Penalty Kick Stands Up As Detroit Escapes

by Chris Zills
October 24, 2012

MILWAUKEE - Adam Bedell scored on a penalty kick just after halftime to provide for the only goal of the contest as the University of Detroit downed the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team by a score of 1-0 Wednesday night at Engelmann Stadium.

Playing with only 10 men for the final 44 minutes, the Panthers (7-6-2, 1-2-2 Horizon League) dominated the second half against the Titans (8-7-0, 4-1-0 Horizon League), but were unable to find the equalizing goal.

"I told the guys after the game, when you look back at all the matches we have played this season, we have gotten some good results and had some exciting moments, but I think this is the proudest moment for me," UWM head coach Kris Kelderman said. "The way we played in the second half - being a man down - we outshot them 14-to-3 and the guys fought and hung in there. And not only did they fight hard, but they played good soccer. We were clearly the better team for the entire second half."

After a scoreless first half, Kevin Pinkos and a UWM defender ran on to a long ball sent over the back of the defense at the same time. Pinkos went down in the penalty area and a controversial foul was called, with a red card also handed out at the time to senior Jamie Bladen. Bedell took the PK, netting his ninth goal of the season on the play that ended up deciding the match.

"I am the first guy to say I don't blame the loss on a referee's decision, but the call that he made I disagreed with," Kelderman said. "Unfortunately, it affected the outcome, but we had our chances. At the end of the day, we had chances that we needed to finish. We didn't get the result we wanted today, but I couldn't be more proud of the guys."

Milwaukee took control of the pace of the game and spent the majority of it on Detroit's side of midfield after intermission. The Panthers ended the night with a 21-to-7 advantage in shots, which included a tally of 14-to-2 over the final 44:07 while down a man.

 

 


The Panthers had several solid opportunities on the night, but resulted in either a spectacular save by UDM's Nathan Steinwascher or a shot that was just off target to keep them off the scoreboard.

It started early. In the 12th minute, freshman Patrick Ruhland blasted a long shot off a centering pass from junior Kevin Ferron, but the 40-yard bomb went wide right by inches.

In the 30th minute, junior Riley Weiner broke in on goal off a touch pass from sophomore Laurie Bell, but Steinwascher made an impressive stop to keep it scoreless at the time.

Ferron found Bell in the box in the 57th minute. His attempt was blocked back to the top of the 18 but right to junior James Ashcroft. Ashcroft's attempt deflected off the defender and was headed on goal, but Steinwascher somehow deflected the ball wide with one arm while falling forward.

The UWM defense shut down the potent Titan offense, limiting them to just six other shots in the game besides the PK. Senior goalkeeper John Shakon was called on to make just one save, but it was a beauty, coming off his line to thwart a 1-on-1 effort and sending it back past midfield in the 74th minute.

"I thought the defense played very well today," Kelderman said. "I thought John Shakon had a very good performance in goal tonight and I really don't have any complaints tonight. We were just unlucky with some of our chances, but that's soccer. We have two big games coming up and I believe we still have control of our destiny."

Freshman Pol Narbona also had a solid chance, but his header off a serve from junior Robbie Boyd went just high in the 76th minute.

The loss was a tough one for UWM. Not only was it the first defeat at home this season, but drops them to 1-2-2 in league play with two games remaining.

Bell led UWM with five shots on the night, with freshman Declan Rodriguez accounting for four. Detroit earned seven of the 11 corner kicks and was whistled for 21 of the 34 fouls. The chippy game featured seven yellow cards in addition to the red.

The Panthers turn their sights to the road next, heading to Ohio to play Wright State Saturday in a game that will get underway at 6 p.m. CST.

Trending Videos
 
IMG Academy Top 150 Rankings
see full ranking:
Boys Girls