The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will embark on its 26th season of NCAA Division I women's soccer (and 32nd overall) this week with one game, hosting Western Illinois Friday at Engelmann Stadium. The game will start at 7 p.m. and be featured on ESPN3 with Matt Schroeder on the call. Live statistics will also be available on the UWM website.

The Panthers are 2-0-0 against the Leathernecks in the all-time series, with the only other matchups occurring in the 2011 (a 4-0 UWM win) and 1997 (a 16-0 victory) campaigns. That 16-0 victory marks the biggest win in the UWM record book (runner-up is a 12-0 decision).

WESTERN ILLINOIS: Dr. Ted Flogaites was named the fifth Western Illinois women's head soccer coach in July of 2012 and has compiled 26 victories in his four seasons at the helm. The squad welcomes 11 freshmen and one transfer for the 2015 season. When combined with five redshirt freshmen, that marks 17 Leathernecks that could make their official debut this fall.

The program looks to rebound from a 5-12-1 2014 season, a year in which they tallied just 17 goals. WIU graduated 12 members of that 2014 squad, including Sarah Hall, who scored eight goals a season ago.

They return 21 players from 2014, with Skyler Jessop and Tyra Markey combining for three goals and two assists last season leading the way. Victoria Kappel will return in goal. She sits sixth all-time in program history with the season record for saves (100), third in career saves (223), third in wins (17) and sixth in goals against average (1.70).

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers open the season at home, carrying an all-time record of 8-15-2 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level and a tally of 12-11-2 in home openers into the contest against the Leathernecks. The team has been a bit jinxed of late in openers, last winning in 2011 and having gone 0-2-1 the past three seasons in the first matchup of a new campaign.

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2015, as 13 players out of the 33 on the roster will be making their UWM debuts this year, including a class of 12 freshmen. The senior class is just two deep, with Kelsey Holbert (62 career games/60 career starts) and Sky Perna (25G/2GS) topping the experience chart.

The junior class is deep, but also not very experienced. Outside of the trio of Maria Stephans, Paige Lincicum and Rachael Van Keulen - which each started all 18 games in 2014 - the 10 juniors account for 19 career starts headed into the 2015 campaign.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played a pair of exhibition contests this year, coming up with completely different results. Just a few days into a return to training, the team dropped a 4-0 decision to Purdue. However, the squad did not give up a goal over the final 60-plus minutes. Then, in its second exhibition, the Panthers dominated the contest in posting a 3-0 victory over Indiana State. Junior Callie O'Donnell scored one goal and assisted another to lead the offense. In goal, junior newcomer Mallory Geurts posted 90 scoreless minutes over the two games.

THIS GUY IS FAB-ULOUS
Troy Fabiano was named the eighth head coach in program history during the offseason and brings with him a very impressive resume. In his 17 years at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Fabiano went 222-74-29, a winning percentage of over 75 percent. Fabiano guided Parkside to 16 consecutive winning seasons, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and five Great Lakes Valley Conference championships. He earned three GLVC Coach of the Year awards, and was named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2008, 2010 and 2014. In his last season of 2014, the squad went 18-1-3 and earned a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to the eventual national champion in overtime.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
As stated, the team will be very young in 2015. After an injury in 2014, Kelsey Holbert hopes to return to the field for her senior season this fall. The list of seniors is small – again, just Holbert and Sky Perna – so the youth of the squad will be on display quickly, for better or worse.
 
Holbert's experience will be heavily leaned on when she returns, as she has tallied 39 points in her career (12G/15A), starting 60 times in 62 appearances. Or, from a scoring perspective, more goals and total points than the rest of the returning roster combined (9G/17A=35 points).

POSTSEASON HARDWARE
The team had five players earn all-conference honors in 2014, with a pair of seniors moving on with first-team accolades in Krissy Dorre and Morgan LaPlant. That means three of the five are back on the field in 2015. Maria Stephans was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team, while Cassidy Blanchard and Anna Smalley were named to the all-freshman team.

Stephans wrapped up the year with one goal – the game winner against Illinois State – and four assists from a defensive midfielder role. She was one of just three field players to start every game for Milwaukee and played 1597 minutes on the year – third most on the team.
 
Blanchard played an important role for the Panthers, starting every game as a freshman at center back. The Whitefish Bay, Wis. native played all but 36 minutes on the year, tallying 1634 minutes of action as a true freshman. Not only was she solid defensively, but she also contributed to the Panther attack with one goal and one assist.
 
Smalley also played in all 18 games as a true freshman, earning a starting role in 14 games. Playing in an attacking midfield role, Smalley registered two assists on the season – including helping set up the game winner against College of Charleston – in 945 minutes of action on the year.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
The squad lost a very talented senior class of seven players and six regular starters overall. What that means is that there will be plenty of opportunity for a new group of players to shine. The offense will essentially have to be replaced. The Panthers have none of their top three point scorers from 2014 returning. A closer look sees just two of the top seven point-scorers back in Black & Gold this fall. If you look over the list, the team returns 23 of 79 points overall and players that accounted for just six of the 25 goals UWM netted in 2014.

PRESEASON CHATTER
The Panthers are targeted as the second place team in the Horizon League according to the HeroSports.com website, with defending champ Valparaiso picked to repeat. The website tabs junior Maria Stephans as "The Cornerstone" and hails sophomore Sydney Senn and Cassidy Blanchard as "The Supporting Cast".

GIMME FIVE ...
After not scoring five goals in a game in 2013, the Panthers did the trick last year in a thrilling 5-4 win over Marquette Sept. 11. The last time UWM hit the back of the net that many times was a 5-0 victory over Cleveland State Oct. 26, 2012.

ONE LOOK AT IT
The website HeroSports.com (formerly BennettRanking.com) listed all 332 NCAA Division I women's soccer programs from top to bottom in the preseason, with Florida State coming it at No. 1 and Virginia No. 2.

A look at all of the Horizon League schools showed a positive for the Panthers entering the 2015 season, as they were the second highest ranked league program according to the list.

122. Valparaiso
168. Milwaukee
203. Detroit
207. Oakland
215. Cleveland State
221. Green Bay
225. Wright State
252. Northern Kentucky
270. Youngstown State
284. UIC

ON TAP
The new campaign continues with a pair of road games next weekend. The Panthers will hit the road to play Illinois State Friday and Butler on Sunday. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. Friday and noon Sunday.