OAK CREEK, Wis. — For the first time in 2,918 days, the Milwaukee Area Technical College men's soccer team walked off the pitch with a victory. The long‑awaited moment came as the Stormers earned a cathartic 2–0 win over Harper College on Wednesday, a result that broke an eight‑year stretch without a single triumph and delivered head coach Aaron "Buddy" Gentry his first win since taking over the program in December 2021. The moment felt less like a routine early‑season result and more like a long‑awaited return to life for a program that had been waiting nearly eight years to feel this again.
"I believe this credit goes to all the coaches and all the players who came before these guys, and to these guys here today getting a bad taste in their mouth after our first away game against Kishwaukee," Gentry said. "They didn't want history to repeat itself, and they wanted to make history on the positive side. They set out to do that today, and they did it."
MATC struck late in the first half to seize control. Freshman midfielder Patrick Morgese scored at the 42:33 mark on a diving header, finishing a long free‑kick service from roughly 40 to 50 yards out from teammate Adrian Saldana. Saldana's pass dropped perfectly into the box, and Morgese met it in stride to give the Stormers a 1–0 lead heading into halftime.
"As soon as I saw Adrian pick his head up on that free kick, I knew where I was going," Morgese said. "I dove in and headed it. After I scored, all my adrenaline pushed me to the corner to celebrate with the boys for the first time, especially after our first game."
MATC added the insurance goal early in the second half around the 60‑minute mark. Freshman forward Breon Reisterer‑Plain reacted first after teammate Adrian Quezada smashed a shot off the top of the crossbar. The rebound kicked out into traffic, and Reisterer‑Plain slotted home the loose ball to extend the lead to 2–0.
Harper controlled much of the statistical profile, finishing with 16 shots, five shots on goal and 11 corner kicks. MATC managed five shots, two on target, and one corner. The difference came in goal, where freshman keeper Romeo Morales delivered the best performance of his young career. Morales recorded five saves to secure his first collegiate shutout and anchor a defensive effort that bent repeatedly but never broke.
"Morales had a solid freshman performance for his first start and first shutout at the collegiate level," Gentry said. "He was brought in to play keeper, and he's showing why he was heavily recruited."
The win snapped a streak that stretched back to Sept. 7, 2018, when MATC last defeated Harper. It also marked the first victory of Gentry's tenure, a milestone that carried unmistakable weight for a program rebuilding its identity.
STAT BOOK
Morgese and Reisterer‑Plain each scored to lead the Stormers' attack, with Morgese converting a diving header late in the first half and Reisterer‑Plain adding a second‑half finish off a rebound created by Quezada's strike off the crossbar. Morales recorded five saves to secure the first shutout of his collegiate career.
UP NEXT
MATC (1-1) returns to action at 2:30 p.m. Saturday with a road match at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Ill.
