MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's soccer team scored a goal in the 10^th minute but was unable to capitalize on the night in falling to Northwestern by a final score of 2-1 Friday evening at Engelmann Stadium.
 
"I thought we played well enough to get a result today," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We are missing a couple of guys still but it's early in the year and that's fine – we will get everybody back soon. But, more importantly, we put ourselves in a good position to get a result today. It's encouraging that we are playing well and in position to get results. We have to keep plugging away. There is a lot of newness here and the guys are getting better every time we step on the field. It's coming."
 
The Panthers (0-2) scored first on a goal from Micah O'Garro off a corner kick before a pair of unanswered goals by the visitors helped the Wildcats (3-0) secure their first 3-0 start since the 2008 season.
 
"At the end of the day, the winning goal was a silly foul on our part right at the top of the 18 and the kid stepped up and hit a great shot," Kelderman said. "We talked after the game with the guys … there are certain plays, one or two plays each game so far, and it costs us. We don't have enough room to make mistakes that are costly."
 
Despite playing shorthanded again due to injury and card suspension, Milwaukee came out the aggressor. The team had an early goal waved off due to a handball but then struck for the opening tally at the 9:19 mark.
 
O'Garro, making his MKE debut after missing the opener to injury, soared above the backline to slam in a header off a corner kick from Raul Medina and give his team the early 1-0 advantage.
 
It stayed that way until the 18^th minute, when NU took advantage of a miscue to level it at 1-1. Justin Weiss had an easy look at his second goal of the season after a failed clearance and a fortunate bounce put him on the doorstep for the goal at the 17:36 mark.
 
It was Medina again who nearly made it 2-1 in the 32^nd minute, taking possession on the left wing, charging towards goal, and blasting a shot off the crossbar and back into play.
 
Daniel Ibarra then came up big in goal a few times for the defense, making a nice stop on a thru ball in the 39^th minute to get it to halftime 1-1 and then following that up early in the second half with a brilliant stop on a close-range snap header in the 50^th minute.
 
Abdu Regassa just missed putting the Panthers ahead in the 62^nd minute, seeing his header at the post go just wide off a well-struck serve from Josh Kidder.
 
Northwestern then took advantage of its best second-half opportunity to help it escape with the win, burying a 25-yard free kick at the 66:19 mark for the 2-1 advantage.
 
"They are a hard, physical team," Kelderman said. "They are very athletic and they are good at it. When time goes on, you feel pressed to get a goal. They buckled down and they are good in the air. Their backline is very good in the air and they are hard to break."
 
Milwaukee had a solid opportunity to get to 2-2 in the 70^th minute, but a sprawling save by the NU keeper kept Medina's well-placed free kick from finding the back of the net. The offense pushed hard in the closing minutes, but only could produce a couple of shot attempts that were off target.
 
For the game, the Wildcats finished with the 10-9 edge in shots, 5-3 advantage in shots on goal, and 51 percent possession. Milwaukee ended up with four of the five corner kicks on the night, seeing Medina pace the offense with three shots. Ibarra was credited with three saves in the match, with Jackson Weymann making a pair of stops to record his third win on the young season.
 
Up next, the Panthers hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Ohio Monday to take on Dayton. That match against the Flyers will get underway at 4 p.m. CST.