Aug. 26, 2011

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Freshman Laurie Bell scored early in the second half to help the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team even the game at 1-1, only to see IPFW score the final three goals of the contest to take the 4-1 victory Friday at Engelmann Stadium.

Bell tallied the equalizer at the 47:56 mark, burying a partially-saved shot off the foot of senior Robert Refai. That seemed to turn the tide for the Panthers (0-1-0), but the Mastodons (1-0-0) took advantage a defensive mistake to take a 2-1 lead and then took over from there in a game that was the season opener for both teams.

"It's obviously never great to lose and it was a convincing loss today in the end," UWM head coach Chris Whalley said. "I know it's cliché to say, but I don't think it was a 4-1 game. I thought we dominated the game and at 1-1 when we came back and scored in the second half, we missed a couple of chances and we were punished."

IPFW's Max Toulette got his season off to a quick start, scoring three goals and assisting the fourth tally.

Milwaukee dominated the initial half, possessing the ball for the large majority of the first 45 minutes despite not finding the back of the net. A miscue led to IPFW's first goal as well, as Grant Welter quickly sent a turnover form midfield towards the goal. Toulette ran on to it and scored the first goal at the 38:41 mark on the only shot of the first half for his squad.

"When you dominate and are playing well and are down, it's frustrating," Whalley said. "I thought the guys responded well to that. We bounced back and scored a good goal and had some chances ... the game could have been totally different."

The Panthers came out of the locker room at halftime on a mission, recording six shots in the first 10 minutes to help lead to the tying goal.

Milwaukee dominated the stat sheet overall, leading the shot count, 20-to-8, including a 10-to-6 edge in shots on goal. The Panthers also took eight of the nine corner kicks in the match.

IPFW goalie Ryan Bristol was up to the task, making nine saves, including several spectacular stops in the contest. Freshman Gerardo Saavedra had a couple of early chances, putting a free kick just wide after it was deflected through the box in the 25th minute. He also found senior Keegan Ziada in the 12th minute, but Bristol made a nice stop on the close-range attempt at the near post.

Following the first IPFW goal, UWM nearly equalized seconds later. Refai had the ball on the left wing just 22 seconds later, sending a great-looking attempt just off the top of the cross bar.

Refai led the Panther offense with a game-high four shots. Junior Cody Banks and Ziada each had three. Junior John Shakon was credited with a pair of saves in defeat. The chippy game featured 42 fouls and 10 yellow cards.

Milwaukee has the rest of the weekend off and will spend next week preparing for the 37th Panther Invitational. Up first will be a match-up against Western Illinois Friday at 7:30 p.m. In addition, Marquette and Western Michigan open weekend play with the first match starting at 4:30 p.m.