While UW-Milwaukee's win over city rival Marquette in the teams' annual Milwaukee Cup match drew much of the attention this week, there were more men's soccer games to be played.
Both the Panthers and Golden Eagles had letdowns on their home fields Sunday, while UW-Green Bay bounced back nicely out west after a disappointing loss Friday.
Get all the highlights in our weekly recap of the Panthers, Golden Eagles and Phoenix.
Marquette (1-4-0)
Friday: UW-Milwaukee 2, Golden Eagles 1. Match report
Sunday: Wright State 2, Golden Eagles 1. Freshman midfielder Justin Laird (Hartford) scored his third goal of the season and set up the other goal as the Raiders (4-1-1) spoiled Marquette's home opener at Valley Fields. "It's obviously very disappointing. The first 45 minutes was probably the worst 45 minutes we've had this season," said Golden Eagles coach Louis Bennett, whose team has lost three straight. "We couldn't connect on passes. There was no spring. There was no luster." Laird, who scored his team's goal in Friday's 1-1 tie against Northeastern at Englemann Stadium, pounced on a mis-hit clearance by Marquette freshman goalkeeper Charlie Lyon, who was making his college debut, and scored into an open net in the 26th minute. Then in the 57th, Laird slide a pass to Bry Rockwell-Ashton, who lobbed a shot over Lyon from 8 yards out to make it 2-0. Freshman midfielder C. Nortey scored his second goal on a bicycle kick in the 60th to half the Golden Eagles' deficit, but they couldn't get another shot past keeper Craig Feehan. "As soon as we went down two goals, all of a sudden we pulled out our sword and started fencing," Bennett said. "We can be better. We have to be better." In addition to Laird, it was a happy homecoming for Wright State coach Bryan Davis, a Milwaukee native and former University of Wisconsin player.
Up next: Friday, vs. Michigan State, 7:05 p.m.; Sunday, at Michigan, 1 p.m.
UW-Green Bay (2-1-1)
Friday: UNLV Tournament – Cal State Fullerton 2, Phoenix 1. Kevin Venegas converted a penalty kick in the 72nd minute, lifting the Titans (3-0-1) over Green Bay. Senior midfielder Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East) had equalized from the penalty spot just three minutes earlier for the Phoenix, who fell behind on an own goal in the 30th. "Heading into this game we felt CSU Fullerton is a team that if we play well, we can and should have gotten a result," Green Bay coach Kris Kelderman said. "They weren’t anything special tonight and neither were we. ... We had our chances to win the game. At the end of the day our execution wasn't strong and we just weren’t sharp enough."
Sunday: UNLV Tournament – Phoenix 2, UNLV 1. Sophomore forward Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa West) took a pass from Walls and slotted a shot past Rebels keeper Ryan Harding in the 86th minute as Green Bay rallied to win in Las Vegas. UNLV (1-4-0) went ahead in the 48th when Salvador Bernal's drive from the top of the box beat Phoenix junior keeper Ryan Wehking, but junior forward Alonso Flores answered for Green Bay just seven minutes later with a 30-yard blast past Harding. "His goal was great," Kelderman said. Wehking finished with nine saves in another solid performance, while Walls has played a role in three of the Phoenix's five goals this season.
Up next: Green Bay Classic – vs. Niagara, 7 p.m. Friday (home opener); vs. Dayton, noon Sunday.
Sunday: Northeastern 2, Panthers 1 (OT). Josh Semerene scored the equalizer in the 69th and drew a penalty kick in the 96th that Laurence Braude converted to lift the Huskies (3-1-1) over Milwaukee at Engelmann Stadium. Freshman midfielder Gerardo Saavedra (Milwaukee Messmer) put the Panthers in front in the 58th after Northeastern was called for a handball in the box on a corner kick, but UWM couldn't hold the lead and saw its three-game winning streak come to an end. On the Huskies' first goal, Panthers junior keeper John Shakon made a nice save on Dante Marini's drive at the near post, but the ball caromed to Semerene, who finished into the vacant net. "Obviously, it's extremely disappointing to lose in overtime, but to lose on a penalty kick is more difficult," UWM coach Chris Whalley said. "But ultimately, that wasn't the reason we lost the game. It wasn't the referee. It was ultimately the fact that we didn't take our chances earlier on in the game."
Up next: UAB "Soccer for a Cure" Classic, Birmingham, Ala. – vs. Gardner-Webb, 5 p.m. Friday; at UAB, 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Last Updated on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 12:49 PM
While UW-Milwaukee's win over city rival Marquette in the teams' annual Milwaukee Cup match drew much of the attention this week, there were more men's soccer games to be played.
Marquette (1-4-0)
UW-Green Bay (2-1-1)
UW-Milwaukee (3-2-0)