E-mail
Print
Tough way to end the season
Early lead vaporizes on Panthers
By Tim Prahl
The Panthers will lose their only two keepers on the roster, Ryan Germann and Grant Fernstrum, and two very talented leaders in Adam Skalecki and Phillips, but will be bringing back plenty of experience for next year’s squad.
Thursday night’s game summarizes UW-Milwaukee men’s soccer team perfectly.
The Panthers traveled to Dayton, Ohio to try and get revenge for their final regular season loss handed to them by Wright St. Things were looking good as freshman Eric Frazier scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season in the 34th minute off a pass from senior Travis Phillips.
Frazier’s goal proved to be the only thing either keeper let past them in the first half, with a 1-0 score at intermission favoring UWM.
It was not to be the Panthers’ day, however, as WSU came out with a furious attack in the second half. They were finally able to get a ball behind UWM keeper Ryan Germann in the 69th minute to even things up. That seemed to break the spirits of these young Panthers, as the Raiders’ leader in goals scored, Braden Fleak, was able to net two in less than one minute to stretch the lead to 3-1.
UWM had a chance to get back into the game in the 73rd minute when sophomore forward Peter Sanger was taken down in the box. Phillips came up to take the penalty kick, but, as seemed to be the story of the season, the shot was a bit off as it barely sailed over the crossbar.
“It’s very disappointing that the season is over, especially since we were in control of that game,” Head Coach Jon Coleman said.
The loss ends a tough season for the Panthers and leaves their final record at 4-10-5.
Things can only go up from here though. The Panthers will lose their only two keepers on the roster, Ryan Germann and Grant Fernstrum, and two very talented leaders in Adam Skalecki and Phillips, but will be bringing back plenty of experience for next year’s squad.
“It’s a tough way to end, but we saw a lot of progress this season,” Coleman said. “After a decent start, we just got into a funk and could never get out of it. The future looks bright, but we will miss the four seniors. We really wish them the best. With so many young players getting a lot of minutes for us this season, that experience will allow us to get the Panther soccer program back on track."
> Comments