MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Nico Angulo (Dallas, Texas/Allegiance Academy) scored with just over 90 seconds left to give the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team a 2-2 draw with Milwaukee on Thursday evening (Aug. 21) in the season opener for both teams.
Dasha Curiel (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) scored early in the second half as the Huskies came from behind twice to earn the tie.
"There are mixed emotions," said NIU head coach
Ryan Swan. "On one hand, I thought we created enough to win the game, but when you are 2-1 down with minutes left in the game, to find a way to get an equalizer, for the guys to stay composed, I was happy with that. Certainly, disappointed that we aren't returning with the trophy but I'm happy that we found a way to get a goal late on."
With Milwaukee in front in the waning moments of the contest,
Vance Sheffield (West Linn, Ore./La Salle Catholic College Prep) played a ball into the run of
Martin Montoya (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) into the box. Montoya cut the ball back toward Angulo at the top of the six-yard box and the Huskie freshmen swept a shot past Milwaukee goalkeeper Nic Diana to tie the game at two in the 89th minute.
NIU had the majority of possession in the opening minutes of the contest, but Milwaukee took the early lead as the Panthers drew a penalty in the 16th minute. Daiki Kumakawa stepped up and converted from the spot to give the hosts the early lead.
In the 35th minute, NIU had an excellent chance to pull even as
Grant Paskus (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) played in Curiel behind the Milwaukee defense, but Diana was just able to scramble away the chance by Curiel for a corner. From the ensuing corner kick,
Tomasz Slawek (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake South) headed the ball into the back of the net, but he was called offside as Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead into the interval.
Early second half,
Joe Hernandez (Bensenville, Ill./York Community) had a shot from near the top of the 18-yard box that required a good save by Diana low to his left to keep the Panthers in front.
The Huskies did pull level in the 51st minute as
Katai Mukuka (Lusaka, Zambia) played a ball from midfield just past the run of Curiel, but Diana had come way off his line to make a clearance, hitting the ball against Curiel and seeing it rebound back the other way into the net to level the match at 1-1.
Milwaukee went back in front in the 71st minute as a cross from Alejandro Zuniga found Dominic Zuniga who found space all alone in the box. Dominic Zuniga's shot cannoned off the crossbar and down just over the line to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
NIU pushed for an equalizer throughout the final 20 minutes until Angulo's late goal earned the Huskies the draw.
"Nico (Angulo) has had a good preseason and continued to get into good areas," said Swan. "Martin (Montoya) connected well, I thought we deserved something out of the game and I was delighted we found it late on."
With the draw, Milwaukee retains the Lewang Cup as a result of coming into the contest in possession of the trophy. This was the first draw in the series since 2014.
NIU will be back in action on Monday, Aug. 25, when the Huskies travel to Green Bay. Kickoff against the Phoenix is scheduled for 6 p.m.
