MILWAUKEE - Magnus Flaatedal's goal seconds before halftime provided some momentum and Francesco Saporito capped the night with the eventual game-winner on a 72^nd-minute free kick to send the Milwaukee men's soccer team past the University of Detroit Mercy, 2-1, Saturday evening at Engelmann Stadium.
 
"The goal was very timely," Milwaukee head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We were hoping to get one to even the game out before halftime, just to go into the locker room with some momentum and a little bit of confidence. Big-time goal by Magnus."
 
The Panthers (5-4-1, 3-1-0 Horizon League) dominated the first 20 minutes of the contest, but saw the Titans (1-6-3, 0-3-1 Horizon League) strike first and hold that lead nearly into intermission. But, Flaatedal's goal just 11 seconds before the horn leveled the match and helped send the home team on to victory.
 
The win was the third in a row for Milwaukee and the fourth in its past five outings.
 
"We are creating a lot of good chances," Kelderman said. "We outshot them again and easily could have had a few more goals. But we got the result we wanted. Everyone fought together to the end defensively and I am happy for the boys."
 
Down, 1-0, following an unlucky deflection and goal by Detroit's Tyler Hughes in the 32^nd minute, the Panthers pressed to try and level the game by halftime. Reid Stevenson gave it a go in the 35^th, but his header off a combination of passes from Josh Kaye and Evan Conway went inches left of the post.
 
In the 41^st minute it appeared that Nick Moon had accomplished just that, but his nifty effort after a lead pass from Flaatedal was cleared off the line by a backline Detroit Mercy defender after it was past the goalkeeper.
 
UWM kept up the pressure and it paid off at just the right time. Kaye had the ball on the left sideline and floated service into the box. Moon had his defender go over his back to head the ball away, but the touch went right to Flaatedal, who rifled it to the right post and make it a new game at 1-1 at the 44:49 mark.
 
The Panthers stepped it up offensively in the second half, coming up time and time again with dangerous chances.
 
In the 65^th Moon streaked past his defender to create space, sending service to the far post from distance, but Conway's header buzzed the wrong side of the left post.
 
Saporito came through with his specialty, netting the game-winner on a free kick. He set up about 22 yards to the left of center, sneaking the attempt through the large wall of defenders and into the netting at the far post at the 71:04 mark.
 
"Frankie is a free kick specialist," Kelderman said. "He has shown that he is very dangerous on those. Every time we get a free kick around the box, it's a great opportunity for us. What a great shot."
 
From there it was up to the defense, who did well. Sam Glass did have his shutout streak end at 217:21, but made five saves overall, including a pair of key ones early in the night when the game was still scoreless. He grabbed a solid header off a corner kick in the 12^th minute and then followed that up with a brilliant diving stop on a blast from distance just 33 seconds later.
 
His most important stop came just seconds from the final horn. The Titans earned one final free kick after a foul from near midfield and had everyone – including the goalkeeper – in front of goal for the final attempt. Glass charged off his line and secured the ball, wrapping up the key Horizon League victory for the Panthers.
 
Milwaukee nearly had the insurance goal it was pushing for late as well. Conway had another attempt sail just wide off a nice setup by Peter Raymonds in the 75^th minute and Saporito just missed the brace when his volleyed blast on a ball sent back out was saved nicely at the post in the 82^nd.
 
For the game, Milwaukee put up a 20-to-14 advantage in shots, with each team finishing with six on target. Detroit did hold the 4-to-2 edge in corner kicks and was also whistled for 18 of the 29 fouls as well as accounting for all three yellow cards.
 
Conway's season-high seven shot attempts paced the offense; Moon and Saporito both accounted for three.
 
Up next, the Panthers take a midweek break from Horizon League action, visiting Western Illinois Tuesday. Game time is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start in Macomb, Ill.