UWM men’s soccer beat Cleveland State 1-0 on a crisp Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium thanks to a second-half wonder goal.
The Panthers improved to 6-3-4 on the season and 2-3-1 in the Horizon League. The Vikings fell to 4-6-3 and 1-4-1 in conference action.
After a draw at Marquette and a loss to Detroit Mercy, Milwaukee righted the ship and got an important three points to help them climb the Horizon League standings.
The Panthers got off to an aggressive start with early shots from midfielder Daiki Kumakawa and forward Bienvenu Djunga.
Milwaukee keeper Daniel Ibarra came up huge in the 32nd minute. A Vikings’ shot was destined for the lower right corner of the Milwaukee net, but Ibarra dove low and parried it out for a corner kick. Ibarra finished with the night three saves.
The game went into halftime with a score of 0-0. The Vikings had two corner kicks to the Panthers’ one.
Milwaukee held the shots advantage with an 11-to-6 tally at the half.
Milwaukee almost broke through in the 49th minute after a set piece found defender Jack Wagner. Vikings’ keeper Ryan Poling saved Wagner’s volley.
After some fight from Cleveland State, the Panthers snatched the lead.
Forward Mesfin Roda worked wizardry after he beat multiple defenders down the right flank and fired a curling shot that hit off the left post and into the Vikings’ net.
The goal was Roda’s third of the season.
After the goal, the Panthers dropped back and played more defensively to preserve their lead.
Cleveland State threatened multiple times in the last 20 minutes, but the Milwaukee defense held firm.
Ibarra made his biggest save of the evening in the 87th minute after he saved a good effort from a Vikings’ backheel.
“The last 10 minutes always get a little hectic when they start pushing numbers through,” said head coach Kris Kelderman. “You got to get more defensive, and we added a defender.”
Defender Matthew Toolan subbed on for forward Asher Ozuzu to close out the last five minutes.
After 90 minutes and a gritty performance, the Panthers came away with a clean sheet and a 1-0 win.
The game featured 29 fouls, 20 of which belonged to Cleveland State. Four yellow cards were handed out in the match; the lone Milwaukee yellow card went to midfielder David Cox.
“Everyone’s working hard, you do what you got to do,” said Kumakawa on the team’s effort to end the contest. “That’s it.”
The Panthers finished with 19 shots in the duel while the Vikings had 10 of their own.
“From start to finish, I think that’s the best soccer we’ve played this season,” said Kelderman. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better from our guys. There’s some pressure on everybody, conference game, and we needed the three points.”
Before this contest, the last seven games against Cleveland State had been rough for the Panthers. The Vikings were 5-0-2 during that period.
“Last year we were lucky to get tied, but of course, we want to win,” said Kumakawa on breaking the trend. “So today’s result 1-0, that was so good.”
The Panthers’ next matchup will take them to Kentucky to battle against the ACC’s Louisville Cardinals. That game will take place on Oct. 22 at 6:00 p.m. CT.