WAVE GET BIT BY CHIHUAHUA IN OVERTIME TUESDAY IN MILWAUKEE.

By Scott Fellows. Milwaukee, WI - In front of a boisterous crowd full of school groups and young children, the first and only encounter for the season between the two on field participants did not disappoint. Milwaukee welcomed 2-time defending MASL Champions the Chihuahua Savage to the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in a rare Tuesday morning contest.

Milwaukee would strike first early, with a counter attack orchestrated by Shawn Azcueta, to find Javi Steinwascher with a clinical finish over Savage goalkeeper Christian Hernandez less than 30 seconds into the contest.

The Savage would equalize through Javier Gallegos moments later leveling the contest at 1.

Stuart Grable would be praised midway through the first for his defensive efforts, pressuring the Savage back line, forcing a turn over, which led to a Robbie Williamson attempt to the far post, giving Milwaukee a 2-1 lead.

It was Chihuahua’s contestant pressure of Milwaukee’s back line that caused an arrant pass to be to the benefit of The Savage as Bryan Macias capitalized and bought this game level, assisted by Hugo Puentes.

Milwaukee would go on to score the next three with tally’s from Mario Alvarez (Ricardo Carvalho), Alex Sanchez (Max Ferdinand), and Alex Steinwascher (Derek Huffman).

The old adage no lead in arena soccer is safe, reared its ugly head again in Milwaukee’s case, as they held serve in their previous two meetings with Utica, this time the Savage came roaring back with three tallies of their own from,  Bryan Macias (Pedro Castaneda), Jaime Alejandro Romero (Bryan Macias), and Luis Medrano (Javier Gallegos) brining the score to level at 5.

Max Ferdinand joined the illustrious, assist club for the MASL when he crossed the 200-assist plateau finding once again, Mario Alvarez for the advantage early in the final frame.

With time winding down, Milwaukee aimed to hold onto the 1 goal advantage, meanwhile the Savage continued with onslaught of chances. With just under 3 minutes remaining, the Savage would equalize through Pedro Castaneda at 6-6.

As the Milwaukee faithful has seen numerous times this season, the game would enter a 10-minute sudden death overtime period.

Scrambles and opportunities in the box for both teams gave the impression that in the overtime frame, it could have gone either way, with both teams missing golden opportunities.

In the end it would be a joyous moment for the Savage, as an initial save by Augie Rey, who came in relief for William Banahene, was not dealt with in the box, leading to a Javier Gallegos finish late in the overtime frame.

Long travel and playing 3 games in 4 days was a factor, but Coach Giuliano, was overall proud of how the team came out. He was proud of the overall effort.

“Chihuahua savage are the two time defending champions for a reason and they came into our building and I thought they played a great game. Full credit to them on the win. As for us (Milwaukee) I couldn't be prouder of the guys, three games and three and half days with long travel through Syracuse and Utica. Friday through late Monday, and to show up and really give that team effort, individual effort first and then team effort, helping each other out through the tough moments I couldn't be prouder. We had the lead with two minutes left, we were right where we wanted to be I thought we've dug in deep and we gave up a goal and you know, came overtime and it was up and down, chances both ways and it was unfortunate the way the game ended, but really proud of our players set up this morning.”

Final Score: Milwaukee Wave 6, Chihuahua Savage 7.
BOXSCORE | GAMESHEET | WATCH | HIGHLIGHTS

The Milwaukee Wave are back in action Saturday, February 1, 6:05pm against the Baltimore Blast for our Margaritaville game where you can take in the tropical vibes.

Learn more and get tickets at MilwaukeeWave.com