DeKALB, Ill. – Enrique Banuelos netted the golden goal in the 92^nd minute to send Northern Illinois past the Milwaukee men's soccer team by a final score of 1-0 Tuesday night at the NIU Soccer Complex.
 
It was a tough result to swallow for the Panthers (4-4), who had not allowed a shot on goal all night on defense until the Huskies (3-4-1) escaped with the victory and retained possession of the LeWang Cup.
 
Milwaukee spent the majority of regulation in charge, nearly doubling up NIU over the first 45 minutes in shot attempts, yet were unable to find the back of the net.
 
The MKE defense stood strong all night, allowing just one of the 12 shots against it to be on target. That was enough on this night, with Banuelos free kick from about 25 yards sneaking into the upper corner of the goal to end the contest.
 
The Panthers came close all evening, but couldn't finish off the opportunities on offense. Evan Conway put together a couple of great chances, including one in the 70^th minute on a terrific chipped ball from Vuk Latinovich into the goal front. His volley ended up getting knocked out by a tremendous stop by Martin Sanchez – one of his four saves on the night.
 
Milwaukee nearly struck before the halftime horn as well, getting a late flurry of action on net. Abdu Regassa tried to sneak one inside the post in the 43^rd minute, with Kasper Davidsson and Henrik Fennefoss also giving it a go as the minutes ticked down to intermission.
 
Latinovich paced the offense with five shots, which included a header off a corner kick that went just wide in the 27^th minute. Conway also gave it a go early, seeing another impressive save control his blast from the top of the box after bursting through the midfield in the 10^th minute.
 
The final totals saw MKE lead in shots (15-to-12), shots on goal (4-to-1) and dominate the corner kick count (8-to-1).
 
The Panthers return home before heading out again, traveling to Ohio Saturday to take on Cleveland State in Horizon League action. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CST.

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