MILWAUKEE – Nico Steinweg made his season debut a memorable one, coming off the bench late in the contest to score a goal in the 88^th minute to help the Milwaukee men's soccer team earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Purdue Fort Wayne Saturday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
"I am happy for Nico – came into the game was the hero," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "The one thing Nico has is a desire; he's got a hunger. He's an attacking player and the kid lives to try and score goals. You see it in practice. We were lacking a little aggression of someone going forward. I felt we needed someone to make a flash or make a play. I knew that by putting him in there, he was going to be excited and hungry. And he proved me right."
 
The Panthers (2-4-6, 1-0-3 Horizon League) rallied late to pick up the big standings points against the Mastodons (5-0-5, 2-0-2 Horizon League), who entered the day in first place in the Horizon League.
 
"I thought we were much better in the second half," Kelderman said. "It's been a busy time for us with the games that we have had – quick turnaround from the game Wednesday night at Virginia which took a huge effort. I knew there would be some level of fatigue, just wasn't sure how much. First half, we came out with a little more conservative approach with those things in consideration. I thought it turned into being too conservative. With the second half, we tried to pick it up a notch, put our pressure a little higher up the field, try to play forward a little more and we improved. To get a point against a good team – a team that is in first place in the conference at the moment – is nothing to sneeze at. Good effort, we are still in the mix, and have to keep going."
 
The visitors finally broke open the defensive battle in the second half. Abe Arellano pounced on a rebound from his own saved attempt and tucked it home, giving the 'Dons a 1-0 lead at the 53:38 mark. It was a hard-luck goal, coming immediately after Nic Diana made a great save on Arellano's first attempt.
 
After that, the MKE offense pushed forward, trying to force the equalizer. The Panthers' offensive urgency grew with each attack – outshooting the visitors 16-8 in the second half alone.
 
The chances started coming: in the 58^th minute, Jack Bretzmann forced a tough save, coming off a great pair of passes from Angel Gongora and Felix Huwiler. In the 61^st it was Bretzmann again, this time being turned away on a shot from the flank following a lead pass from Bienvenu Djunga.
 
It was nearly tied again in the 84^th minute, this time off a free kick. After the original MKE shot was blocked, Steinweg gave it a rip and nearly snuck it inside the far post, pushed just wide by the PFW defense.
 
Persistence paid off. Ben Grimm cracked an attempt on goal in the 88^th minute, seeing the rebound fall in front. Steinweg was there to play the role of the hero, slotting home his first goal as a Panther at the 87:29 mark.
 
The defense held from there, but it wasn't simple. The clock was eventually stopped for a Mastodons free kick from midfield with just eight seconds remaining, but a Milwaukee clearance iced the deadlock.
 
After a slow first half, the home offense came to play in the second, wrapping up the afternoon with a 19-17 edge in total shots, as well as a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. The visitors picked up the 6-2 edge in corner kicks. Steinweg (in just eight minutes off the bench) and Bretzmann tied for the team lead with three shots apiece. Diana was credited with three saves overall on the afternoon.
 
October continues next week with some in-state battles, taking on Wisconsin midweek before battling Green Bay for the "Chancellor's Cup" on the weekend. Tuesday at Madison will get underway at 7 p.m.