The 3rd Man In

Milwaukee comes back to tie Parkside

In the Milwaukee Panthers final exhibition game of the 2014 season, they squared off against Division II opponent UW-Parkside. Although the Panthers dominated the stat sheet, they were forced to come from behind to tie the Rangers 2-2 at Engelmann Stadium Thursday evening.

The Panthers had multiple opportunities to push ahead throughout the 90 minutes of play, but came up unsuccessful. Milwaukee outshot Parkside 21-5 while earning all 10 corner kicks.

Milwaukee came out of the gate striking. Only 29 seconds into the game freshman Reid Stevenson kicked the ball past the Ranger goalkeeper, but the ball struck the right goal post, bouncing back into play.

It was not until the 13th minute that the Panthers were able to get on the board. After Parkside’s goalie was whistled for a foul inside the penalty box, Laurie Bell stepped up and delivered the penalty kick past the keeper giving Milwaukee the 1-0 advantage.

Parkside quickly bounced back, scoring in the 33rd minute to tie it up on a header by Elliot Schultz. Then only seven minutes later, Ryan Shorgren put the Rangers ahead 2-1.

At halftime the Rangers went into the locker-room with the lead, causing Panther fans to wonder what the second half would hold for the Black and Gold.

Numerous scoring chances slipped away for the Panthers as the fans anxiously away. But in the 73rd minute, Bell was able to find the back of the net to equal the score at two apiece.

Milwaukee was close to scoring in the final 17 minutes of play numerous times, but came up short of claiming the victory.

Head coach Kris Kelderman made a lot of substitutions as 17 different players saw playing time. All three goalies received time as junior Agustin Rey started while Jonathan Stahr and Liam Anderson were subbed in throughout the course of the game.

This was an interesting game as Milwaukee was forced to battle back against an opponent that is well below the Panthers usual level of competition. However this was a great learning experience for the Panthers. It allowed them to experience playing from behind while getting some younger players live game action.

Up next the Panthers will face off against DePaul in their season opener on August 29 at home beginning at 7 p.m. CST.

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