MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team will wrap up its 2014 season Friday with a 2 p.m. CST contest against Detroit at Titan Field. UWM will look to end its season on a high note and end its current five game winless streak.

 Just the Facts...
• Friday's match will have no bearing on the final conference standings as Detroit is already locked in at the No. 2 seed, while the Panthers cannot move from their eight-place ranking.

• After 14-straight seasons of claiming at least a share of the Horizon League regular season title, UWM has finished somewhere other than the top spot this season. In fact, this marks the first season in program history where Milwaukee has not made the postseason conference tournament, dating all the way back to 1994 with the start of the Mid-Continental Conference Tournament.

• The Panther offense has been struggling a bit of late. After scoring two or more goals in six of their eight games from Sept. 7 through Oct. 1 - a run that also saw a five-goal outburst against crosstown rival Marquette - the Panthers have found the back of the net just once over the past five games. That's certainly not for a lack of trying as UWM has outshot its last five opponents by a combined 56-39.

What's New?

After struggling through some key injuries all season, someone other than Milwaukee claimed the Horizon League Regular Season Title outright for the first time since 1999. Valparaiso locked up its first ever Horizon League regular season title last week with a 1-0 win over Detroit to stretch its unbeaten streak to 15 games.

About Detroit

The Titans enter Friday's contest having already clinched a bye and a second-place standing in the Horizon League Tournament. UDM fell, 1-0, to Northern Kentucky earlier this week in its non-conference finale.

Senior midfielder Alyssa Riley is the leader of the Titan offense with a team-leading six goals on the season. Sara Zawacki (three) and Anna Mindling (two) are the only other Detroit players with more than one goal on the season.

The Titans are holding opponents to just over one goal per game, with a strong 1.09 goals-against mark. Marina Manzo has faced the majority of shots in net, starting 15 of the 16 games on the season.

Series Notes

The Panthers are carrying a seven-game win streak against Detroit heading into Friday's contest and an 18-7-2 overall mark in the series history. The Titans last claimed a victory over UWM back on Nov. 3, 2006 in a 1-0 game in the Horizon League Tournament Championship.

League Leaders

Despite its record, Milwaukee still has put up some of the best statistical numbers in the Horizon League this season. In league-only contests, the Panthers lead the way in shots (93) and corners taken (41), and are tied for third in goals (seven) and assists (five), and are now fifth in points at 19.

Bunches & Bunches Of Goals

The Panther offense has been a little streaky so far this season, but when they find the back of the net, the goals come in bunches. Against College of Charleston, Milwaukee pounded out four goals, twice scoring two goals in less than four minutes of game time. Against No. 25 DePaul, Morgan LaPlant scored two goals all by herself in less than six minutes. In the 2-1 win at Loyola, the Panthers scored both goals in just under seven minutes. In fact, in its five-goal barrage against Marquette, the Panthers had their largest time gap between goals all season at 31:51. 

Heart Stoppers

Milwaukee's 5-4 win over Marquette sure was one for the ages. The Panthers raced out to a 4-0 lead before a surprising MU comeback knotted the game up at 4-4 with just over four minutes remaining. But, it was Sydney Senn in the role of hero, scoring the game winner with just 1:32 left on the clock to give UWM the wild win.

Recently, Panther fans have seen quite a few heart-stopping wins by their team. Last year, Milwaukee erased deficits of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before scoring the winner with 23 seconds left in regulation in the Horizon League Tournament Championship to clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Also last season, Morgan LaPlant and Kelsey Holbert both scored in the closing minutes of a 3-2 win over Youngstown State at home late in the season, while Kelly Lewers gave UWM a 4-3 win at Miami (Ohio) with a goal at 88:46 earlier in the year.

Black & Blue

It's no secret that Milwaukee has had a rash of injuries this season. Senior Kelsey Holbert was lost for the season just two games in, while Abbey Hoerchner and Callie O'Donnell also both suffered season-ending injuries early in the year. 

The Panthers were forced to use five different starting lineups in their first five matches of the season. Three true freshmen have already made their first collegiate starts and 26 of the 29 members of this year's squad have already seen the field.

