MILWAUKEE – A goal from Josh Kidder and a shutout from Daniel Ibarra in net told the story as the Milwaukee men's soccer team picked up an important 1-0 victory over Detroit Mercy Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (4-6-1, 2-3 Horizon League) had to grind out the well-deserved victory on a windy day over a Titans (3-7-2, 2-2-1 Horizon League) squad that came into play today riding what was a five-game unbeaten (3-0-2) streak.
 
"I think our team stepped up and did what the game called for," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "Detroit puts a lot of numbers behind the ball and that's not easy to play against. There are times when you have to be patient and times when you have to be aggressive. I thought the guys did a nice job of being balanced in our attack. I figured it was going to be one of those games where it was going to be a long grind. We talked about it at halftime as well – just stay the course and if that means we score at the very end that's what we do."
 
A pretty quiet first half both ways – played a majority of time in the midfield – did not turn into many good looks for either side. Asher Ozuzu came off the bench to provide a spark, nearly scoring after running on to a long goal kick in the 29^th minute. As the period was coming to a close, Ozuzu also got sprung on a through ball from Daiki Kumakawa, but sent the chance inches wide of the right post in the 42^nd minute.
 
Kidder played the starring role when he netted the game-winner at the 54:40 mark, getting set up on the wing by a pass from Ozuzu following a turnover for his first goal of the season.
 
From there, Ibarra and the defense did the rest, seeing the offense unable to convert on some good looks down the stretch that would have sealed the victory. One of those came from Micah O'Garro, who was just off-target after a free kick in the 85^th minute. Quinn Rechner looked to score the insurance tally in the 83^rd, but a defender was at the post to knock his shot off the line off a corner kick opportunity.
 
"Very pleased with the performance," Kelderman said. "I thought there were a good number of individual performances across the board so most likely it turns into a good team performance that way. We were pretty steady throughout. We did have a golden opportunity at the very end which would have clinched the game and made it easier on us. It is what it is, but I thought defensively we were very good throughout the game."
 
Ibarra ended the match with four saves for his second clean sheet of the fall, making the biggest stop in traffic in the 76^th minute to keep the lead at 1-0.
 
For the game, Milwaukee managed small advantages of 9-7 in total shots and 6-4 in shots on goal, while the visitors had three of the five corner kicks. Kidder, Rechner, and Ozuzu recorded a pair of shots each to lead the way.
 
Up next, the Panthers get back to the road for trips to Butler (Oct. 10) and Cleveland State (Oct. 14) next week.