The Milwaukee women's soccer team will host the 2016 Horizon League Tournament, beginning action in the event Thursday night at 7 p.m. when it welcomes Oakland University. Semifinal number one gets underway at 4 p.m. that day as well. The higher seeds held in the first-round games Monday, so the top four seeds from the regular-season standings will all converge on Engelmann Stadium, with the winner earning the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Detroit Mercy, as the No. 2 seed, also had a bye from Monday action and will be the home team in Thursday's opening affair against third-seeded Northern Kentucky. Oakland is the No. 4 seed and will play the Panthers in the late game. The winners advance to the Horizon League Tournament Championship Saturday at 6 p.m.

All games will have a live video feed on ESPN3 and will also have live statistics available. Head to the Milwaukee website for all links. See page 10 of this release for full tournament bracket.

The Panthers hold all-time records of 6-3-1 against Oakland, 21-7-2 against Detroit Mercy and 1-0-1 with Northern Kentucky.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS:
OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies enter the semifinals at 9-9-1 (finishing 5-4-0 in league play), with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Valparaiso Monday in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament under their belts. Down 2-0 at one point, Oakland got on the board in the 67th minute before tallying in the 83rd and 87th minutes to advance.

Sydnye  Gagner  paces  the  offense  and  is  among  league  leaders  with eight  goals,  totaling  21  points  on  the  season  overall. Alice Palmer leads the team in shots at 54 and is second with 11 points (4G/3A).

Allison  Holland  has  been  the  main  goalkeeper,  posting  a  1.11  goals-against average and four shutouts, with a .783 save percentage.

A year ago, the Golden Grizzlies compiled an 8-6-7 overall record, finishing second in the regular season at 6-1-2 while capturing the Horizon League Tournament title and a NCAA tournament bid.
 
REGULAR SEASON REWIND
The Panthers went a perfect 3-0 against the rest of the championship field over the course of the 2016 regular season, defeating all three teams by the identical 1-0 final scorelines. Contests against the Norse and Oakland were settled in regulation, while the win over the Titans came in double-OT with just 64 seconds remaining.

KIND OF A BIG DEAL
The Panthers have a history of success in the Horizon League Tournament and will be hosting the event for the ninth time in program history this week. They have posted an impressive 31-7-7 record all-time in the event. A member of the Panther roster has been named league tournament MVP in six of the past eight years.

The team is in search of its 12th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, having last made it in the 2013 campaign (which also marked the end of a streak of six trips in a row).

WELL-REPRESENTED
The Panthers had five different players earn postseason honors, highlighted by a trio of first-team all-league honorees and two specialty award winners - McKaela Schmelzer was selected the Horizon League Freshman of the Year and Troy Fabiano repeated as the Horizon League Coach of the Year.

The three first-team selections included Maria Stephans (a repeat selection from 2015 and a second-team honoree in 2014), as well as Anna Smalley and Callie O'Donnell (both were second-team members a year ago). Rounding out the list was Cassidy Blanchard on the second team, a year removed from first-team honors. Schmelzer rounded out the list with All-Freshman honors.

SETTING THE BAR
Not only has Troy Fabiano picked up a pair of Horizon League Coach of the Year honors in his two season at the helm, but his 23 (and counting victories) mark a tie for the most wins over the first two years of any coach in program history. The almost two-dozen wins equals the same amount recorded by Michael Moynihan over the course of his first two seasons (13 in 1997 and 10 more in 1998).

GOOD UP AND DOWN
One look at the team statistics heading into the postseason and Milwaukee tops nearly every category across the Horizon League, whether you are looking at offensive or defensive statistics - most by overwhelming margins.

The potent UWM offense currently leads the conference in points with 144 (second is 86), goals with 45 (second is 28), assists with 54 (second is 30) and shots with 17.2 per contest (13.6 is runner-up). Defensively, it's Milwaukee again leading the way in goals-against average at 0.63 (second is 0.87), fewest goals allowed at 12 (16) and shutouts at eight (tied for the top spot).

