The Panthers Men’s Soccer team enjoyed a 9-goal walloping over the Chicago State Cougars on Tuesday at Engelmann Stadium in a historic performance.
The Panthers are now 1-2-2 on the season and are looking to take the winning momentum into Horizon League play with Cleveland State coming to Milwaukee on Sept. 13.
Fernando Pirry: 4 Goals Tie Program Record
Fernando Pirry. What a night.
The transfer from Indian Hills Community College had his breakout performance for the Panthers in his fifth appearance.
The Spaniard not only scored his first goal of the season in the 21st minute, but added three more for good measure.
“I feel so good because I trained hard, so I can do it,” said Pirry. “I’m so happy for doing this, this good game, and I’m happy for my teammates for the big win.”
Four goals in one game tied the program’s single-game scoring record. And the craziest part – he accomplished the feat in only 45 minutes.
Pirry got to rest in the second half, despite his wishes.
“I say to Kris [Kelderman], I want to play in the second half, 10 minutes or something like that,” said Pirry.
Head coach Kris Kelderman decided to rotate Pirry and much of the team in the second half.
“You would love to leave in people, but you’ve got to think long term and what’s best for the group,” said Kelderman. “At the end of the day, what might be best physically for individuals.”
Goals Galore
Milwaukee wasted no time getting onto the scoresheet. It only took five minutes before the Panthers went up 1-0 thanks to a vicious strike by Dominic Zuniga.
Zuniga is now up to three goals and three assists through five games.
“He’s probably been the most dangerous player as of now,” said Kelderman. “He’s a very hard worker, a busy guy, great attitude.”
Zuniga is in his first year with the Panthers after transferring from Johnson County Community College in Kansas.
After Zuniga’s goals, it was the Fernando Pirry show. He scored in the 21st, 25th, 40th and 41st minutes.
Bienvenu Djunga got his goal in the middle of the Pirry show, scoring in the 36th minute. He pounced on a Chicago State mistake in the backline and bagged his first goal of the season.
By the end of the first half, the Panthers had a 6–0 lead.
Even after rotating much of the team in the second half, the Panthers’ level did not drop.
Forward Felix Huwiler continued the scoring for Milwaukee in the 67th minute.
Senior Gabe Thistle then joined in, scoring a nice header off a free kick. Almost as nice as his celebration after.
The one goal by Chicago State came off a corner kick in the 86th minute, scored by Owen Santos.
And 14 seconds before the final whistle blew, Praise Ogwu finished the evening with a goal off a long ball from freshman Pavle Ivkovic.
By the end, the Panthers won 9–1 while setting a program record with 12 total assists. Zuniga and Huwiler joined Breon Jarvis with two assists on the night. The nine goals were the most in a game since 1990.
Milwaukee outshot Chicago State 24–13. 11 Milwaukee efforts were on goal, compared to Chicago State’s 5.
Backup goalkeeper Nolan Meyer made his first start of the season with starter Nic Diana being sidelined with a slight injury. Meyer made four saves.
“Who knows, at some point this season when he needs to get a call, he needs to be ready,” said Kelderman. “An opportunity for him to step in and get some quality minutes is great.”
The Cougars fell to 0–6 on the season, and the eight-goal differential was their biggest loss on the season.
Looking Forward
The big win comes at a perfect time, right before the start of conference action.
“Hopefully we can carry some of this momentum into our first game against Cleveland State,” said Kelderman.
Cleveland State comes into the game on Saturday with a 0–2–2 record. A season ago, they went 7–7–3 and were the 5-seed in the Horizon League tournament.
The Panthers had a 9–5–5 season last year, finishing tied for second place in the Horizon League. The Panthers made it to the semifinal of the Horizon League tournament before losing to Robert Morris.