MILWAUKEE – Cleveland State took a 2-0 lead in the second half and then added a late goal after the Milwaukee men's soccer team had cut the deficit to one in claiming a 3-1 victory Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
"I thought the performance in the first half was good," head coach
Kris Kelderman said. "I liked the way we were playing against the wind. It's always hard when you are the team that gives up the first goal."
The Panthers (3-4, 2-1 Horizon League) were back in it midway through the second period on a penalty kick by
Raul Medina, only to see the Vikings (4-3, 3-0 Horizon League) tally a late score to put it away.
"The second goal was off a turnover," Kelderman said. "It's a blunder and that happens and to be down 2-0 is tough. But the guys kept fighting, which is good, and got us back to 2-1 and then they added one at the end, which is unfortunate."
Scoreless at intermission, CSU opened the scoring at the 51:45 mark. About 10 minutes later, the Vikings doubled the lead, punishing MKE for a turnover in back on the second goal, coming off a rebound of a terrific first save by
Nick Chiappa, who was making his first start of the fall.
There was no quit down 2-0, getting back in the match when
Adi Vaknin was taken down in the box in the 66
th minute. Medina calmly netted the penalty and made it 2-1 with his second goal of the season.
The Panthers had pushed forward after falling into the hole and nearly had their first goal of the match in the 54
th minute. Off a corner,
Jake Kelderman sent a solid header to the far post, only to see CSU's Omeed Naeemy make an all-out sprawling attempt to push the chance just wide.
Chiappa ended the afternoon with eight saves, including a spectacular one at the post in the 24
th minute after a backheel pass sprung CSU for the close-range shot.
Both teams picked it up in the second half, accounting for 19 of the 33 total shots in the contest. Cleveland State earned advantages of 18-to-15 on total shots and 11-to-6 in shots on goal, while both teams ended with six corner kicks apiece.
Abdu Regassa and
Logan Farrington led the MKE offense with three shots each.
Up next, the Panthers head to Wright State Wednesday, Sept. 29. Game time against the Raiders is set for 2 p.m. CST.