MACOMB, Ill. – The Milwaukee men's soccer team scored three quick goals – two by Logan Farrington – to turn a 1-0 deficit at halftime into a 3-1 victory over Western Illinois Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Field.
 
"A tale of two halves to be honest with you," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "Western Illinois hit a pinger – a really nice goal from the outside and had us on our heels early. We regrouped at halftime, felt we came out much, much better and really turned the game quite quickly."
 
The Panthers (5-4-1) were a different team in the second half, outshooting the Leathernecks (0-9) by a count of 9-to-0 after intermission while scoring all three of their goals in a span of just 186 seconds on the clock after the break.
 
"A couple of good individual performances again, some nice goals, and I thought we were solid defensively as a group as well," Kelderman said. "Always nice to get three points on the road no matter where you are or who you are up against. I feel like the group has a little momentum now over the past few games and we are excited to play Green Bay Saturday."
 
Down 1-0 after allowing a goal in the 19^th minute, the MKE offense struggled with any finishing touches in the first half. Its best chances came in the closing seconds, with a couple of dangerous free kicks creating a near-goal by Hugo Espejo just seconds before the horn.
 
The halftime adjustments worked well and produced a new game in the 55^th minute. It was Espejo again to start it, winning a 50-50 ball at midfield, then finding Shawn Azcueta with the touch.
 
Azcueta sent the ball back to Espejo, who took a couple of touches through the defense and slotted a thru ball to Adi Vaknin. Vaknin did the rest, beating the last line of defense to the ball with a sliding attempt, getting enough on it with his left foot to sneak it inside the left post for his third goal of the fall.
 
It was the Farrington show next, starting with a nifty touch at the far post after Dontell Gilyard and Azcueta played a give-and-go to create the serve opportunity. Farrington found the small opening and made it 2-1 at the 55:46 mark.
 
Two possessions later, the same combination worked to perfection. Azcueta played to Gilyard on the right wing to start it. He took one quick touch to survey the situation, sending a square ball to the top of the 18. Farrington one-timed it from there, rifling the ball off the bottom of the crossbar and in for his second goal in a span of just 1:50 on the clock. The strike gave him two on the day and four goals in his past two outings.
 
For the game, the strong second-half performance gave Milwaukee a 12-to-3 advantage in shots overall, including a 7-to-2 count in shots on goal. MKE also had four of the six corners and 57 percent of possession on the day. Vaknin (5 shots) and Farrington (4 shots) led the way, while Gilyard and Azcueta each ended the afternoon with two assists. Nick Chiappa needed to make just one save to pick up the victory. The brace was the fourth of Farrington's career, which now spans just 23 college games.
 
Up next is a big one, as the Panthers return home for the battle for the "Chancellor's Cup" against Green Bay. Game time against the Phoenix is set for 7 p.m. Saturday night from Engelmann Stadium.