• Wednesday's match will be rematch of Milwaukee's lone home NCAA Tournament contest. The Panthers hosted ISU back on Nov. 12, 2011, with UWM winning 3-0.

• Milwaukee has been clicking on offense of late, scoring two or more goals in five of their last six games. That includes the five-goal outburst against crosstown rival Marquette.

• Coach Henschel Show Podcast

• Krissy Dorre moved into a tie for fourth in UWM history in all-time goals scored this past Saturday. The senior now has 25 in her career, tying her with Betsy Ribares, who played from 1992-94.

• While UWM has scored an impressive 19 goals this season, its two opponents this week actually have tallied more than the Panthers this season. Cleveland State has registered 20 goals on the year, while ISU has found the back of the net 26 times already this season.

What's New?
UWM started off league play with a 1-1 mark after a dominating win over UIC to start the conference season before a stunning, 3-2, double-overtime loss at Youngstown State Saturday. Milwaukee did outscore its opponents last week, 6-4, overall.

About Illinois State
The Redbirds have been a solid program for years, and have been increasingly on the rise over the past few seasons. ISU advanced in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2013, taking down Louisville on the road in penalty kicks, 1-1 (4-3).

Illinois State is off to another strong start this year with a 7-4 mark, thus far. The Redbirds have a few similar opponents as Milwaukee this season, falling to DePaul, 3-1, and Boston College, 4-1, with Loyola still on the upcoming schedule.

There's no shortage of firepower for Illinois State. Six different players have scored at least two goals through the first 11 games of the year, with Rachel Tejada leading the charge at nine, including eight in her last five games.

About Cleveland State
CSU is off to a 5-6-1 under first-year head coach Sonia Curvelo. The new boss has her team playing a different style than in years past with the Vikings already knocking home 20 goals through the first 12 games this season after scoring just 22 goals all of last season.

A total of 11 different players have found the back of the net this year for Cleveland State. Senior forward Amanda Sivic leads the team with four goals, including a hat trick against Chicago State Aug. 31.

On the defensive side of the field, Sarah Wood has started all 12 games in goal this season. The junior has allowed sports a 1.06 goals-against average and has made 51 saves with two shutouts along the way.

Series Notes
The Panthers and Redbirds have had some great contests over the years, including a 2-1 slugfest last year that went Milwaukee's way. Krissy Dorre scored just 1:44 into the game and Kelly Lewers registered the game-winner in the 26th minute. UWM is 8-3-2 all-time against ISU, including a historic 3-0 win in the NCAA Tournament at Engelmann Stadium back on Nov. 12, 2011. Illinois State last beat UWM that same season in a 3-1 win in Normal, Ill.

Milwaukee has dominated Cleveland State since the school adopted the sport back in 2004. UWM has outscored the Vikings 61-2 in the all-time series, but there have been a few close contests between the two. Last year, held a 1-0 lead much of the way before Krissy Dorre scored in the 63rd to give some breathing room. The Panthers have also won 1-0 twice in the series, back in 2007 in the Horizon League Tournament and in 2004.

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 so far this season. 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 25 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 15th-ranked team in the country.

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 with some big moment. Freshman Cassidy Blanchard has started every game at center back and has done well at limiting the opposing attack and 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 one assist, 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.

Fresh Faces
Nine true freshmen join the collegiate ranks this year on the Milwaukee roster. Cassidy Blanchard, Erin Corrigan, Jen Eberhardy, Aubrey Krahn, Emily Senger, Sydney Senn, Anna Smalley, Maddie Tetzke and Olivia Wright all are set for their first season with UWM after dominating at the high school level. Plus, two more Panthers are set for action after sitting out last year. Anny West redshirted last year and had four years left on the Eastside, while Ashley Burkhardt will be a sophomore after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

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.

Milwaukee also has three matchups that can be seen on television as Time Warner Cable SportsChannel will broadcast the Panthers' in-state rivalries with Marquette (Sept. 11) and Green Bay (Oct. 8), as well as the first-ever meeting with startup program UIC (Sept. 24).

Up Next
The Panthers continue their conference schedule with a pair of league games next week. UWM will head to Green Bay Wednesday, Oct. 8 for a 7 p.m. game before Saturday's 4 p.m. kickoff against Wright State at Engelmann Stadium.