Oct. 29, 2011

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Peter McKeown made six saves and Loyola University added a pair of first-half goals to knock off the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team, 2-0, Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium. The Ramblers (4-11-1, 2-5-0 Horizon League) tallied two goals in a span of less than six minutes before intermission against the Panthers (5-9-2, 2-3-2 Horizon League) and held on from there.

Milwaukee made a late attempt at a comeback, but McKeown made a pair of impressive stops in the final minutes to keep the shutout intact.

"It's obviously disappointing," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "That's what, three games in a row that we haven't scored and we haven't won in seven. There's no hiding it, we're obviously very disappointed the way we are playing right now. With the start we had in conference, we gave ourselves a platform and a decent foundation to have a great year and we've really kind of let things slip away and it's difficult to put a finger on it. Right now, we're just not getting it done and that's disappointing."

Down 2-0 late, the Panthers made a late push and nearly netted a pair of goals. Sophomore Robbie Boyd and freshman Nick Langford both had great opportunities but were turned away by brilliant stops in the 84th and 85th minutes.

"It's disappointing because you are at home, under the light here at Engelmann, against a team that's bottom of the league and you go into the game expecting we can take the game to them," Whalley said. "We started reasonably well, but got away from passing the ball, we didn't switch the ball very well. Too many people just didn't play well tonight."

Back and forth at the start, UWM had the advantage with five of the first six shots until Loyola managed to strike first. James Howe picked up a loose ball in the attacking third and sent a shot on goal. The ball was redirected on the way in and snuck in at the far post, giving the Ramblers a 1-0 lead at the 30:18 mark.

Less than six minutes later, they made it 2-0 on a penalty kick by Eric Nock at the 36:55 mark.

For the match, Milwaukee held a 10-to-6 advantage in shots that included a 6-to-3 edge in shots on goal. UWM had two of the six corner kicks in the contest and were whistled for 13 of the 19 fouls. Langford led the way with three shots.

The Panthers were looking for a victory tonight to solidify their place in the Horizon League standings and tournament seedings, but will now have just one game left to decide their fate.

"We can say `missed opportunity' tonight, but it's almost been a season of missed opportunities," Whalley said. "The league is wide open right now. And we have had opportunities this year to take it and really grab it by the neck. We were 2-0 in conference and let it slip away. What do we do? We have to get the guys to work hard in training and try and eradicate these silly errors we are making and pass the ball better and get back to doing what we were doing well earlier in the season."

Up next, Milwaukee plays its final two games of the regular season, hosting Northern Illinois University for the LeWang Cup on what will also be "Senior Night" on Wednesday before closing out the slate at UIC Saturday.