WASHINGTON, D.C. - Joe Iraola scored a pair of goals to help lead American University to a 3-0 defeat of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team Sunday afternoon in the Capital Cup at Reeves Field.

The Eagles (5-1-0), coming off an upset of No. 1 UCLA last week and up to No. 19 in the country, topped the Panthers (3-3-0) to win for the fourth straight time overall on the season.

"Obviously, the guys are feeling discouraged, but the results do not define how I feel about my team right now," Milwaukee head coach Kris Kelderman said. "We play a pretty good brand of soccer, but we are making too many mistakes. It's a young group and with that inexperience comes mistakes. We have to fight through that a little better and we will be fine."

Milwaukee got behind in the 33rd minute when the Eagles scored on a corner kick, but were in an evenly-contested match until well into the second half.

Iraola netted both of his goals from distance, and both appeared to be balls sent into the box that ended up finding the back of the net. His first came in the 53rd minute after a turnover and from long-range - well over 35 yards out from the sideline on an odd angle.

"It's a learning experience and we have to get better at certain areas of the game - and we will," Kelderman said. "Right now it's not good enough ... we have to be better."

The second came less than six minutes later, again from the sideline following a throw-in.

"The first goal was off of a corner kick and, man-to-man, we got beat," Kelderman said. "American is a very good team. With no disrespect to them, the second and third goals were clearly our mishaps and I feel like we are beating ourselves. Granted, we played against two really good opponents, but I think we had some mistakes and the other teams capitalized. If we can just minimize the mistakes and be better in front of the attacking goal, things will look a lot different."

The Panthers had a handful of chances to get back into the game after halftime, but could not finish. For the game, UWM ended up getting outshot, 21-12, while earning two of the six corner kicks.

The Panthers carried plenty of possession in the first half, but were unable to connect on passes in the attacking third. UWM went in to halftime with three shots on goal. In the 21st minute, freshmen Petter Ingebrigtsen and Reid Stevenson connected on a nice give-and-go, but a quality save by the Eagle keeper on the one-timer kept the Panthers off the scoreboard at the time.

Early on, sophomore goalkeeper Liam Anderson was up to the task in the 14th minute, making an impressive stop on a close-range volley after Dale Ludwig broke free on a through ball into the box to keep it scoreless at the time. He finished with four saves on the day.

Following the weekend trip out East, the Panthers return to the Midwest for one of the biggest games on the schedule, heading over to Valley Fields for the "Milwaukee Cup" showdown against Marquette. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on September 17.

"We play Marquette on Wednesday," Kelderman said. "Regardless of the results this weekend, that is a big game. There is no reason or excuse for us not to be motivated or ready for a game like that. It's something that we will be up for and ready to go."

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