YOU ARE APPRECIATED
The Panthers honored the seniors on this year's roster with a special pregame ceremony against Cleveland State Oct. 28. The team sent a farewell to six student-athletes competing in what was their final regular-season home game of their collegiate careers: #2 Callie O'Donnell, #4 Abbey Hoerchner, #7 Ashley Burkhardt, #13 Tatum Smith, #17 Kelly Manski and #32 Maria Stephans.

KRAHN ON THE ATTACK
The recent play of Aubrey Krahn has been impressive, scoring goals in three games in a row Oct. 15-22 while tallying a total of eight points in the stretch (3G/2A). She was selected by the Horizon League Oct. 24 for Offensive Player of the Week honors, marking the first award from the conference office in her career.

A WIN IS A WIN IS A WIN
The Panthers have made a habit out of winning games by a final score of 1-0 the past two seasons and, most recently, have claimed victories by that scoreline on two occasions this month after Callie O'Donnell lifted UWM past Oakland on a lone goal Oct. 8. That makes four 1-0 wins this season and 10 (of the 23) since Troy Fabiano took over as the head coach before the start of the 2015 campaign.

GEURTS GOOD AT ANY LEVEL
Mallory Geurts came to Milwaukee from Parkside, following a sophomore season in which she led the nation with a 0.27 goals-against average at the NCAA Division II level. So far with the Panthers, she has been stellar - currently leading the Horizon League with a 0.66 goals-against average and a .843 save percentage. She was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 26 following a 1-0 shutout of Northern Kentucky on the road and again Oct. 17 following another shutout over Wright State.

RANDOM STAT OF THE DAY
Anna Smalley scored in back-to-back games at the end of September, tallying her sixth and seventh goals of the season to take over the team lead at the time. Her 109th-minute goal against Detroit Mercy Oct. 1 marked the eighth game-winner of her career. The final score was 1-0 ... which must sound familiar for Smalley. Of her eight career game-winners, FIVE of them have come in games that UWM won by a final scoreline of 1-0.

STEPHANS' LITTLE HELPERS
Maria Stephans had a nice performance against UIC Sept. 16, finishing with a hand on four of the five scores for Milwaukee with a goal and three assists. She was lethal with her corner kicks all contest, starting the scoring when she netted a corner kick in the third minute without any help from a teammate. Two of her three assists the rest of the way also came on corners, giving her the first game of at least three assists for a Panther since Helen Steinhauser recorded a trio against Cleveland State in a 4-0 win on September 16, 2011. It's the eighth three-assist game in school history, tied for the fourth-best spot on the individual game list.

Stephans now has 10 for the season and 23 for her career, enough for a move into sixth place on the all-time assists list, passing Kelsey Holbert (21 from 2011-15) and Mara Thompson (1994-98).

WHO DOES THAT?
Maria Stephans has been uncanny with her efforts so far this season on corner kicks. In addition to the goal she scored off a CK against UIC Sept. 16, she did it AGAIN against Northern Kentucky Sept. 24 - this time with the goal serving as the game-winner in the 1-0 decision. She also has four assists directly off of corner kicks this season.

FLOODGATES OPENED
It was quite a week of offense for the Panthers, finding the back of the net 16 times between victories against Chicago State and UIC in late September. The 11 goals against the Cougars marked the third-highest outing for the Panthers in school history, trailing only 12 that came against Valparaiso (9/19/93) and the school record of 16 against Western Illinois (9/5/97). The 16 assists against Chicago State did tie some school history, equaling the record assist total in the WIU contest previously mentioned. Those remain the only two games in school history with double-digit assist totals.

