MILWAUKEE – Goals by Raul Medina and Adi Vaknin helped the Milwaukee men's soccer team erase a first-half deficit to claim a 2-1 victory over Drake Thursday night at Engelmann Stadium.
 
"I thought we were a bit better in the second half than we were in the first," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We talked about it at halftime – no one was pleased with our performance in the first half. I thought we got better as the game went on."
 
Medina leveled the match on a first-half penalty kick and the Panthers (1-0) also got a strong effort from freshman goalkeeper Gijs Van Schouten to knock off the Bulldogs (0-1) in the season opener for each program.
 
"Very pleased with the result, obviously," Kelderman said. "But, in all honesty, we expected more from ourselves. I think we can bring more in the quality. It wasn't so much the energy or the fight, but the lack of quality surprised all of us. To be able to get a result knowing that it wasn't your best performance is a positive, especially in the first game."
 
Level at intermission, Medina played a key role in the game-winner as well. He took a pass from Phillip Reiwerts and sprinted down the left wing, crossing the ball to the middle on a tough angle. Vaknin was there to redirect with a nifty back-heel touch, with the freshman netting the eventual winner at the 60:15 mark.
 
Van Schouten came up big in the victory, credited with six saves outside of a Drake PK situation. A pair of them came just after Milwaukee had gone ahead, preserving the one-goal advantage twice in a span of 75 seconds.
 
"A freshman under the gun in the first game of the season and he is there because we have the confidence in him and believe he can get the job done," Kelderman said. "It was a good performance today."
 
The first came just 1:22 after Vaknin had scored, punching a close-range shot over the crossbar. The following corner kick also gave Drake an opportunity, but Van Schouten was up to the task, again making a brilliant stop on a tough shot to keep it at 2-1.
 
The teams went back-and-forth early, feeling the game out on both ends. The Panthers got their first shot in the 10^th minute, with Josh Kidder seeing his blast from the wing stopped cleanly.
 
The Bulldogs then opened the scoring in the 35^th minute, with Juan Louis converting from the penalty spot as well.
 
Vaknin helped create the equalizer, drawing a foul inside the 18 when he was knocked down following an entry pass. Medina calmly stepped to the line and converted from the spot to make it a new game at the 42:14 mark.
 
Overall, stats were relatively even, with Drake holding advantages of 12-to-10 in shots overall, in addition to the 7-to-5 edge in shots on goal. The Panthers won the corner kick count, 4-to-3, while a total of 47 fouls were whistled (29 on the visitors), who also accounted for five of the six yellow cards handed out on the night.
 
Medina led the offense with three shots, with Paolo Gratton the only other player to record more than one (he had two).
 
"It's always challenging trying to get the new guys in," Kelderman said. "It's only been three weeks. To get these new guys into the system, to make the runs, and to be in positions offensively and defensively. It's always a challenge at first and the young guys stepped up today and did a nice job."
 
The season-opening stretch continues Monday, with the Panthers on the road to battle Eastern Illinois, set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.