Now We Go ...

Last weekend was filled with some highs and lows for the Panthers. Thursday night we traveled to UW-Madison for an always intense in-state rivalry. We jumped out to an EARLY lead with Callie finishing a beautiful pass from Anna Smalley in the second minute.

Like I said last week, once Callie gets going, she is very hard to stop. We then got locked in defensively and battled to the final minutes.

Unfortunately, Wisconsin was able to find the equalizer late in the second half and we headed to overtime. It didn’t feel great walking off the field with a 1-1 tie, but we thought it was a good result against a Top-20 team on the road.

For those of you that may not know, our parents spoil us. We may be adults, key words 'may be', but one of the things we look forward to most are the treat bags that our parents bring after all of our away games. We are still waiting on the halftime snacks ... but their smiling faces and tasty treats are the best way to start our treks home.

Sunday we turned around to play Southeast Missouri. We conceded a goal in the first few minutes of the game, and unfortunately were kept scoreless despite many, many chances to tie the game up. This led to our first loss of the year, as well as the end of a thirteen game unbeaten streak which had tied a previous school record. Looks like it’s time to start that streak over again! (Everyone please keep Erin in your thoughts and prayers as she unfortunately saw her season come to an end this past weekend with a torn ACL and meniscus. We are all hoping for a speedy and strong recovery!)

We have our first real road trip of the year this weekend as we travel to Western Illinois for a Friday afternoon game, and head straight to Drake for a Sunday afternoon match up. As all of the other students return and come to campus in the wake of the soon-approaching school year, we look to get away for a weekend and bring home a pair of big wins.

Speaking of school starting, the Panthers greeted students at Hartford Elementary school located in the middle of our campus, hoping to make their first day of school a positive one! It was a fun way to get involved in the community and be positive influences for the students we pass each day.

Stay tuned Panther fans, we have a big year ahead!