DEKALB – The NIU women's soccer team (3-2-1) fell to UW-Milwaukee (6-0-1) by a final score of 2-0 Friday night at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. The Panthers scored a goal in each half while controlling a lot of the play offensively throughout the match.
 
"This was one of the better teams we'll play all year," Head Coach John Ross said. "I'd compare them to a top-flight MAC team so that's how we have to judge ourselves."
 
Milwaukee's Anna Smalley scored both of the goals in the match on crosses into the box, one volleyed into the net in the 41^st minute and the other headed in in the 66^th minute. Other than those two goals, the Huskies held the Panthers to eight total shots and only three shots on goal but Milwaukee had possession of the ball for a majority of the game.
 
NIU, once again, had 20 players enter the game for the second-straight game with freshmen Haley Hoppe (Austin, Texas/Rouse) and Amanda Czerniak (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) getting the most minutes off the bench and each recording a shot. Coach Ross saw this game as potentially for players to prove themselves in a high-pressure situation.
 
"Haley Hoppe really stepped up for us tonight with her quality minutes," Ross said. "We needed a spark and she provided it off of the bench, we just needed a little bit more of that."
 
The Huskies will have a week until their next game as they close out their non-conference schedule next Friday against Northern Iowa at home. They will then begin their MAC schedule on Sept. 22 when they go on the road to face Akron.
 
"It's good for us to get a game like this because now we can evaluate," Ross said. "This helps us see what we need to get better at before the start of MAC play."