DeKALB – Missed opportunities and a lack of defense from NIU men’s soccer (2-4) led to a tough 3-2 loss against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers (2-3) in an honorary night for the Lewang Cup.

The Lewang cup honors John Lewang, former NIU head coach and UW Milwaukee assistant coach who tragically died in a car accident prior to the 1981 season.

This is the Huskies first loss to the Panthers since 2017, which marks five years since the Panthers brought home the Lewang trophy and 12 years since it’s been won at Engelmann Stadium.

PANTHERS START OFF STRONG

After a quick foul inside the goalie box from NIU, junior midfielder Raul Medina scored a penalty kick goal at the 9:37 mark to give the Panthers a quick lead in the game. The Panthers accounted for eight shots in the first half.

Despite a quick goal from the Panthers, NIU senior defenseman Parker Jeppson scored a goal at the 27-minute mark to tie the game. This marked Jeppson’s first goal of the season. 

“I thought Parker started to move the ball up the field and was able to continue a positive run into the end of the attack, which was something that was missing throughout the game,” said head men’s soccer coach Ryan Swan.

Shortly after Jeppson scored, the Panthers responded with  junior forward Bienvenu Djunga scored a goal at the 32 minute mark to put the Panthers up 2-1 over the Huskies. 

With five minutes remaining in the first half, the Panthers were called for a penalty inside the goalie box, calling for the game’s second PK, but NIU missed the attempt. 

The Panthers capitalized off the missed PK, with junior forward Alan Lopez scoring a goal in the final seconds of the first half to put the Panthers up 3-1.

HUSKIE RESPONSE NOT ENOUGH

10 minutes into the second half, junior forward Taisei Arima scored to shorten the lead to 3-2.

The Huskies kept attacking down the field but could not score another goal. 

Tuesday’s game was the first of the season where the Huskies out-shot their opponent and lost the game. NIU accounted for 16 shots while the Panthers accounted for 13. 

The Huskies drop to 2-4 on the season and lose to the Panthers for the first time in five years.

UP NEXT

The Huskies come back home to play No.15-ranked Missouri State University at 6 p.m. Saturday. This match will take place at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex in DeKalb.

The match will be streamed on NIU All-Access, and live stats will be provided via SideArm Stats.