MILWAUKEE - Senior Jamie Bladen headed in a free kick in the 92nd minute to give the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team a 2-1 overtime victory over UIC Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium.

The Panthers (5-4-2, 1-0-2 Horizon League), playing in their fourth consecutive overtime game, broke through against the Flames (4-5-2, 1-1-1 Horizon League) to snap a long streak in the all-time series as well.

"It was very exciting," UWM head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We felt good coming into the game. Even though we tied at Green Bay, we felt good about the way we played and the chances that we created. I am proud of the guys, it was a great result."

The final play came after a foul called on the right wing. Sophomore Laurie Bell set up for the free kick and served it to the middle of the penalty area immediately in front of the goal. Bladen went up over a defender and the ball found the back of the net, giving Milwaukee the win to improve to a perfect 4-0 at Engelmann Stadium this season.

"Our energy was really good in the beginning of the game," Kelderman said. "It was a little concerning the longer the game went on, especially going into overtime since that was our fourth overtime game in a row. The guys have played a lot of minutes in a short amount of time. They dug deep and fought to the very end and we got a victory."

The Panthers had gone ahead on a pretty first-half goal. Sophomore Zach Stevenson netted a header in the 35th minute for his first goal of the season, going up over a defender on a long serve from junior James Ashcroft to sneak it in at the far post and make it 1-0 at the 34:08 mark.

UIC tried to take advantage of some quality scoring opportunities, but the combination in goal of senior John Shakon and freshman Connor Revsbeck was up to the task.

Shakon was credited with four saves before leaving with an injury in the 41st minute, including a pair of spectacular stops that kept the Flames from tying up the game in the first half in the 38th (diving stop at post off corner kick) and 40th (sprawling stop on breakaway) minutes.

Revsbeck made a pair of saves of his own, including a diving stop of a shot headed to the far post in the 50th minute. He also grabbed numerous dangerous crosses that prevented any other opportunities.

"He stepped in and did a great job," Kelderman said. "Connor came in and made a couple of really good saves and basically showed everybody that he's there and he's going to help us in whatever area we need."

Ivan Stanisavljevic did take advantage of being in the right place at the right time to equalize, picking up a loose ball after a UIC player lost control of it and taking a touch around a UWM defender to tie the game at 1-1 in the 57th minute.

Milwaukee had the best chance in the closing minutes of regulation to win it. Stevenson beat his defender on a ball over the top of the defense. He chased it down and found junior Riley Wiener in the front of the goal. Weiner's shot was on target and headed toward net but a UIC defender just got a piece of it to block it away.

The victory snaps a long streak against UIC for the Panthers. The last time UWM had won in the series was a 4-2 victory in 2002, going 0-8-2 since then. In addition, the fourth-consecutive game to go to overtime marked a program first.

For the match, Milwaukee ended with an advantage of 20-to-12 in shots, with both teams putting seven on frame. UIC had nine of the 15 corner kicks and 18 of the 24 fouls.

The Panthers have just one game on the schedule for next week and it involves another in-state rivalry. Milwaukee heads to play Wisconsin, Oct. 10, in a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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