PRAIRIE VIEW, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word women's soccer team lost a 2-1 decision on the road to Prairie View A&M on Tuesday.

The Panthers (1-5) scored a pair of first half goals and held on in the second half to send the Cardinals (0-7) to a seventh straight defeat to open the season.  Last year, it was the Cardinals who defeated the Panthers, 3-1 in San Antonio.

The two teams played evenly through the first 30 minutes of the game when the Panthers took control with a strong five-minute stretch.  Alicia Cooper scored the game's first goal off an assist from Breanna Powell at 31:26.  Less than five minutes later, Powell scored off a nice assist from Dominique Paige at 35:58. 

Prairie View took a 2-0 lead into halftime and goalkeeper Bianca Garza made it stand up with a strong performance.  She stopped five shots in the first half and five more in the second half.  The Cardinals finally broke through in the 81^st minute when Elizabeth Washington (Frisco/Centennial HS) set up Sarah Johnson (Austin/Home School) for an easy goal after taking advantage of a defensive lapse by the Panthers.  Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to get the tying goal and they ran out of time.

UIW finished the game with 15 shot attempts, including 11 on goal while the Panthers attempted 11 shots with six on goal.  Johnson led the Cardinals with four total shot attempts.  Heather Kowalik (Boerne/Champion HS) played the final 45 minutes in goal for UIW without allowing a score and she made a pair of saves.

The Cardinals are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Sam Houston State for the Southland Conference opener at 1 p.m.
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