The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team, unbeaten in three straight for the first time in over a year, heads to the state of Michigan to open the Horizon League slate prior to returning to Milwaukee for a home game Sunday.

The game against Oakland University comes during Homecoming Weekend and is set to kick off at 6 p.m. CST Friday. It will feature a live ESPN3 broadcast as well as live statistics. The same goes for Sunday's matchup with Loyola, which will kick off at 1 p.m. at Engelmann Stadium. All links are available on the Milwaukee website.

The Panthers hold a slim 4-3-1 lead over Oakland in the all-time series. Since the Grizzlies joined the Horizon League, the Panthers have not been beaten, with UWM going 2-0-1 in the three meetings.

Milwaukee holds an amazing record against former league foe Loyola, going 22-2-3 in a series that dates back to 1992. In fact, the Panthers have also claimed wins in the last eight games between the two teams - two in double-overtime - outscoring the Ramblers by a total of 23-6 in that span.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies are off to an 0-4-4 start to the season and have dropped three in a row heading into play Friday. They were picked to finish second in the Horizon League Preseason poll behind Valparaiso and are led by Joan Sieja. Her seven points (2G/3A) top the squad and are among league leaders.

Oakland, 6-11-3 a season ago (4-3-1 in conference), adds 10 newcomers and returns 17 players led by All-Horizon League First-Team selection Alice Palmer who paced the team in points (17), goals (7) and assists (3) while ranking tied for second in the league in goals, second in shots (70), third in points and eighth in assists. All-League Second-Team selection Sieja also returns after finishing second on the team in assists (2) along with All-Freshman Team selection Vlad Gurovski who finished third on the team in goals (2) and points (4).

LOYOLA: The Ramblers are off to a 4-3-1 start this season and will play DePaul at home Thursday before heading to Wisconsin Sunday.

Head coach Barry Bimbi, who is in his fifth season at the helm, returned six starters from last season's 5-13-1 squad that qualified for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament for the second consecutive year. That group was led by a pair of 2014 All-Missouri Valley Conference selections in Shelby Koch and Katie Grall. Bimbi also welcomed eight newcomers, highlighted by Jenna Szczesny, the two-time Gatorade Illinois Girls Soccer Player of the Year. She leads the 2015 offense with seven points (3G/1A).

MORE QUICK PROGRESS
It has been just six games under his belt for head coach Troy Fabiano, but the squad has already accomplished something in 2015 that they did not reach a season ago - the team has gone three games (2-0-1) without a defeat for the first time since winning five contests in a row at the end of the 2013 campaign.

NEARLY A PERFECT 10
The offense was out in full force against Chicago State Sept. 13, nearly reaching double-figures in goals over the course of a 9-0 victory. The goal total marked the highest for the Panthers since the team set the school record with 16 against Western Illinois back in September of 1997. The second-half featured an eye-popping outburst of eight in the back of the net - also the most since the 11 after intermission back in that 1997 contest. The 41 shots also marked the most for the Panthers since piling up 42 against Cleveland State back on October 19, 2007.

PLAYING BIG IN THE BACK
The offense may have been on display recently, but it was the play of junior Paige Lincicum that gave Milwaukee an unbeaten 1-0-1 week and earned her Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors Sept. 14. She was also honored at a higher level when she was named to the College Soccer 360 National Primetime Performers Honor Roll for Week 4 of the season.

She is the second Panther to earn league player of the week this season and the award is the second of her career. Lincicum posted a 0.50 goals-against average over the course of a 1-1 draw against regionally-ranked Wisconsin and a victory over Chicago State in which she played 70-plus scoreless minutes.

ONWUEMEKA ON THE MARK
Freshman Lourdes Onwuemeka was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Panthers to a 2-1 victory over Northern Illinois Sept. 6. She is the first Panther to earn league player of the week this season and the first UWM freshman to be honored since Paige Lincicum at the end of the 2013 season. Onwuemeka led Milwaukee to the comeback victory over Northern Illinois Sept. 6 by scoring the equalizer and assisting the game-winner.
 
In the 53rd minute, she was in the right place at the right time, sending home a ball that was partially saved after senior Kelsey Holbert's attempt from distance was pushed off the cross bar. Then, in the 80th minute, she headed a free kick to freshman Kelli Swenson who headed in the game-winning goal.

QUICK RESULTS
After six games, head coach Troy Fabiano has led the team to a 3-2-1 record. For comparison, the last time UWM had a record of .500 or better after six games was when it started 2011 at 6-0 (record the last three years: 1-5 in 2014; 0-5-1 in 2013; 1-4-1 in 2012).

LINCICUM LEADS THE CHARGE
Junior Paige Lincicum set a career-high with 10 saves against Illinois State Aug. 28 - several of the eye-opening highlight variety - and followed that up with seven more saves in a tough 1-0 loss at Butler two days later. The only goal of that game came on an early Bulldogs' penalty kick. She enters the week fourth in goals-against average and in saves in the Horizon League.

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers embarked on their 26th season of NCAA Division I women's soccer (and 32nd overall) with a 1-0 win over Western Illinois Aug. 21. They now sport an all-time record of 9-15-2 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level and a tally of 13-11-2 in home openers. The team had been a bit jinxed of late in openers, last winning in 2011 and having gone 0-2-1 the prior three seasons in the first matchup of a new campaign.

LEATHERNECK WHITEWASH
The Panthers posted a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois Aug. 21, claiming a victory in the season opener for the first time since 2011. The last shutout in an opener actually came in 2012 (0-0 draw with #24 South Carolina), but the last clean sheet that came in a victory occurred in 2008 (3-0 over Wisconsin).

FIREPOWER
The Panthers opened the 2015 season with an impressive shot total, registering 18 against Western Illinois. That marks the most since accumulating 21 in a 4-1 win against UIC last Sept. 24. That contest against the Flames was the only one of the season where UWM recorded 20-plus shot attempts.

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 crew 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 is 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.

CATCH THEM ANYWHERE
Milwaukee women's soccer will be readily available for the viewing pleasure of UWM fans this season, as nine home games will be streamed live on ESPN3. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN3 platform. ESPN3 is available to nearly 116.3 million homes. In addition, the women's games against Marquette Sept. 23 (tape-delay) and Green Bay Sept. 30 (live) are set to be televised locally by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

ON TAP
The Panthers prepare for the big city-wide matchup against Marquette, hosting the derby Wednesday at 7 p.m. Then, on the weekend, it's off to Ohio for a clash with Wright State Saturday.