Searching for their third win in their last four games, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s soccer team took on in-state rival, the University of Wisconsin, resulting in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods.

After a first half shutout for both teams, the Badgers (5-4-3) gained an early second-half lead when a Panther defender was called for tripping at the top of the box. The resulting penalty kick slid by Grant Fernstrum into the right side of the goal.

Fernstrum earned a career-high 11 saves, playing the entire 110 minutes despite being kicked in the face in the first overtime, in his first complete match since Sept. 7 against UC-Santa Barbara.

"[Fernstrum] played exceptionally well tonight and, outside of the penalty kick, he kept a clean sheet. He made some great saves to keep it level,” said Panther head coach Jon Coleman.

After a hand ball just outside the box by the Badgers, Zeke Dombrowski sent a low pass from 30 yards out around the wall to junior Colin Baker, who was crossing, and found the back of the net from eight yards out.

“We scored on a brilliant set piece. Credit Zeke for the pass and Baker for burying it,” said Coleman.

With the assist, Dombroski now leads the team in goals with four, assists with two and points with 10.

Seven of Fernstrum’s 11 saves came in the second half. In the 73rd minute he saved back-to-back shots from 15-yards out and followed with a deflected corner kick save in the 81st minute.

UWM was outshot in all but the first period, but was able to hold the Badgers in overtime. With 51 seconds left in the second overtime, Fernstrum came up big for the Panthers, saving a point-blank shot from six-yards.

A shot off the crossbar with 17 seconds almost earned the win for the Badgers but the game ended at 1-1 after two overtimes.

"It's nice playing the in-state games, because the emotion, the atmosphere and the crowd is all there,” said Coleman.

The draw marks the second year in a row that the two teams have ended tie. UWM leads the all time series at 15-11-6.

The Panthers will play their next three games at home where they are winless but the tie puts them in a good mindset for the next three games.

"In the last two weeks, we are 2-0-2 and that is a big thing to carry into Friday,” said Coleman. “We need to maintain and continue that into the weekend."

The Panthers round out their four-game home series with a match against Loyola on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.

Check out the sports blog at sports.uwmpost.com for updates on all games not covered in the paper.

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