MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee men's soccer team put together an impressive offensive display Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium, but wound up drawing with IUPUI by a final score of 2-2.
 
The Panthers (5-5-1, 0-2-1 Horizon League) peppered the goal of the Jaguars (3-4-2, 2-0-1 Horizon League) all night, getting goals from Vuk Latinovich and Suad Suljic in the second half.
 
"It's good to get a point, but we feel like we let two points slip away when we were gunning for three," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "I mean statistically … I am speechless. I don't know what else we can do. At the end of the day, the other team made a couple of plays and we didn't make enough."
 
The team ended the contest with staggering advantages of 34-to-11 in shots, 15-to-4 in shots on goal and 18-to-4 in corner kicks, but had to settle for the 2-2 draw when a final attempt at the overtime horn was pushed away on a diving save by the visiting goalkeeper.
 
Quinn McCallion ended the evening with a career-high 13 saves for IUPUI, including several spectacular stops that prevented what looked like a sure MKE victory numerous times over the course of the wet, rainy matchup.
 
Following a first half in which the Panthers had 67 percent possession and a 13-to-2 shot advantage, it was Latinovich that finally broke through for the first goal of the night in the 50^th minute.
 
"I was pleased with the way we played in the first half," Kelderman said. "We were the dominant team, both in opportunities and possession. It was just a matter of time. Come out and be patient, keep plugging away and it will come."
 
Alex Sykes was fouled just outside of the penalty area, setting up the free kick opportunity. Latinovich sent a blast to the far post, off the outstretched arms of the goalie and into the far corner for his fourth goal of the season.
 
IUPUI found a goal against the run of play at the 63:55 mark to make it a new game, but the Panthers had a quick response.
 
Evan Conway nearly had the next strike, turning and firing from the top of the box off a nice feed from Ben Krolczyk in the 66^th minute.
 
Less than 60 seconds later, Conway found Suljic down the left side. He used a stepover move to gain an opening, cracking home his first goal of the campaign off the crossbar and in at the 66:35 mark to give MKE back the one-goal advantage at 2-1.
 
IUPUI kept taking advantage of its limited opportunities, drawing even again in the 77^th minute when a long free kick from the wing snuck through traffic in front of the goal and found its way inside the net.
 
"One thing that IUPUI relies on are restarts – because they are good at them," Kelderman said. "We kept giving them opportunities with some silly fouls – no disrespect to IUPUI – but some silly fouls kept them in the game and they capitalized on our mistakes."
 
From there, it was all Panthers, but not enough to find the winner.
 
Another Latinovich free kick nearly provided a deciding goal, but his 35-yard effort went cracking off the left post in the 85^th minute.
 
With regulation winding down, Suljic sent a pretty pass to Joshua Kidder at the far post, only to see his diving header at the doorstep stopped at the post with 36 seconds left to force overtime.
 
MKE was in control from start to finish in the overtime periods, outshooting its opponent 8-to-2 in extra time alone in addition to forcing seven corner kicks in OT.
 
With the final seconds ticking away, Kasper Davidsson found Latinovich again on top, sending a blast towards goal. McCallion was there for a final time, pushing the attempt wide as the final horn sounded.
 
The shot total of 34 was the most for the Panthers since recording 34 against Green Bay back in October of 2012. The 11 shots for Latinovich marked the first time a Milwaukee player had 10-or-more in a game since Steve Sperl had 10 against Cleveland State back in October of 2006.
 
Up next, it's just one game on the slate for the Panthers next week, but it's a big one. The team travels to Green Bay Saturday to battle the Phoenix for the "Chancellor's Cup". Game time is set for 7 p.m.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13