The 3rd Man In

Milwaukee faces Oakland in must win situation

A tough test is in store for the Milwaukee Panthers men’s soccer team (4-7-2, 1-2-1), as they welcome the first place Oakland Golden Grizzlies (4-5-1, 3-0-1) to classic Engelmann Stadium Wednesday evening for a Horizon League showdown.

The Panthers are coming off of a 2-0 victory over the struggling Belmont Bruins last Saturday, that moved them into seventh place in the conference standings, and they will need to carry this momentum over into their match against the Golden Grizzlies.

It won’t be easy however, as Oakland has had an exceptional conference season so far. They have defeated Detroit, Green Bay and Cleveland State, while recording a draw against UIC.

In these four Horizon League battles, the Golden Grizzlies have tallied six goals, while allowing only two goals to the opposition.

Oakland has had an extremely balanced offense attack with eight different players recording at least one goal. However, their top player this season has been senior forward Joey Tinnion, who has a team-high two goals scored on 20 shots, eight of them being on goal.

Freshman Wes Mink has played the majority of minutes in goal for the Golden Grizzlies, putting together an impressive freshman campaign. He has a 0.93 goals against average while recording three shutouts on the season.

With the Panthers sitting in seventh place and needing to at least be in the sixth spot in order to make the conference tournament, this is a must win situation.

It will not be easy, but if the Panthers can take advantage of their scoring opportunities, while controlling the possession, there is a good chance that they could walk away victorious.

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