If nothing else, Austin's bench got a solid workout for the first match of the season.

The Packer girls' soccer team took to the pitch Thursday night for their 2002 opener against Owatonna with three players out of action because of injuries. A shorthanded Austin squad sustained the 80-minute game with eight players going the distance in a 3-0 loss at Wescott Field.

Senior forward Emily Lorenzen and juniors Jessica Vorpahl and Andrea Petersen were not in the lineup, allowing head coach Mark Raymond the opportunity to get some junior varsity players some experience.

"We don't want to make excuses, we were a little undermanned, but we got a lot of girls some minutes," Raymond said. "We had kind of a short bench, and that came back to hurt us in the second half. We dropped a couple of our marks in the box and that cost us a couple goals."

Austin junior goalie Kelly Momsen, a two-time All-Big Nine Conference selection, made at least 20 saves according to Coach Raymond in the season-opening loss.

"She came up big," Raymond said. "It sounds kind of strange but it's good that she saw that many shots in the first game. A lot of people are really confident in the way she's playing."

Owatonna scored once in the first half and twice during the first 10 minutes after intermission. The Packer defense held the Huskies quiet for the final 30 minutes, but remained scoreless themselves.

"It's a little disappointing, we wanted to get on the board," Coach Raymond said. "We did the things we were supposed to do to give ourselves chances to score. We had a couple good opportunities but couldn't finish."

Austin finished last season 10-6-2 overall and 8-4-2 in the Big Nine Conference, in which Coach Raymond feels Owatonna will be a title contender. The Rochester schools -- Mayo, Century and John Marshall -- are favored again this year, while Winona may make a move into the top tier of the final standings.

"It's going to be a dogfight," Raymond added. "We're such a young squad. Like I told the girls before the game, we probably wouldn't know what kind of team we're going to be until we get on the field."

The Packers play at home again tonight at 7 p.m. against Caledonia.

Call Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at :mailto:sports@austindailyherald.com.