MILWAUKEE – Despite 60 percent possession on the day and a 22-to-5 advantage in shots in the contest, the Milwaukee men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Cleveland State Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (3-3) mounted a late flurry against the Vikings (3-3) but could not convert, allowing the visitors to escape with the victory on the strength of a 53^rd-minute goal that stood up the rest of the way.
 
"We are obviously disappointed with the result," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We thought we played well enough to, at a minimum, get a point out of this. But hat's off to the Cleveland State player that hit a bomb of a shot – it was a great goal. And that was the difference at the end of the day, they made the one play and we were still looking for the one play and unfortunately the final whistle blew and it was too late."
 
Trailing despite dominating the game, Milwaukee didn't go away quietly, recording six shots in the game's final 15 minutes. Two of the late chances nearly tied the match, the first coming on a Paolo Gratton header that was stopped by the CSU keeper with a diving save in the 86^th minute. That opportunity came on a pass into the box from Abdu Regassa.
 
The other came inches away from making it a new game at the 87:24 mark, with David Cox's attempt off Josh Kidder's corner kick bouncing off the crossbar and angling back into play.
 
"The shot count was in our favor 22-5, corner kicks were 9-0," Kelderman said. "I was really pleased with the guys' effort and fight today. We just lacked a little sharpness in the final third to get that goal that we needed. I thought we played fairly well and gave ourselves an opportunity but just didn't make the play that would have taken it."
 
Goalkeeper Nick Chiappa made three saves in defeat, including a spectacular effort that kept the game 0-0 in the 42^nd minute.
 
Milwaukee was up 10-3 in shots at the break, only to see the Vikings net the lone goal of the contest on their first shot of the second half.
 
Logan Farrington and Cox each finished with five of the 22 shots to lead the offense. Omeed Naeemy made six saves to record his third shutout of the season for CSU.
 
Up next, the Panthers will head to Oakland March 12, set to kick off at 1:30 p.m. CST.