Green Bay Escapes With Chancellor's Cup
MILWAUKEE - Sam Krenzien's shot from the end line was deflected into the net by a defender and the Green Bay Phoenix escaped with a 2-1 victory in double-overtime against the No. 24 Milwaukee Panthers Tuesday night at Engelmann Stadium.
The Panthers (9-1-1, 2-1-0 Horizon League) certainly had the better scoring chances in the match against the Phoenix (6-2-3, 1-0-1 Horizon League), but at the end of the night Green Bay was taking home the Chancellor's Cup after a golden goal at the 105:59 mark.
Krenzien carried the ball forward and lost possession but, after a failed clearance by Milwaukee, regained possession on a pass from a teammate. Freshman goalkeeper Liam Anderson came off his line to make a stop, forcing a shot that appeared to be headed to the front of the goal mouth. It went directly off a Panther defender at the post and in, ending the match with the own goal.
"Obviously, it was a disappointing result and the entire group is disappointed," UWM head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We felt that we played good soccer tonight and had a lot of shots in the game. It just came down to, as the game went on, not getting that second goal. Green Bay is a dangerous team and they caught us in overtime. I give them credit. At the end of the day, I am very pleased with how we played, but what matters is what is up on the scoreboard and that is where we were short tonight."
The loss drops the Panthers from the ranks of the unbeaten, snapping their win streak at eight games and unbeaten string at 10. Milwaukee dominated possession and chances on the evening, but could not find a second goal to avoid the upset.
One of the biggest came early in the game. After a penalty kick was awarded for the Panthers, Phoenix goalie Kyle Ihn was up to the task, making a diving save to keep the game at 0-0 in the 15th minute. He came up big time and time again, ending the night with 13 saves of his own and one by a teammate.
"Whenever you miss a penalty kick it is disappointing," Kelderman said. "But, we are a good team and were confident in knowing that we could still win the game without the PK. There was a lot of time left in the game - we had plenty of shots - we have no excuse, we just didn't get those second and third goals and it cost us."
Junior Luke Goodnetter hit the post in the 22nd minute and sophomore Aaron Horvat picked up a turnover on the back line for a chance in the 42nd minute, but the shot was right at the keeper to send it to 0-0 at intermission.
Milwaukee stepped on the gas pedal on offense after intermission. Freshman Kostas Kotselas hustled his way into a shot at an open net after he beat the charging goalie to a ball, but a Green Bay defender saved the day at the 54:00 mark.
The next five shots were all taken by the Panthers, with the sixth finding the back of the net. After a blocked shot rebounded to junior Laurie Bell, he sent it to junior Rami Younes at the wing. Younes carried the ball forward through traffic and slotted a perfect feed to Bell, who finished calmly for his eighth goal of the year, marking the fifth game in a row that he has scored a goal.
But, a fortunate bounce helped equalize, when a long free kick ended up as a handball in the box that gave the Phoenix a penalty kick of its own. Sabastian Xiong knotted the game at 1-1 less than four minutes later to make it a new game at the 74:34 mark.
For the game, Milwaukee ended up with a dominating 27-to-14 edge in shots, including a 15-7 advantage in shots on goal. At the end of the night, it wasn't meant to be for the Panthers.
"I told the guys in the locker room that it's been awesome so far and let's not forget that," Kelderman said. "It's the middle of the season and there are more games to be played and bigger games to be played. It's how we respond to the situation - there are ups and downs to the entire season. We leave with our heads held high, knowing that so far it has been outstanding. We learn from the evening and we get better moving forward."
UWM will move forward Saturday, heading to Indiana to take on Valparaiso University in a 7 p.m. contest.
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