ROCHESTER, Mich. – A pair of goals from
Paolo Gratton and another from
Logan Farrington gave the Milwaukee men's soccer team a lead early in the second half, but Oakland responded to claim the 4-3 victory Friday afternoon at the Grizz Dome.
The Panthers (3-4) overcame deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to take the 3-2 lead in the 58
th minute on Gratton's second tally, only to see goals in the 69
th and 75
th minutes push the Golden Grizzlies (4-1-2) ahead and hold on from there.
Knotted 1-1 at the break, Oakland took the lead in the 52
nd minute. Milwaukee had an immediate response and it came quickly to forge back ahead.
Farrington netted the goal to make it 2-2, sending a rocket into the net from the left wing, set up by a
Raul Medina pass that found Farrington in stride at the 53:44 mark, just 2:28 after OU had gone ahead.
Fast-forward three-plus minutes and Gratton then put MKE ahead with his second of the day. The play came off a long throw-n from
Shawn Azcueta, flicked ahead by
Jake Kelderman. Gratton did the rest, one-touching it past the goalkeeper for his fifth of the season at the 57:12 mark.
OU made it a new game about 10 minutes later – just after a free kick from Farrington went whizzing wide in the 68
th minute – and then went back ahead, but the Panther offense was only able to record one shot the rest of the way after falling behind.
Down 1-0 in the first half, Gratton leveled the contest on a pretty goal in the 40
th minute. The ball went around the 18-yard box, with
Abdu Regassa finding
David Cox on a redirect, and Cox playing ahead to a charging Gratton who blasted the one-timer inside the right post.
For the game, statistics ended pretty evenly. Both teams recorded 13 shots, with OU the 6-5 edge in shots. Possession was 52/48 Oakland's way, and the Panthers took the 4-3 count on corner kicks. Farrington ended the afternoon with seven of the 13 MKE shots.
Nick Chiappa was credited with a pair of saves.
Up next, the team will be back in action at home, hosting IUPUI March 24. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.