MILWAUKEE - Evan Conway scored a pair of goals to help the Milwaukee men's soccer team storm back from a 3-0 hole in the first half, eventually earning a 3-3 draw against Marquette in the 44^th battle for the "Milwaukee Cup" Wednesday evening at Valley Fields.
 
"That is a tough start," Milwaukee head coach Kris Kelderman said. "Marquette is a very good team and, I tell you what, you give them a little bit of an opportunity and they will bury you. They jumped on us – had a couple of good opportunities, great finishes and got on top of us pretty quickly."
 
The Panthers (1-3-1) fell behind the Golden Eagles (3-1-2) by a score of 3-0 before the game was even 30 minutes old. Conway got one back before halftime to turn momentum and netted his second of the night in the 61^st minute to make it a game.
 
"We got that first goal and the guys got reenergized," Kelderman said. "We had to regroup at halftime. We decided we had to go for this and they guys came out with great energy and created a good number of chances. Defensively we played very well and I couldn't be more proud of these guys."
 
Milwaukee had the first four shot attempts of the game, but it was all Marquette after that. Daniel Szczepanek struck for goals in the 16^th and 27^th minutes and, not long after that, the home team took the 3-0 advantage at the 28:57 mark.
 
Conway helped stem the tide with his first, a solid finish of a crossing pass from Sean Reynolds in the 34th minute after Reynolds had picked up a turnover in back.
 
The freshman made it 3-2 at the 60:14 mark, sending a left-footed shot to the far post from the left side to make it a ball game with nearly 30 minutes remaining in regulation, assisted by Jason Palitang Svensson.
 
Conway nearly had the hat trick as well, volleying an absolute blast out of the air in the 74^th minute that the Golden Eagle goalkeeper made a phenomenal sprawling save on to somehow push wide.
 
"Evan Conway is a dangerous player," Kelderman said. "I know what he is capable of doing. He has had a tough start to the season but he turned the corner tonight and I am really proud of him."
 
Just when fans of the "Milwaukee Cup" thought they had seen it all, an own goal by the Marquette defense with under five minutes remaining in regulation evened the score and sent the contest to overtime for the second season in a row knotted at 3-3. Evan Dujardin was the UWM player that had a key role, sending a hard service into the box from the right sideline that went off the backline defender and in.
 
UWM goalkeeper Sam Glass ended the night with five saves of his own, making brilliant saves in the 59^th and 95^th minutes to help the Panthers leave the city rivalry with a point, nearly capping an amazing comeback with a victory.
 
Both teams had their chances in the extra sessions. In addition to the stop Glass made in the first overtime, the Golden Eagles sent one off the cross bar just seconds later.
 
Francesco Saporito had a quality opportunity pushed up and over the cross bar in the 103^rd minute, while Nick Moon went just wide in the 107^th after a nice setup pass from Saporito on the left wing.
 
"What an entertaining game from a spectator's point of view," Kelderman said. "We were down 3-0. For the guys to fight back and tie that, that doesn't happen very often in soccer. And to tie it against Marquette, with the talent they have, I am very satisfied."
 
Milwaukee was edged, 22-21, in the shot column, and also was just behind in shots on goal at 8-to-7. UWM earned three of the 11 corner kicks on the night and was whistled for 15 of the 27 fouls. Conway finished with a team-high six shots, while Moon ended with five. Toby Howell paced the home team with seven attempts.
 
Up next, the Panthers get back to Horizon League action Saturday, hitting the road to take on Northern Kentucky. Game time is set for 6 p.m. CST and will feature an ESPN3 broadcast.

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