MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's soccer team looked to build on a first-half goal but never found an insurance tally in settling for a 1-1 draw against Marquette Tuesday night at Valley Fields.
 
The Panthers (5-2-3) and Golden Eagles (6-4-1) both came into the contest regionally ranked and were meeting in the battle for the "Milwaukee Cup" for the 50^th time in the storied series, with the home side retaining possession after finding a late goal to earn the 1-1 deadlock.
 
"The first goal always helps, obviously," head coach Kris Kelderman said of his team's 35^th-minute strike. "I think in the first half, both teams were feeling each other out a little bit, seeing how it went. I think both groups had stretches offensively and I thought we were pretty good in transition. If we were a little cleaner with our final passes, I think we could have finished some chances. It's a big game, it's an emotional game. The fans love it, everybody loves it but when you are playing away it makes it that much harder."
 
Back and forth at the start, the first real dangerous threat for the MKE offense came in the 23^rd minute. Alejandro Martinez went streaking down the left side towards goal, laying it back to Raul Medina for a go. Medina sent it on frame but couldn't quite sneak it inside the post before the MU keeper made the save.
 
Mesfin Roda stepped up next, nearly finding the back of the net in the 34^th minute after Asher Ozuzu's touch pass from Martinez left an open volley for Roda, but it went screaming just wide.
 
Roda was not denied at the 34:24 mark but took a lengthy video review to make the goal stand up.
 
Medina picked up a turnover in back and went charging the other way. He laid off a diagonal ball for Martinez, whose blast was pushed back across the goal front by the goalkeeper. Roda came charging in and buried the rebound, making it 1-0 on his second of the season. The goal was first called off due to an offside call, but was confirmed via replay.
 
The defense then came up big before the break, as Marquette got a shot past a diving Daniel Ibarra, yet defender Ryan Berghauer was there to clear the danger and keep the lead at 1-0 in the 41^st minute.
 
"Our back line of defense continues to do an excellent job," Kelderman said. "They keep us in games each night out. Every day I am impressed on the maturity that the young guys in the back line are showing and it's exciting to see."
 
The second half was more controlled by the Golden Eagles, who accounted for 13 of the 17 shots after intermission. They finally took advantage of one in the 82^nd minute, converting the equalizer after the MKE defense had a chance to clear and was not able to do so cleanly.
 
"They were going to press the issue in the second half and come out with some more juice," Kelderman said. "They were a goal down, you kind of have to do that. We talked at halftime that we had to weather this a little bit, but at the same time they were throwing numbers forward and we had to see if we could catch 'em. And we did have a couple of opportunities."
 
The offense's best chance to add a goal came in the 81^st minute after Medina played Ozuzu on a thru ball down the right side. His final touch carried a bit towards goal, allowing his shot attempt on the open net to get blocked from the tough angle.
 
For the game, Marquette earned advantages of 16-11 in shots, 6-3 in shots on goal, and 10-2 in corner kicks. They also had 64 percent possession. Roda and Medina led the Milwaukee offense with three shots apiece. Ibarra was credited with four saves as he ran his unbeaten streak to three in a row.
 
Up next, the Panthers return to Horizon League play, heading to take on Detroit Mercy Saturday. Game time in Michigan is set for 1 p.m. CT.