MILWAUKEE - It was worth the wait.
 
Evan Dujardin played the role of hero Friday night, guaranteeing the Milwaukee men's soccer team a spot in the postseason when he scored the only goal of the game with just 35 seconds left in regulation.
 
"We finished in a real good, positive way," Milwaukee head coach Kris Kelderman said. "The guys really responded well. We came out with a whole bunch of energy in the second half. It was really a tale of two halves out there."
 
Dujardin's 90^th-minute tally wrapped up a long night of scoreboard watching, as the Panthers (8-7-2, 5-3-1 Horizon League) could have ended up anywhere from third place to out of the postseason depending on what happened against the Vikings (7-8-2, 4-5-1 Horizon League).
 
"It's crazy. You just had to stay even-keeled and not get caught up in all of the scenarios," Kelderman said. "Just the approach of 'if we step on the field, we play to win' and that was the result tonight."
 
Milwaukee was in full attack mode the entire second half, recording advantages of 9-to-1 in shots and 7-to-1 in corner kicks over the final 45 minutes. The suspense continued to build, with a handful of earlier opportunities looking like the chance for UWM to break the ice and dent the scoreboard, only to be denied until the final seconds.
 
Reid Stevenson gave it a go in the 82^nd minute, blasting a shot on frame after Francesco Saporito found him on the wing, only to see an amazing stop by CSU's Sebastian Kalk knock it wide.
 
The same scenario played out in the 88^th minute, this time on a Saporito free kick. He bent it perfectly around the four-person wall and to the open upper right corner, but Kalk was there again at the last second, punching it wide.
 
Oliver Haslund posted the shutout when Milwaukee needed it the most, recording six total saves. The tough ones came early, starting with a nice stop in the 28^th minute, pushing away a Viking blast from the wing with two hands.
 
"Ollie has been really good the past couple of games," Kelderman said. "He has been big for us."
 
He was even better in the 36^th, reacting perfectly to knock a volleyed blast off a corner kick wide of frame. He followed the stop up with some first pumps and the game went to intermission scoreless despite Cleveland State holding probably 2/3 of possession.
 
"I thought we had a tough time in the first half," Kelderman said. "Cleveland's possession was much better than ours. I think we were defending more than we were on the attack. It's a good thing that we got to 0-0 at halftime. We had to be sharper on the ball."
 
In the end it was Dujardin playing hero with the first goal of his collegiate career. Evan Conway actually started the scoring play, placing a tough shot on target. The ball was saved by Kalk but not corralled and Dujardin was there to put it home and set off the celebration and excitement around Engelmann Stadium.
 
For the game, UWM ended with 12-to-9 advantages in shots, including 7-to-6 in shots on goal, as well as the same tally in corner kicks. Conway and Jaime Colin each led the way with three. The game was physical from start to finish, resulting in 32 total fouls (15 on UWM), three yellow cards and a postgame red card.
 
With the 1-0 result, the Panthers will now host a first-round contest in the Horizon League Tournament Monday. All details are not yet official, but the preliminary information shows a 7 p.m. kickoff against Valparaiso.
 
The league office will announce official pairings later this weekend.
 

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