SPREAD THE WEALTH
For the amount of points the Panthers have scored so far this season (144), the offense is spread impressively across the team. Although you have Anna Smalley (22 points) , Callie O'Donnell (22) and Maria Stephans (20) leading the team and among the top four in the Horizon League, a longer look sees 15 different players that have scored goals and an amazing 22 different players who have recorded points so far in 2016. To put that in perspective, here are the totals moving backwards:

2016: 15 scored goals/22 recorded points
2015: 9 scored goals/14 recorded points
2014: 9 scored goals/13 recorded points
2013: 8 scored goals/14 recorded points
2012: 8 scored goals/13 recorded points
2011: 11 scored goals/14 recorded points
2010: 9 scored goals/18 recorded points
2009: 12 scored goals/14 recorded points
2008: 13 scored goals/16 recorded points
2007: 14 scored goals/15 recorded points
2006: 12 scored goals/17 recorded points

OVERTIME DRAMA
The Panthers recently played back-to-back double-overtime contests, settling for a 1-1 draw against Marquette Sept. 9, followed by a tough 1-0 loss at home against Iowa State Sept. 11, with the winner netted in the 107th minute. Playing consecutive double-OT matches is something that had not happened since the 2012 postseason (against Loyola and Wright State). That made three OT games for Milwaukee at that point in the season (which is up to five now) and a grand total of 10 for Coach Fabiano is his brief UWM tenure, with a record of 2-2-6 playing extra time.

SOME KINDA ROLL
The Panthers saw their 13-game unbeaten streak (9-0-4) come to an end Aug. 28, falling 1-0 to Southeast Missouri despite a 19-to-6 advantage in shots. That stretch tied the program record for most games unbeaten, equaling the 2006 squad (12-0-1) and the original mark set in 2005 (10-0-3). This edition of the streak saw the Panthers allow just five total goals on 132 shots, resulting in a 0.36 goals-against average and a .038 shot percentage. The 1,250 total minutes played also witnessed a defensive-minded eight shutouts in the baker's dozen of contests.

The team then extended its road-unbeaten streak to eight (7-0-1) with a 4-0 win at Western Illinois Sept. 2. The streak came to an end at Drake, with the Bulldogs handing UWM its first road loss in over a calendar year.

THAT'S TWO
Milwaukee started the season in impressive fashion, posting victories over Akron and Northern Illinois. That marked the first 2-0 start to a new campaign since 2011's 6-0 start.

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers opened the season at home and now carry an all-time record of 10-15-2 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level and a tally of 14-11-2 in home openers after topping Akron, 1-0. The team had gone 1-2-1 in season openers the past four prior years, with a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois in Troy Fabiano's debut in 2015 snapping a three-game stretch without a victory.

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
The Panthers posted a shutout in the season opener, a 1-0 win over Akron in newcomer Mallory Geurts' UWM debut. In addition to being the second consecutive season that Milwaukee opened with a shutout win, it also marked the first clean sheet for a goalie making her UWM debut since Jamie Forbes in 2009 (0-0 draw at Northwestern).

A QUICK BRACE
Callie O'Donnell helped Milwaukee overcome an early 1-0 deficit against Northern Illinois Aug. 21, netting goals in the 11th and 61st minutes on the way to the 3-1 win. That marked the second time in O'Donnell's career she has scored at least twice in a game, the other coming at Chicago State in September of last season. The multi-goal performance came in the second game of the new campaign for the Panthers, earning O'Donnell Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors. It marked the earliest multi-goal outing by any player since Sarah Hagen netted two in the 2011 opener.

ORDER IS RESTORED
The Panthers took care of business in 2015, earning a hard-fought 0-0 draw against then-second place Northern Kentucky at the end of October last year to claim the Horizon League regular-season title. After having its nation-best streak of 14 titles in a row snapped in 2014, Milwaukee was back on top under then first-year head coach Troy Fabiano. Not bad for a team that was pegged eighth in the 2015 league preseason poll.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played a pair of exhibition contests this year, posting a 1-0-1 record. Just a few days into a return to training, the team claimed a solid 3-1 victory over Loyola, with Kelly Manski netting a goal just three minutes into the action and Lourdes Onwuemeka backing that up with a pair of goals later in the day. Then, in its second exhibition, the Panthers dominated the contest, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Illinois State, courtesy of a goal by Maddie Tetzke with just over 12 minutes remaining in regulation. In goal, a trio of newcomers were solid. Mallory Geurts allowed one goal and made one save in 115 minutes of playing time, Lauren Rice was credited with a save in just over 45 minutes of action in the two games and Olivia Davies allowed a goal and made a save in 20 minutes of game time against Loyola.

