NASHVILLE, TENN. – The Panthers could not capitalize on an abundance of opportunities vs. Belmont, as the team fell, 1-0, on Saturday evening at E.S. Rose Park near the Belmont campus.
The problem that has plagued Milwaukee, lack of scoring, once again reared its ugly head on Saturday, but one bright spot was the high amount of shots and the attacking ability of two newcomers.
photo: mkepanthers.com
Forward Peter Raymonds and midfielder Francesco Saporito combined for eight of the the team’s 15 shots. However, only three of those shots were on target for a 20 percent clip.
While the Bruins finished with 11 shots, four of them were on goal and one was the decider. Midfielder Dennis Kluba, late in the first half (39:20 mark), headed in a corner kick from teammate Raphael Colmanette. This was at the end of a half that was dominated by the Panthers.
At one point in the first half, Milwaukee held a 9-2 shots advantage. In addition, Raymonds nearly headed in a shot just after the 9-minute mark, but it went off the crossbar. Panthers’ goalkeeper Agustin Rey had one of his three saves in the middle of the first half.
Belmont goalkeeper Grayson Rector was brilliant in the second half, stopping three shots in the last 20 minutes, including another header attempt in the waning seconds by Raymonds to preserve the victory.
The physicality of the game (33 total fouls) brought about the need for many substitutions, and this turned out to be the difference for the home squad. Six Milwaukee reserves combined for no shots, while the four for Belmont combined for six, including two on goal and the one assist.
Aside from bench play, the Panthers held the edge. Milwaukee finished with four more shots and one more corner kick, along with three less fouls.
On Wednesday night, UWM has a chance to bounce back against in-state rival Green Bay at Englemann Stadium at 7 p.m. in the Chancellors Cup battle.