the season at the 58:32 mark. The scoring play started with a free kick from the sideline that was redirected from the far post. Senior Ross Van Osdol sent the kick to the far side where Banks got his left foot on it to help redirect it across the goal.

Exactly 10 minutes later it was Refai's turn, poking in a shot from Banks that appeared would have gone just wide of the net.

Unfortunately, the team could not keep momentum. On their first shot of the second half, the Raiders tied the game just two minutes and six seconds later, with Justin Laird netting his fifth goal of the season.

Milwaukee looked to be the aggressor at the end of regulation and had two cracks at the winner. Banks sent a volley just high off a corner kick by senior Keegan Ziada in the 87th minute and Feehan made a nice stop of a hard shot by sophomore Robbie Boyd in the 89th. Rohde also made an exceptional save with just under seven minutes to play, making a one-handed diving stop on a shot by Kenji Goldman.

For the game, the fifth overtime match for UWM in 2011, the Panthers held the 17-to-13 advantage in shots, with WSU holding the 8-to-5 edge in shots on goal. Milwaukee had eight of the 12 corner kicks and was whistled for 23 of the 39 fouls. Rohde was on the stat sheet for six saves, with Feehan finishing with three. Banks ended with two assists and Bell tallied a game-high four shots to lead Milwaukee in a game that featured eight yellow cards.

Next, the Panthers hit the road for a league matchup against Valparaiso next Saturday, kicking off at 7 p.m. against the Crusaders.