Tough Sledding

Milwaukee has traditionally played a very difficult non-conference schedule every season, and this year is no different. Marquette, South Carolina and Boston College were all ranked in the preseason top-25, with SC checking in as high as No. 9 in the nation right after narrowly defeating UWM. Also, DePaul and Auburn both jumped into the national poll just before playing Milwaukee, with DePaul now soaring to the 13th-ranked team in the country.

All Good Things...

For the first time since 1999, someone other than Milwaukee has claimed the Horizon League Regular Season Championship outright. After a 14-year run of grabbing at least a share of the league's regular season title, Valparaiso knocked off the Panthers with an unbeaten league mark thus far for its first league title in program history. 

In fact, this marks the first time since playing in a conference with a postseason tournament that Milwaukee has not qualified for postseason play. Just for a little perspective, the last time Milwaukee did not win the league's regular season title, the current freshman class wasn't even in preschool. The last time they didn't make some type of postseason, some of the current senior class was not even born.

Fabulous Freshmen

There are nine true freshmen on this year's Panther squad and many have already been called upon to contribute right away. So far, those newcomers have already come up in some big moments. Freshman Cassidy Blanchard has started every game at center back and has done well at limiting the opposing attack, while also scoring her first collegiate goal against UIC. Two of Sydney Senn's goals have been game winners including the final goal in the dramatic win over Marquette.  And, Anna Smalley has been in the starting lineup since week two and has two assists, thus far.

Back In Black (& Gold)

The Panthers return eight of their starters from last year's roster and appear to be ready for another successful year on the field. Eight seniors headline the squad this season, including last year's Horizon League Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Kelly Lewers. All-league first-teamers Krissy Dorre and Kelsey Holbert join Lewers on the attack, while second-teamer Amy Kauffung and all-freshman honorees Paige Lincicum and Kelly Manski also return for the Black and Gold this season.

Engelmann Elite

Milwaukee has always had a rich tradition of large home crowds and last season was certainly no different. Despite only having nine home games on their schedule last year, that didn't stopped the fans from coming out and packing Engelmann Stadium. 4,794 fans went through the turnstiles for Panther home games last year for an average of 533 per game, the second-highest average in program history. Last year also marked the fourth-highest fan turnout in a single season, with two of the highest attended games in program history, as well (Aug. 30 vs. Indiana, second-highest; Sept. 23 vs. Marquette, fifth-highest).

So Far, So Great

In just his third year at the helm of the program, head coach Greg Henschel has already twice guided the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament. He now is the only coach in the department's Division I history to guide its team to the NCAA Tournament in both of his first two seasons. Previously, he was one of three coaches to achieve that feat in just his first year, joining former women's soccer coach Michael Moynihan (1997) and current men's basketball coach Rob Jeter (2006) before Henschel again reached the NCAAs again last season.

What They're Saying

A look around the college soccer preseason polls shows there are plenty of expectations on this year's Panther squad. "College Sports Madness" announced its Preseason All-Horizon League teams with Milwaukee topping every group. Kelly Lewers, Krissy Dorre, Kelsey Holbert and Amy Kauffung were also first-team selections. Head coach Greg Henschel was tabbed as coach of the year, while newcomer Aubrey Krahn was selected as freshman of the year and Lewers was picked to repeat her offensive player of the year status.

All White Kit also selected UWM as its Horizon League favorite, saying it should be business as usual for the Panthers this season and adding "the Panthers should still walk away with more silverware in 2014."

Panthers Picked First In Preseason Poll

For the 14th time in the last 15 years, Milwaukee checked into the preseason coaches' poll at the top of the table. The Panthers received six of the nine first-place votes and collected 62 points overall. Oakland gathered two first-place votes and was picked second (51 points), while Wright State garnered one first-place nod and was picked third (50 points). Last year marked the first time in recent history that Milwaukee came in anywhere other than the top of the preseason poll, being picked third. That season, UWM went on to win its 14th-straight regular-season league title and sixth-straight league tournament crown.

Catch All The Action And More

All the Panther home games will again be webcast live and free on the Horizon League Network. In fact, beginning with the team's home opener against Boston College, every game from Engelmann Stadium will be featured on HLN. 

In addition to live events, features, highlights and interviews are available at the Black & Gold Network - the department's official YouTube channel. Be sure to check in with BGN for the latest news and action surrounding Milwaukee women's soccer.