The Milwaukee women's soccer team looks to extend its unbeaten run to open the 2017 campaign with a pair of road games this weekend, traveling to Missouri and Illinois for non-conference action. The 1-0-1 start to the year already has the Panthers in the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) regional rankings at No. 15.

Up first is a matchup Friday at Southeast Missouri, then closing out the weekend Sunday at Eastern Illinois. Friday's game gets underway at 6:30 p.m., while Sunday's contest is set for an 12 p.m. kickoff from Charleston, Ill. The game against the Redhawks Friday will be broadcast live on the OVC Digital Network (no fee), while both games will have live stats available for fans to follow along with the action. All links are on the Milwaukee website.

The Panthers and SEMO are meeting for just the second time ever on the soccer field, with UWM falling, 1-0, to the Redhawks the first time (just last year). The series with Eastern Illinois gets revisited for the first time since 1998 - the only other time these two teams have met. That season, EIU won the battle of the Panthers, 2-1, in Milwaukee Sept. 27.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS:
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: Southeast Missouri is off to a 2-0 start after posting back-to-back shutouts against Evansville (2-0 Aug. 18) and Illinois Springfield (3-0 Aug. 20). Maggie Pike leads the team with a pair of goals. In net, both Kindra Lierz (1 save) and Maddie Gleeson (1 save) have a start and a shutout.

The 2017 roster consists of 24 student-athletes including 16 returners, nine of which were regular starters in 2016. Notable players back in 2017 include senior goalkeeper Lierz and 2016 Second Team All-OVC/All-Newcomer Team midfielder Esmie Gonzales. The team was picked to finished tied for fifth in the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll following a 9-6-4 campaign a season ago.

EASTERN ILLINOIS: Eastern Illinois returns nine starters from last season's team that posted a 5-13-0 record. Included in that group of returners is sophomore Henar Urteaga, who was named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer team last season. Urteaga started all 18 matches finishing the season with one goal and one assist. The Panthers were picked 11th in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll.

The team is off to a 1-0-1 start after defeating IUPUI 2-0 Aug. 18 and tying Indiana State, 1-1, Aug. 20. Pilar Barrio leads the team with three points (1G/1A) and Sara Teteak carries a 0.45 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage in 200 minutes.

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers opened the season on the road, and now carry an all-time record of 10-15-3 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level and a tally of 7-11-2 in road openers following the scoreless draw against the Zips. The team has now gone 2-2-2 in season openers the past six years, with a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois in Troy Fabiano's debut in 2015 snapping a three-game stretch without a victory. UWM had not tied in a season opener since a 0-0 OT2 decision against No. 24 South Carolina to open the 2012 campaign.

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
The Panthers blanked the Zips to open 2017, marking the third season in a row the defense held its opponent from hitting the back of the net. The team posted a shutout in the 2016 season opener, a 1-0 win over Akron in newcomer Mallory Geurts' UWM debut in net. In addition to being what was then 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).

OPENING HONORS
For her work in goal in Week 1, Mallory Geurts was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week after posting back-to-back shutouts of Akron (6 saves) and Robert Morris (4 saves). That marked the third time in her UWM career she has earned the honor. It also marked the first time since 2009 that a Milwaukee goalkeeper posted consecutive clean sheets to open the season. That year, Jamie Forbes blanked Northwestern and Wisconsin, both on the road as well.

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

ROAD TRIPPIN'
The Panthers open the 2017 campaign in near-unprecedented style. The team plays its first four games away from Engelmann Stadium (six counting the pair of exhibition contests) - the second-longest stretch to open a season in program history. The longest was a five-game swing away from Milwaukee in 1996, while a four-game stretch on the road also occurred in 2010 and 2014. The Panthers will travel (counting the exhibition season) over 4,000 miles and into four different states before playing on their home turf this season.

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 24 victories set a new standard for the most wins over the first two years of any coach in program history. The two-dozen wins eclipses the 23 recorded by Michael Moynihan over the course of his first two seasons (13 in 1997 and 10 more in 1998).

