Nov. 5, 2011

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. - Craig Krzyskowski scored a pair of goals to lead UIC to a 3-1 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team Saturday night at Flames Field. The Panthers (6-10-2, 2-4-2 Horizon League) cut a two-goal deficit in half and made it 2-1 on a goal by sophomore James Ashcroft in the 77th minute, but Krzyskowski hit the back of the net just over five minutes later to put away the victory for the Flames (9-6-3, 3-4-1 Horizon League).

The match was a winner-take-all opportunity to qualify for the Horizon League Tournament next week. With the victory, UIC earns the fifth seed, with Milwaukee having its 2011 campaign come to an end in seventh place in the league standings.

"It was a very disappointing loss," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "At halftime, we felt like we created some good chances, but hadn't really tested their keeper. In the second, we came out and again missed a few chances and then we were punished for poor defending."

Scoreless until well into the second half, the Panthers recorded three of the first four shots of the frame but were unable to find the back of the net. Krzyskowski broke up the shutout, sending home a cross from Eric Frazier at the 56:28 mark to make it 1-0.

Just over five minutes later, UIC scored again, this time off a corner kick. Ivan Stanisavljevic tallied his league-leading 10th goal at the 61:47 mark to make it that much tougher on the Panthers.

The team never gave up, forcing four corner kicks and three shots in a 15-minute span, with Ashcroft netting his second goal of the year to give UWM life at the 76:05 mark.

"At 2-0, we showed great character to get back into the game," Whalley said. "But once again, we missed opportunities and we were knocked out with a sucker punch that was the third goal."

Pushing for the tying goal, sophomore Riley Weiner had a shot on net, but Piotr Kikolski made the save. That was followed by the Flames netting the insurance goal at the 81:07 mark to make it 3-1.

For the match, the Panthers held advantages of 15-to-9 in shots with both teams putting five shots on target. UWM also had seven of the 12 corner kicks and nine of the 17 fouls. Junior goalkeeper John Shakon made two saves in defeat, with Kikolski making four stops. Senior Keegan Ziada led the team with three shot attempts.