CHICAGO, Ill. – Paolo Gratton scored in the 86^th minute to send the Milwaukee men's soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over UIC Sunday afternoon in Horizon League Tournament semifinal action at Flames Field.
 
"Big day for Milwaukee Panther soccer," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "It took an extremely massive effort from our guys. We don't have the largest roster (numbers-wise) by any means, and we went through a stretch in the second half where guys started dropping like flies from some injuries and fatigue. We were able to maneuver some things around; some reserves came in and helped us out. The guys dug deep and gave it everything they had and I couldn't be happier for them to get the result that we did."
 
The Panthers (7-4) advance to the Horizon League Tournament Championship with the win over the Flames (6-3-1) – marking the team's second straight appearance in the title game – coming in a contest between two teams which came into play ranked in this week's United Soccer Coaches Association North Region poll (MKE #10/UIC #6).
 
"Just an all-around gutsy performance from our guys, playing against a very good and very well-coached UIC team on their field," Kelderman said. "For us to accomplish what we did today is a very big deal for our players and our program. Just trying to see if we can get as healthy as we can. One more to go – I know the guys are excited. We have accomplished a lot this season, but we want to see if we can extend the season just a little bit longer."
 
With the match tied, 1-1, and getting late in regulation, Gratton came through with his league-leading 10^th goal of the season to secure the victory. The goal was set up by a combination of passes from Logan Farrington to Quinn Rechner, with Rechner sending in a long serve to Gratton charging to the front of the goal. Gratton did the rest, popping the pass up-and-over the outstretched hands of the UIC goalkeeper at the 85:24 mark.
 
"Paolo has had a big-time season; he's been a big-time player," Kelderman said. "And he came up with a big-time play. An incredible season from him continues and we got some incredible performances from everybody on the team today. I thought Logan Farrington was excellent, arguably the best player on the field today."
 
The defense had to close it out, with goalkeeper Nick Chiappa coming up with a big stop in the 89^th minute, taking a shot right off the foot of the UIC player after leaving his line for the save.
 
Chiappa was huge all game, finishing the contest with a career-high nine saves, the most for an MKE keeper since early in the 2018 season.
 
The Panthers got off to a quick start, using a penalty kick to grab the early lead. It was Farrington again, getting pulled down in the box to set up the opportunity. Raul Medina calmly finished off the spot kick, putting his team ahead with his third goal of the season at the 5:16 mark.
 
Milwaukee had another close-call that could have made it 2-0 in the 31^st minute when Josh Kidder went streaking down the left flank. His service in front found the foot of Abdu Regassa, but the UIC keeper was up to the task with a brilliant save from close range.
 
A fairly even game the rest of the period, UIC then found the equalizer in the 67th minute as Christian Crespo and Nkusuwila Zulu made a couple of quick passes to find Roberto Alonzo at the top of the 18-yard box. That made it a new game at the 66:40 mark.
 
UIC had the better of it after intermission, outshooting the Panthers by a count of 12-4 to end the afternoon with a 19-to-10 shot advantage, including 10-to-5 in shots on goal. But, Chiappa came up big time after time, sending Milwaukee to its 10^th appearance in the Horizon league Tournament Championship.
 
Three players finished with a team-high two shot attempts: Gratton, Regassa, and David Cox. The goal gave Gratton his 10^th of the year, the first to reach 10-plus goals for the Panthers since Laurie Bell had 13 back in 2013.
 
Up next, Milwaukee will play in that title game, hitting the road to play at top-seeded Northern Kentucky Saturday. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and will kick off at 4 p.m. CST, with the Panthers in search of a 10^th bid to the NCAA Tournament in program history.