DeKALB, Ill. – Behind two early goals and a great overall defensive effort, the Milwaukee men's soccer team claimed a 2-0 victory over Northern Illinois Tuesday night at the NIU Soccer Complex.
 
"I thought we started out the game very well," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "It was a similar situation to our last game [a 3-3 draw vs. WSU], but thankfully a different result. Good performance from start to finish … you know the other team is going to start pushing harder as the game goes on and the guys responded really well. We took to heart how we let things slip away last game and made sure that we really focused on defensive effort as the game went on and managing the game better. It's a great bounce-back for our guys after just a couple of days – very pleased and happy for the guys."
 
The Panthers (3-1-3) came out firing, getting goals from Raul Medina and Alejandro Martinez to lead the Huskies (2-7-0) by a 2-0 count just 12 minutes into the match. From there it was all defense, as Daniel Ibarra came through with his third shutout of the season in goal to send the team back home with possession of the LeWang Cup in the yearly battle between the two programs.
 
"It was a great team effort as well as a number of good individual performances," Kelderman said. "Alé (Martinez) picks up his sixth goal; Danny (Ibarra), great performance in the goal; Raul (Medina) I thought was the best player on the pitch today. He's a talented kid and set the bar high for himself. Hands-down, some exceptional individual performances."
 
The Milwaukee offense came out very strong, converting two of its first three chances into a two-goal advantage. The first came after Mesfin Roda picked up a turnover in back, finding Medina at the top of the 18. Medina buried the chance to convert his first goal of the season at the 9:17 mark.
 
Ibarra then came up big to keep momentum on MKE's side. He made a brilliant reactionary stop on a close-range blast in the box, coming less than 60 seconds after taking the lead.
 
That became even bigger 64 seconds later when Milwaukee doubled the lead. It was Roda starting things again, sending a square ballot Medina on top. He then threaded a perfect through ball past the back line of defense for Martinez, who finished from the left wing for his team-leading sixth goal of the season at the 11:18 mark.
 
The team looked to add but had to settle for the 2-0 lead at the break. One of the best chances came in the 27^th minute, but Ryan Berghauer's header off a Medina free kick whistled past the right post.
 
The team defense came up big just when NIU was gaining footing in the second half. In the 56^th minute, Daiki Kumakawa sprinted through the penalty area to block a wide-open shot. The rebound also was sent on frame from a dangerous spot, recorded as a team save after it was blocked in front of Ibarra near the goal line.
 
The team had a handful of dangerous chances to add to the lead but were unable to convert. Medina blasted a shot from the top of the 18 just wide in the 62^nd minute, and only a brilliant save by the NIU goalie kept Asher Ozuzu from finding a goal in the 71^st, off a ball played ahead brilliantly by Medina.
 
For the match, the home side finished with an advantage of 18-13 in total shots, but MKE the edge in shots on target at 6-5. The Huskies had nine of the 14 corner kicks and were whistled for 15 of the 22 fouls. Martinez paced the offense with four shots; Medina and Ozuzu each had three as Medina finished with a three-point night with the goal and assist. Roda had a career-best two assists.
 
"We have three trophies that we play for each year," Kelderman said. "One-for-one so far, so it's a great feeling. The guys enjoyed it – celebrating and bringing the trophy back with us. We have two more to go."
 
Up next, the team remains on the road, heading to Pennsylvania Saturday to jump back into Horizon League play at Robert Morris. Game time against the Colonials is set for 11 a.m. CT.