Normal, Ill. - Krissy Dorre and Kelly Lewers both scored early and the defense held strong from there to give the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team a 2-1 victory over Illinois State University Friday at Adelaide Street Field.

Milwaukee (2-6-1) scored two early goals and the defense did the rest, fighting off a strong second-half attack by the Redbirds (5-5-0) to earn its second win one week.

The win is number 300 in the career of Milwaukee head coach Greg Henschel.

"I'm just proud of the team," Henschel said. "They've gotten better every week this year and to keep the belief that they've kept and to keep moving forward, I'm just proud for them to get this result. I hope they're enjoying the result and I hope it feels good for them because they deserved it. They worked hard today and played really well."

The Panthers came out of the gates on the attack and it quickly paid off. Making her first start of the season,Emma Worthington played a nice through ball to Lewers inside the box. After fighting with the defense, Lewers collected the ball just off the end line and played a perfect pass to Dorre, who redirected the ball perfectly between the goalie and a defender for her fifth goal of the season.

After ISU's Rachel Tejada scored her eighth of the season in the eighth minute to even the game up, Milwaukee's offense was at it again.

Amy Kauffung sent a corner into the box where Alleina Szydlowski brought the ball down and blasted it at the goal. Keeper Aryn Newsom made the initial save but the rebound went right to Lewers who knew what to do and buried the ball in the top of the net for the eventual game winner.

"I don't know if we've seen two early goals this year and obviously that was important," Henschel said. "It was a mentality the team is engaging in right now to start the match a little bit stronger and they demonstrated that all the way through today. It was a great effort against a very quality Illinois State team."

The Panther attack continued to push and it looked like they would get on the board again just moments later, but a Lewers shot was pushed just wide by Newsom. The ensuing corner led to a curling shot by Sara Stern that went just wide of the net and the Panthers held a 2-1 lead at the break.

From there the UWM defense took over. Despite being without two starters on the back line, the Milwaukee defense held strong all game and fought off numerous second-half chances from ISU.

Kelly Manski made her first collegiate start and freshman Tatum Smith also started on defense, helping limit the high-powered Redbird attack to just 10 shots on the game.

Keeper Paige Lincicum also helped thwart numerous chances, being credited with two saves and forcing more shots wide with her aggressive play.

"We've got a deep team and that's something we're all learning to rely on and trust on this season," Henschel said. "I think the depth of this team is fantastic. I think it bodes well for the future of this season and the future of our Panther program.

"Illinois State is a good side and they have talented players. What we did in the second half was more than commendable and I'm happy to see the team stay the course and keep working and stay focused on what they wanted to get today and they took what they wanted to get."

Milwaukee held a 3-2 advantage on corner kicks for the game. ISU outshot the Panthers 10-8, though Milwaukee generated seven shots in the first half.

UWM now closes out its five-game road trip and finally returns home Monday for its annual matchup with cross-town rival Marquette. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. at Engelmann Stadium.

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