INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A late goal from
Asher Ozuzu and a strong outing in net from
Daniel Ibarra helped the Milwaukee men's soccer team to a 2-2 draw on the road Tuesday night against Butler at the Sellick Bowl.
The Panthers (4-6-2) led the Bulldogs (2-6-3) early on a goal from
Bienvenu Djunga, but needed a late rally to earn the point against the former Horizon League rival.
"As far as we are concerned it is a very pleasing result, earning a tie against a Big East conference opponent on the road," head coach
Kris Kelderman said. "The guys fought from the start to the very end and we needed a very strong effort today."
Ibarra faced 22 shots on the evening and made a career-best eight saves, including a stellar pair of stops in the 90
th minute to lock up the draw in the closing seconds.
"Overall, pleased with the result – it was a great defensive effort by Danny [Ibarra] in the goal and our backline defenders came up with some big blocks when Butler came at us," Kelderman noted.
Following a scoreless first half, Djunga put Milwaukee on the scoreboard first with a strike at the 48:45 mark, set up nicely on a pass from
Raul Medina. His header near the top of the 18 nearly went wide, but bounced off the far post and in for his second goal of the season.
Despite a handful of half-chances, the Panthers could not build on the advantage and found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline after Butler tallied hard-to-stop headers in the 56
th and 71
st minutes.
"We had to weather a pretty strong storm, they picked it up a notch and came at us and went up 2-1 but the guys responded well," Kelderman said. "Which is not easy to do against an opponent like this on the road."
The MKE offense persevered, finding the goal at the 78:48 mark when Ozuzu finished for his third of the season, this time assisted by Djunga before he celebrated with a backflip. The play started deep in the defensive half on a thru ball, with Djunga racing to goal the final 15 yards before laying off for the Ozuzu finish.
Milwaukee came out on the front foot to open the matchup, recording a pair of shots and a pair of corner kicks in the first five minutes, including a near-goal from Djunga at the 4:06 mark.
Ibarra helped get the game to intermission 0-0, making back-to-back saves in the 20
th minute on what was BU's best scoring opportunity of the opening period.
An entertaining matchup ended with Butler claiming an advantage of 22-14 on total shots, seeing both teams record 10 shots on goal. The Panthers also picked up the 6-5 edge in corner kicks and owned 45 percent possession on the evening. Djunga and
Stu Sain led the way for the offense with three shots apiece.
Up next, the Panthers remain on the road to battle Cleveland State Saturday. Game time against the Vikings is set for 6 p.m. CST.
