Ryan McElmeel was at the right spot at the right time with 20 seconds to go in regulation when he headed in a corner kick from Brandon Chmiel to propel the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's soccer team to a 3-2 win over Wartburg on Wednesday night at Pioneer Stadium.

McElmeel, who had been held to just one goal through the first 13 games, emerged from among those gathered in front of the box with the clock winding down. The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Pioneers, who raise their record to 6-7-1 overall and 4-2 at the friendly confines of Pioneer Stadium.

The Knights, who came into the contest with one of the top goalkeepers in the nation in save percentage and in saves per game, but the Pioneers challenged the Wartburg defense and goalkeeper throughout the night. In the win, UW-Platteville outshot Wartburg by an 18 to 9 margin, including a 9 to 5 advantage in shots on goal.

The first 10 minutes saw both teams get on the scoreboard; first, UW-Platteville freshman Hunter McMahon scored in the opening 1:14 for an early Pioneer lead. Seven minutes later, Austin Otto of Wartburg got ahead of a collapsing UW-Platteville goalkeeper and slipped a shot past him to tie the contest. Both teams would score again in the first half to send the game into the intermission tied at 2.

In the second half, the Pioneers had three opportunities on corner kicks but it was the fourth one in the 89th minute by Brandon Chmiel, who had scored in the first half, set the stage for the game-winning goal. Chmiel also had two shots in the 82nd minute that sailed high and wide, respectively.

The Pioneers will next return to the rigors of the WIAC play when it travels to UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, October 8th at Noon.