MILWAUKEE – Andreas Soerensen and Abdu Regassa scored 58 seconds apart midway through the first half to help send the Milwaukee men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Robert Morris Monday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
Following a weather/lightning delay that set the start of the contest back over an hour, the Panthers (6-4) used the quick goals to take control against the Colonials (1-6-1), dominating the rest of the way and securing a spot in the Horizon league Tournament with the victory.
 
"The guys knew what was at stake today and we really tried to emphasize starting off on a really good note," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We figured, we were the team that needed to win today and we expected them to be more defensive-minded, as they were. So we had to set the tone and be the aggressor from minute one. I thought we got off to a really good start. The goals came and made the game a lot easier when you score early."
 
Following a defensive start that saw a total of just two shots combined over the first 20 minutes, a corner kick turned the game around.
 
Josh Kidder played it to the left wing for Raul Medina, who sent service into the box. Soerensen was there with the flying header, sending his first collegiate goal into the back of the net at the 20:41 mark, ending up as the eventual game-winner.
 
It was Kidder again before most fans even finished sitting down after celebrating the first strike. He found Regassa down the right side to do the rest, scoring at the 21:39 mark for his first of the season.
 
The team kept up the pressure from there, finishing with a 9-1 advantage in shots at the break. Great team play resulted in another goal, this time with Paolo Gratton scoring on a header for his league-leading ninth goal of the season at the 29:32 mark. Gratton now ranks fourth in the NCAA this season.
 
"It was great that Paolo got a nice goal today," Kelderman said. "He's the leading scorer in the conference and he works extremely hard. For everything that he achieves on the field, he deserves it. The kid works really hard and tries to do everything that he needs to do."
 
The second half was a similar storyline, helped along by a second yellow by an RMU player that forced them to play with 10 players from the 61^st minute on. MKE put on a quality offensive show, adding a 10-2 advantage after intermission to end the day with a total of 19-to-3, including 10-1 shots on goal. The team also claimed a 64/36 edge in total possession.
 
The Panthers were the only team to score in the second, finally breaking through for another in the 70^th minute. This time it was David Cox, getting set up by Regassa on a centering pass off a partially-saved shot that came off the foot of Davis Green.
 
Kidder paced the offense with five shots on the day and recorded assists on each of the first three MKE goals of the day to up his team-leading total to a career-best nine. That total is good for second in the Horizon League and the most for a Panther since Craig Mallace had 10 in 2005. The three assists also tied for fifth-best in a game in program history.

Nick Chiappa was credited with one save in posting his third shutout of the season.
 
The victory clinched a spot in the Horizon League Tournament for Milwaukee, who will head to play top-seeded Northern Kentucky April 11. Game time is set to get underway at 12 p.m. CST.