CLEVELAND, Ohio – Daniel Ibarra made seven saves in goal and the Milwaukee men's soccer team overcame adversity and a tough night of weather in picking up a 1-1 draw against Cleveland State Saturday night at Krenzler Field.
 
The Panthers (4-6-3, 2-3-1 Horizon League) played down a man the final 28 minutes yet found a way to force the deadlock against the Vikings (3-7-3, 2-2-2 Horizon League) to earn an important point in the league standings chase in a contest that was played mostly in a heavy downpour on a cold and windy night in downtown Cleveland.
 
"It was a long road trip, under some tough weather conditions against a pretty good Cleveland State team," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "Given all of the conditions and situations we dealt with tonight, we will definitely take that point. We are leaving Cleveland with our heads high and excited for our next game against Northern Kentucky."
 
The MKE offense came out on the front foot, earning a pair of corner kicks and recording a pair of shots in the first eight-plus minutes, including a nice save on a shot from Asher Ozuzu at the 8:55 mark. The team also got a couple of good looks just before half from David Cox and Arthur Souza, yet the scoreline read 0-0 at the break.
 
"I was really pleased with how the first half went," Kelderman said. "I felt we had a good balance to our attack, especially under the weather conditions. We created a few chances and were feeling pretty good about ourselves going into the break."
 
The Vikings then broke through after volleying a cross into the net at the 50:53.
 
"Second half, they picked up a goal and put some pressure on us and then we picked up the red card and turned into a situation where we were playing a man down," Kelderman said. "But I thought the guys really buckled down and played incredible team defense. It started with Danny (Ibarra), another awesome performance in the goal, making a few key saves. The team defense kept us in the game and we were able to come through with the goal in the 83^rd minute."
 
Colin Alba looked to level the game back at 1-1, but his shot at the 54:21 mark cracked off the crossbar and the follow-up from Ozuzu was saved nicely.
 
A Milwaukee player was shown a red card at the 62:36 to make the rest of the match a bit more difficult. Ibarra did his part, making back-to-back quality saves following the card to keep it 1-0 in the 66^th minute.
 
The Panthers were then able to take advantage of a CSU miscue at the 83:00 mark, forcing an own goal to make it a new game at 1-1.
 
The defense did the rest the final seven minutes of regulation, earning the 10-man side the unexpected tie.
 
For the game, the home team picked up advantages of 11-7 in total shots, as well as 8-2 in shots on target. Both teams forced four corner kicks and the Vikings finished with the 57/43 possession advantage. Ozuzu wrapped up the night with a team-high three shots, two of which were on frame.
 
Up next, the Panthers are back at home to welcome Northern Kentucky next Saturday, set for a 1 p.m. start.