MILWAUKEE - Kelly Lewers scored just 17 minutes into the game to give the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team an early advantage but it wasn't enough as Indiana handed the Panthers a 3-1 defeat in front of 1,321 at Engelmann Stadium Friday evening.

Milwaukee (0-3-0) had the majority of possession in the second half and outshot the Hoosiers (3-0-0) 8-4 after the break, generating seven corners, but it wasn't enough.

"It's tough to say sometimes, but we took steps forward tonight," Milwaukee head coach Greg Henschel said. "What's fair and realistic is that we took steps forward tonight. We scored first, we started the game off well, I thought our possession had more effectiveness tonight than it did last weekend and those are all positives and are very encouraging. We're working to make those moments more consistent and I think we have a lot of goals going forward this season."

Lewers got the scoring underway in the 17th minute with a blast inside the box.Caity Bestwina collected a loose ball near the left corner and chipped it to the middle where Lewers was waiting and hammered it far post for her first of the year.

"In the early parts of the game and leading up to that goal, it (the goal) was almost inevitable in my opinion," Henschel said. "We had them at sixes and sevens with a couple chances leading up to that moment. And I give our team credit because there were a few chances leading up to the goal where we could have scored and we stayed with it and Kelly's goal was fantastic. She really buried it. I give them credit for really sticking with it to find that first one."

Indiana netted the equalizer a few minutes before the half as Kayleigh Steigerwalt took a through ball from Bekah White and shot the ball far post. Milwaukee keeper Paige Lincicum came out and made a diving attempt, getting a hand on it but the ball squirted just past the Milwaukee goalie and into the side netting. 

The Hoosiers struck again when Steigerwalt rifled another shot from inside the box that was blocked by the Milwaukee defense. The rebound fell right to the feet of Lisa Nouanesengsy though, and she cleaned up the rebound to give IU the lead two minutes before the break.

IU then caught a bit of luck just a few minutes into the second half as Candler sprung free behind the defense and took a feed from Nouanesengsy. Candler had Lincicum one-on-one from about 25 yards out and the senior striker was able to get it around the charging Panther keeper.

Milwaukee nearly struck right back as Kelsey Holbert got past the defense just on the other side of midfield and was taken down to negate the free run. On the ensuing free kick, Holbert found a diving Kaul on the far post but her header went just wide.

Indiana played the final 20 minutes of the game with 10 players as Veronica Ellis was given a red card just after the 70th minute, and the Panthers took advantage, generating numerous scoring chances. Milwaukee just couldn't find the back of the net again though, and dropped their home opener.

"One of the positives from tonight is how we responded in the second half," Henschel said. "The team's response after those two goals right before half was important and how they really engaged the game. The third goal - a random moment occurred there. But the rest of the half, the team really responded well and stayed very positive and I was very proud of that."

The Panthers are back at in Sunday night, playing host to Miami (Fla.) at 7 p.m.

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