ROCHESTER, Mich. – Down 2-0 early, the Milwaukee men's soccer team found a way to send the game into overtime, but fell in heartbreaking fashion to Oakland by a final score of 4-3 Saturday evening.
 
The Panthers (7-7-1, 5-3-1 Horizon League) made it a new game against the Golden Grizzlies (9-6-2, 7-1-1 Horizon League) at 2-2 in the 64^th minute and again at 3-3 late to force overtime. Oakland had the final say, however, netting the golden goal off a rebound in the 95^th minute.
 
On a wet night with tough field conditions, Milwaukee found itself trailing at the 32:09 mark despite having the better of the play. Josh Kidder had a well-placed shot saved in the 11^th minute and Andreas Soerensen put one over the bar on the preceding corner kick. The team had shot attempts in the 14^th and 15^th minutes but saw Oakland strike first on a free kick.
 
Things than took an interesting twist, with the Golden Grizzlies starting goalkeeper picking up a red card in the 36^th minute, yet the team finding a way to double their advantage under a minute later.
 
MKE got one back before the break, seeing Paolo Gratton net his fourth of the fall off assists from Soerensen and Jake Kelderman to climb within one at 2-1.
 
The team really picked up the pace after the break – outshooting OU 13-6 in the second half alone – and tied at all at 2-2 on a goal from Logan Farrington at the 63:58 mark, with Raul Medina setting up Farrington nicely for his seventh of the campaign.
 
But Oakland regained momentum yet again, retaking the lead at the 68:14 after a scrum in the box following a corner kick.
 
The Panthers did not give up, drawing even one more time at the 85:37 mark when Medina sent a tough shot from the left wing to the far post after winning the ball from the defense.
 
The comeback was not meant to be, with OU getting the winner on a counter-attack, ending the night off a rebounded save.
 
The Panthers nearly had the winner in regulation twice, both by Adi Vaknin. First he ran on to a thru ball from Farrington in the 82^nd, only to see the OU keeper somehow save the ball when he threw his legs at the charging forward's attempt.
 
Vaknin also had one in the back of the net in the 88^th minute, slotting in a combo of passes from Gabe Anguil and Shawn Azcueta. Unfortunately, the flag was up and the goal was waved off on the offsides call.
 
Milwaukee ended the match with advantages of 22-13 in shots, 12-6 in shots on goal, and 8-4 in corner kicks. Medina led the way with four shots attempts and had three points on the goal and one assist.
 
Up next, the Panthers close out the regular season with a matchup against Purdue Fort Wayne Wednesday. The matinee gets underway from Engelmann Stadium at 1 p.m.