MILWAUKEE - Drake University goalkeeper Rich Gallagher made a diving stop on a final attempt from junior Laurie Bell in double-overtime to close out a 1-1 tie against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team Friday night at Engelmann Stadium.

The Panthers (1-0-1) had a final late attempt against the Bulldogs (0-2-1) to try and record the victory, but Bell's shot with 12 seconds left on the clock was saved by the sprawling keeper to help Drake escape with the tie. The opportunity came following a long free kick by freshman goalie Liam Anderson, who nearly added an assist to go along with his four saves on the evening.

The contest was game one for Milwaukee in the 39th Panther Invitational. Marquette opened the event with a 3-0 victory over Bowling Green in the opener earlier Friday evening.

"I thought we had a fair amount of control after the first half," UWM head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We had a one-goal lead and we all know that in soccer, one hiccup or one lapse in the back and suddenly the game is tied. It's not good enough. We have to take advantage of our opportunities better than we did tonight. It's just being sharper in the final third - that's the hardest part about soccer, scoring goals. It's just that final pass, that final shot."

UWM had numerous chances to win it in the overtime sessions but could not get enough of its chances on target. On the night, the Panthers outshot their opponents 18-to-12, including 4-to-2 in the extra periods.

"I am not thrilled about the result and our guys are not either," Kelderman said. "And I do not expect them to be. I thought the possession for the majority of the game was in our favor and I thought we played pretty well the majority of the time. I am not pleased with how we took our chances. I am not pleased with the number of chances we failed to create in the attacking third. And that is something that we know we need to work on and get better at. We have seven new starters from last year and I did not expect this to happen overnight. Guys are trying to gel and we have areas that need improvement that we are working on."

Junior Kyle Neumann had a chance in the 107th minute, pushing an attempt just left after a nice feed from junior Rami Younes. Junior Luke Goodnetter took a 25-yard free kick in the 106th, but his attempt was high. It was Bell again in the 94th minute, barely missing the golden goal after a cross into the box by senior Robbie Boyd.

Bell did give UWM a 1-0 lead before intermission, netting his first goal of the campaign at the 39:31 mark. Freshman Junior Juarez started the scoring play with a throw-in, which was sent forward by Neumann into the corner of the box. That pass found Boyd, who played it to Bell, who calmly sent it to the far post for a 1-0 lead.

The Bulldogs would stick around and eventually caught a bit of a break to net the equalizer. Following a blocked shot in the penalty area, the deflection went right to Garrett Crall, who buried the finish to make it 1-1 at the 65:49 mark.

Bell ended with a team-high seven shots, creating decent scoring opportunities all night. A 76th-minute header looked on target but narrowly missed, as did a blast from the top of the 18 in the 24th minute. Boyd recorded five shots of his own, testing the keeper on a rocket from the right wing in the 73rd minute and also with a long attempt early on in the eighth minute.

The Panthers return to action Sunday in the 39th Panther Invitational, welcoming Bowling Green to Engelmann for a noon start.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

TeamRank Presented By TeamSnap - Boys

Midwest High School Roundup - Nov.