The Austin girls soccer team couldn’t hold off a late Byron surge as the Packers dropped their season opener by a score of 3-2 in Byron Thursday.

The Bears (1-0 overall) tallied two goals in the last five minutes to take the game, but Austin head coach Jake Levisen was pleased with the effort his team showed.

“For it being our very first game of the season, the girls showed a glimpse of what they were capable of,” Levisen said. “It was a fantastic game. Every position and every player played hard. We’re starting to really build that combination passing that we’ve been working on. I’m very proud of the work they’ve given us so far and I’m really excited to see where they’re going to go this season.”

Morgan Raymond scored on an assist from Hope Dudycha to put Austin (0-1 overall) up 2-1 with 11:53 left in the game and Eliana Bentley scored on an assist from Maddie Herrick to give Austin a 1-0 lead early in the game.

Robin Weaver stopped 10 shots for the Packers, who had nine shots on goal.