PRESEASON POLL
A year after returning to the top of the Horizon League and claiming its 15th regular-season title in the past 16 years, the Milwaukee women's soccer team was picked by league coaches to take second in the upcoming Horizon League regular season, according to the results of the preseason poll.
 
The Panthers tallied four first-place votes and 71 points in the coaches' poll to claim the No. 2 spot. Oakland, which claimed the Horizon League Tournament title in 2015, also collected four first-place votes and bumped the Panthers by a single point for the top spot at 72. Northern Kentucky earned the remaining two first-place votes and was third with 64 points. Valparaiso and Wright State were tied for fourth at 57 points, Cleveland State was sixth (41 points) and Detroit seventh (35). UIC (25), Green Bay (15) and Youngstown State (13) rounded out the poll.

School (1st-place votes) Points
1. Oakland (4): 72
2. Milwaukee (4): 71
3. Northern Kentucky (2): 64
4. Valparaiso: 57
4. Wright State: 57
6. Cleveland State: 41
7. Detroit: 35          
8. UIC: 25
9. Green Bay: 15
10. Youngstown State: 13

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will once again be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2016. A season ago, 13 of the 33 players on the roster were making their UWM debuts. This year, 14 of the 34 student-athletes will be appearing in a Panther uniform for the first time. Newcomers earned 19 total starts last campaign, with Kelli Swenson accounting for the large majority of them on her way to earning Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors.

OPPONENTS WERE OH-FOR-OCTOBER
Milwaukee played a dominant month of soccer in October of 2015. The team did not allow a goal in six games, posting a perfect 0.00 GAA in a 5-0-1 stretch. The Panthers outscored the opposition, 8-0. That helped them post a Horizon League-leading 0.69 goals-against average for the season, with now graduated goalkeeper Paige Lincicum finishing with a 10-3-4 record, 0.68 goals-against average, 75 saves and .862 save percentage. She was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week a league-best four times and played a major role in UWM leading the conference in goals-against average (0.69) and shutouts (9). Her 0.68 GAA finished second in the league – and sixth all-time in program history.

JUST 12 MONTHS LATER
What a difference a year made for the Panthers before the month of September was even over in 2015. At seven wins before October, the team had already claimed more victories than all of 2014 (6-10-2). In addition, after just a dozen games, it netted more goals (27 compared to 25) and more total points (82 compared to 79).

FULLY LOADED
The offense will be in good shape, with Milwaukee set to return three of the top seven point scorers in the Horizon League from last season. The trio also represented two of the top four goal scorers across the conference.

*Anna Smalley: Her 18 points (8G/2A) was third in the league, with her goal tally first.
*Callie O'Donnell: She finished tied for sixth in the conference with 15 points (7G/1A), while her goal total was tied for second overall.
*Maria Stephans: She also finished tied for sixth place in points with 15 (4G/7A), while her seven assists was a career-high and placed third in the Horizon League.

THIS GUY IS FAB-ULOUS
Troy Fabiano was named the eighth head coach in program history in early 2015 and brought 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.

POSTSEASON HARDWARE
The team had seven players earn all-conference honors in 2015, with a pair of seniors (Kelsey Holbert and Paige Lincicum) moving on with second-team accolades.

That means five of the seven are back on the field in 2016, including Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Great Lakes Region Second Team selection Cassidy Blanchard, who was joined on the first-team all-conference last year by Maria Stephans.

The Panthers also had four players named to the second team. Callie O'Donnell and Anna Smalley were also recognized for their efforts on the season. In addition, Kelli Swenson was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team and Troy Fabiano was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm.

CATCH THEM ANYWHERE
Milwaukee women's soccer will be readily available for the viewing pleasure of UWM fans this season, as all 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 contest at Green Bay October 19 was televised locally by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

ON TAP
If the team claims the Horizon League Tournament title, it will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history. First-round action would take place November 11-13.