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played a pair of exhibition contests this year, posting a 1-1-0 record. Just a few days into a return to training, the team claimed a 2-0 victory over Loyola, with Lourdes Onwuemeka netting a goal just 4:35 into the action and getting that backed up by a goal from Maddie Tetzke before intermission. Then, in their second exhibition, the Panthers dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Illinois State. Mackenzie Schill netted a late goal, but the 2-0 deficit was too much to overcome against the MVC champs. In goal, Mallory Geurts allowed one goal and made one save in 45 minutes of playing time, while Olivia Davies allowed a goal and made three saves in 135 minutes of game time to post a 0.67 goals-against average. Tetzke recorded a team-best three shots to lead the offense in the two games.

PRESEASON POLL
A year after repeating as Horizon League champions and claiming its 16th regular-season title in the past 17 years, the Milwaukee women's soccer team has been picked by league coaches to again take first in the upcoming Horizon League regular season, according to the results of the preseason poll.

The Panthers tallied five first-place votes and 86 points in the coaches' poll to claim the No. 1 spot. They were tied with Northern Kentucky, who also garnered the same 86 points and five first-place votes. Detroit Mercy (73) was next in line in third place, with Oakland (66) just behind the Titans in fourth. Wright State (59) was next and UIC (53) closed out that grouping in sixth place.
 
Milwaukee was picked to finish second in the preseason poll a year ago before going on to claim the crown once again. The team went 13-5-2 overall, topping the league at 8-1-0.
 
1.  Milwaukee (5)   86
2.  Northern Kentucky (5) 86
3.  Detroit Mercy 73
4.  Oakland 66
5.  Wright State 59
6.  UIC 53
7.  IUPUI  42
8. Youngstown State 34
9. Cleveland State 32
10. Green Bay 18

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will once again be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2017. A season ago, 14 of the 34 players on the roster were making their UWM debuts. This year, 11 of the 30 student-athletes will be appearing in a Panther uniform for the first time (nine true freshmen and a pair of redshirt freshmen). Newcomers earned 21 total starts last campaign, with McKaela Schmelzer accounting for nearly all (20) of them on her way to earning Horizon League Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman Team honors.

Schmelzer became the 13th freshman to start every team game for the Panthers in her first season, and the first since Emily Scott did so in 2011 (22 games). Sarah Hagen (23 games in 2008) was the last to do it before Scott.

NOTHING SMALL ABOUT IT
Anna Smalley earned Second-Team National Soccer Coaches Association All-Region and First-Team Horizon League All-Conference honors a year ago, scoring a team-high 26 points. She tallied a league-best 11 goals to go along with four assists, netting three game-winners. Her 26 points finished just one off the Horizon League lead and marked the most for a Panther since Krissy Dorre had 27 in 2013.

LET'S GET CRACKING
The offense should be in good shape, with Milwaukee set to return nine of the top 11 point scorers from a year ago, led by Anna Smalley. Aubrey Krahn (13 points on 4G/5A) and Jen Eberhardy (10 points on 2G/6A) make it a trio of returners to record double-figures in points.

On defense, Mallory Geurts paced the Horizon League with her 0.75 goals-against average. She will have a veteran presence in front of her, with Cassidy Blanchard - the 2015 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year - and McKaela Schmelzer both regular starters a season ago. Erin Corrigan will also rejoin the backline a year after missing the season to injury.

GOOD UP AND DOWN
One look at the team statistics following the conclusion of the 2016 campaign sees Milwaukee at the top of nearly every category across the Horizon League, whether you are looking at offensive or defensive statistics - most by overwhelming margins.

The potent UWM offense led the conference in points with 153 (second was 106), goals with 48 (second was 34), assists with 57 (second was 38) and shots with 17.5 per contest (13.3 was runner-up). Defensively, it was Milwaukee again leading the way in goals-against average at 0.72 (second was 1.08), fewest goals allowed at 15 (23) and shutouts at nine (8).

WELL-REPRESENTED
The Panthers had five different players earn postseason honors last year, 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.

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. Callie O'Donnell lifted UWM past Oakland on a lone goal Oct. 8 to make four 1-0 wins last season and 10 (of the 24) 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 - as a junior she led the Horizon League with a 0.75 goals-against average (the only sub-1.00 GAA in the league!) and a .827 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.

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.

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.

ON TAP
The road trip to start the season finally comes to a close, playing at Engelmann Stadium for the first time to open September (9/1) against Western Illinois. Game time is set for 7 p.m.