MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's soccer team built a 3-0 advantage only to see a late rally help Wright State steal a 3-3 draw Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (2-1-3, 0-1-1 Horizon League) got first-half goals from Ryan Berghauer and Alejandro Martinez and led the Raiders (3-3-2, 1-0-1 Horizon League) 2-0 at the break. A goal from Alan Lopez in the 56^th minute made it 3-0 and seemed to be the insurance Milwaukee needed to put the game away.
 
Wright State never gave in, outshooting the home side by a count of 17-6 in the second half alone, finally breaking through for a goal at the 75:33 mark to claw back in it. Brayden Tester then netted a pair of goals in a span of just 28 seconds (83:43/84:11) to stun the MKE defense and escape with a point from what looked to be a certain defeat.
 
"It definitely feels like a loss," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "I think if you ask anybody on our staff or on our roster. We are up 3-0 after a really good performance and come out and get outshot and outplayed like they did … the guys thought the game was over. As the clock went on and on, they got more momentum. We certainly didn't manage that well. And again, it's a disappointing result, but also, we need to manage that a lot better than we did. We do have some young guys out on the pitch but we have enough veteran players out there and leadership where we just can't allow that to happen."
 
After a back-and-forth start, the Panthers struck first on a set piece. Berghauer netted his first collegiate goal, sending a header off the post and in at the 22:45 mark off a corner kick from Daiki Kumakawa.
 
The MKE offense had a chance to double the lead in the 35^th, with Bienvenu Djunga beating the goalie off a scrum in the box, only to see a backline WSU defender clear the ball of the line and keep it at 1-0.
 
The second goal was right behind anyways, with Martinez breaking free on a counterattack after a nice pass from Djunga sprung him. He did the rest, sneaking the shot inside the near post at the 36:11 mark.
 
"The first half was actually very good," Kelderman said. "I liked the way we played, I liked how we defended, I liked how we created some chances and finished them. We had three goals and control of the game. Unfortunately, the group got way too comfortable and momentum is a big play in the game of soccer. We let three points in a conference game at home slip away."
 
Milwaukee nearly added a third just seconds after intermission, but Praise Ongwu's shot went inches wide off a nice pass from Raul Medina just 39 seconds in.
 
The pair were involved in the third goal a few minutes later, a Ogwu again broke free down the left side after a nifty pass from Medina. His shot hit the right post, with Lopez in the right spot in front to slot it home and hand the home side the 3-0 advantage at the 55:21 mark.
 
In net, Nolan Meyer got his first collegiate start and played very well until the game turned late, making several spectacular stops among the seven saves credited to him on the afternoon.
 
He stopped a point-blank blast in the 44^th, made a jaw-dropping save on a rocket shot at the post in the 66^th minute, and punched a header up-and-over the crossbar in impressive fashion in the 82^nd minute during his outing.
 
For the game, the visitors did end up winning the stat totals: 22-13 in total shots, 10-5 in shots on goal, 6-5 in corner kicks, and 53 percent of possession. Asher Ozuzu came off the bench to lead the team with three shot attempts in 31 minutes. Tester finished with five points (2G/1A) in just 16 minutes for WSU.
 
Up next, the Panthers set off on a pair of road games, starting with the first cup game of the season Tuesday when they travel to play Northern Illinois for the LeWang Cup. Match time is set for 7 p.m.