MILWAUKEE - Callie O'Donnell scored a pair of goals to help the Milwaukee women's soccer team overcome an early deficit in handing Northern Illinois University a 3-1 defeat Sunday afternoon at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (2-0) responded quickly to the Huskies (0-1-1) netting a fifth-minute goal, with O'Donnell making it a new game in the 11^th minute as part of three unanswered tallies.
 
"I give the girls a lot of credit," head coach Troy Fabiano said. "Giving up the goal, we didn't get rattled, we got one back and then kept possession throughout the game. I was really happy with how they responded."
 
NIU made an early statement, getting on the board at the 4:15 mark when Taylor Sarver ran on a long ball that was not cleared properly by the back line of the UWM defense. She converted the 1-on-1 opportunity, going high to open the scoring quickly.
 
The Panthers wasted little time in responding. Earning a throw-in along the sideline, Erin Corrigan sent service into the top of the box. Anna Smalley and a defender converged, with Smalley flicking the ball to the far post wing. O'Donnell settled and took one touch around a defender, firing back across goal to make it 1-1 at the 10:34 mark.
 
"It's huge," Fabiano said about the quick response. "When you give up a goal, you don't know how momentum is going to shift. They stayed the course, got the goal back and believed in themselves that a couple more were going to come."
 
It stayed that way until halftime, with neither team creating any significantly dangerous opportunities up to the first half horn. Milwaukee had seven of the 10 shots in the opening frame, but just three of them combined were on target.
 
The Panthers were far more efficient in the second half, recording six shots, with four on goal and two finding the back of the net.
 
O'Donnell poked in the eventual game-winner at the 60:00 mark, redirecting an effort from Kelly Manski inside of the far post to make it 2-1. Lourdes Onwuemeka created the opportunity, carrying the ball down the end line and getting her pass into the goal front. Manski possessed the preceding NIU defensive header to then set up the tally.
 
Manski nearly made it 3-1 less than a minute later, with the NIU keeper making a brilliant stop on her shot in traffic just 50 seconds after the score.
 
Jen Eberhardy did give UWM an insurance goal in the 64^th minute, slotting home a corner kick from Maria Stephans for her first goal as a Panther at the 63:48 mark to make it 3-1.
 
That was how the game finished, but Milwaukee had two more near-misses that could have added on to the final score line. McKaela Schmelzer narrowly missed a brilliant goal in the 75^th minute, coming forward on a break to head in an endline serve from Sydney Senn, but the attempt missed by inches wide right.
 
Marissa Stovring's volley off a ball that was headed high in the offensive third also rifled just wide of the post in the 87^th minute after she had just subbed in.
 
For the game, Milwaukee held advantages of 13-to-6 in shots, 7-to-3 in shots on goal and 4-to-1 in corner kicks. The home side was also whistled for 11 of the 17 fouls.
 
With the victory, UWM improves to 2-0 to start the season for the first time since 2011's 6-0 start to open the campaign. Its unbeaten streak was also extended to 12 games (9-0-3) dating back to last season, it's longest since a 13-game streak (12-0-1) back in 2006.
 
"It feels great," Fabiano said. "Now we have to get prepared for Wisconsin – a Top 20 program with one of the best players in the country. What a great opportunity for us this early in the season."
 
Mallory Geurts was credited with a pair of saves, with Mackenzie Lee making four for the visitors. Eberhardy paced the offense with three shots. O'Donnell had two and the remaining eight were split up by eight different players.
 
Up next, the Panthers head to Madison to take on Wisconsin Thursday. Game time against a Badgers team that is ranked in some of the national polls is scheduled for 7 p.m.