ST. LOUIS -- The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's soccer team dropped its season opener to Kentucky Wesleyan 1-0 on Thursday evening at Don Dallas Field. The Tritons drop to 0-1 while the Panthers improve to 1-0.

KWC had the game's first chance with a free kick from just outside the penalty box but Austin Reis read it and made the save.

UMSL had a pair of chances in the span of three minutes. Luca Saewe tried to beat Soufian Khaloufi to the bottom left corner but Khaloufi made the save. The Tritons second chance came in the 16th minute as Saewe hit the outside of the post.

Linus Saewe had a chance in the 25th minute as he tried to beat Khaloufi to the top right corner but Khaloufi was there to make the save.

The Tritons held a 5-2 edge in shots in the first 45 minutes but each side had two on goal.

UMSL had a golden opportunity in the 56th minute as Gibson Hunt drove through the box on the left-hand side and fired a shot across goal that beat Khaloufi but hit off the right post and stayed out to keep the game scoreless.

The Panthers broke the deadlock in the 85th minute. After winning a corner kick, Calum Newson was pulled down in the box resulting in a penalty kick. Newson beat Reis for the goal.

The Tritons had a chance at the equalizer as JT Goldstein was pulled down in the box on the corner kick. Goldstein took the penalty and tried to beat Khaloufi to the lower right corner but Khaloufi got to it first. The ball nearly snuck past him but he was able to recover and prevent it from crossing the goal line.

UMSL finished the game outshooting Kentucky Wesleyan 14-8 but the Panthers had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal.

The Tritons look to bounce back on Sunday traveling to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Trevecca Nazarene at 2 p.m.