CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Milwaukee men's soccer team scored first and nearly dug itself out of a two-goal hole, coming up just short of finding a late goal in the final minutes in suffering a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Cleveland State Saturday at Krenzler Field.
The Panthers (1-6-2, 0-2 Horizon League) drew within a goal of the Vikings (5-1-2, 1-0-1 Horizon League) at 3-2 and again at 4-3, but were unable to pull even despite a quality chance in the 89
th minute, seeing Emil Lindgren Pederson nearly find a late equalizer in falling in the tough road matchup against a CSU team that came into the game ranked No. 7 in the North Region United Soccer Coaches Association Poll.
The Panthers played from in front after getting off to a good start, seeing
Raul Medina volley in a cross from
David Cox just 14:10 into the contest. The lead was short-lived, however, as a 19
th-minute penalty kick made it 1-1. That was the start of three straight for Cleveland State, forging ahead 2-1 at the break despite getting outshot by the Panthers by a count of 9-7 over the first 45 minutes.
It reached 3-1 after a tally in the 56
th minute but Milwaukee dug back, getting back in the game with a score in the 60
th minute. It was
Logan Farrington again, striking for his team-leading fourth goal of the season when he chipped the CSU keeper from 30 yards out, set up for the goal by
Quinn Rechner.
Just when MKE had the momentum, the Vikings stole it right back, grabbing that two-goal cushion back at 4-2 at the 64:55 mark.
Milwaukee again had an answer, this time from Lindgren Pederson, who finished a thru ball from
Shawn Azcueta to make it 4-3 with over 20 minutes left in regulation.
It wasn't meant to be, as the Panthers managed four shots and three corner kicks the rest of the way but could not complete the comeback.
For the game, MKE earned advantages of 17-11 in shots, as well as 7-6 in shots on goal, and also had seven of the 12 corner kicks. Farrington paced the offense with four shots. In goal,
Nick Chiappa was credited with a pair of saves.
Next week brings a pair of home league games, starting with a contest against Wright State Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. that night.
