The Milwaukee women's soccer program will embark on its 29th season of NCAA Division I soccer (and 35th overall) this week with a home contest Friday night against Northern Illinois.

Friday's game gets underway at 7 p.m. at Engelmann Stadium. The matchup with the Huskies will be streamed live on ESPN+ (fees apply) with Matt Menzl on the call and will also have live statistics for fans to follow along with the action. All links are on the Milwaukee website.

The Panthers and Huskies have played nine total times since 1993, with MKE holding an 8-1-0 mark that includes eight victories in a row. The teams have recently played every year since 2015 - including a 2-0 Milwaukee win in 2017 - with that 2015 contest marking the first between the schools in 17 years.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS:
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: First-year head coach Julie Colhoff will feature a roster that consists of six freshmen, as well as a veteran presence with six seniors. Lauren Gierman, the team's leading scorer a season ago (10 points on 2G/6A) is set to return. In net, then-freshman Megan Donnally made appearances in three games, posting a 0.73 GAA and .833 save percentage. NIU competed in one exhibition game in 2018, falling to Creighton, 3-1.

Colhoff is familiar with the Panthers, having spent the past four seasons as the top assistant coach at UIC. She spent three seasons at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois prior to that. In addition, she played four years at Loyola Chicago (2006-09) while the Ramblers were a member of the Horizon League.

The Huskies finished 8-10-1 overall last season, which included a 5-6-0 ledger in league play. The team struggled down the stretch, dropping its final four and five of the last six games of the season, getting shut out in four of them.

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers open the season at Engelmann Stadium, carrying an all-time record of 11-14-3 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level and a tally of 15-11-2 in home openers into the contest against the Huskies. The team has 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 (Fabiano himself is now 2-0-1). A season ago, MKE opened the campaign with a 0-0 double-OT draw at Akron.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played a pair of exhibition contests this year, recording shutout victories against Loyola Chicago (3-0 August 7 against a team picked as the favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll) and Northern Iowa (1-0 August 11). The 0.00 GAA goalkeeping was split evenly between Olivia Davies and Allie Strottman, while the four goals were all scored by newcomers (freshman Haley Johnson, freshman Jelena Sever twice and junior Chandler McDaniel).

PRESEASON POLL
Horizon League champions for a third season in a row after claiming a 17th regular-season title in the past 18 years last fall, the Milwaukee women's soccer team was picked by league coaches to again take first in the Horizon League regular season. The Panthers tallied five first-place votes and 87 points in the coaches' poll to claim the No. 1 spot.

2018 PRESEASON POLL
1. Milwaukee – 87 (5 first-place votes)
2. IUPUI – 80 (3)
3. Wright State – 72 (1)
4. Northern Kentucky – 69 (1)
5. Cleveland State – 66
6. UIC – 57
7. Oakland – 40
8. Detroit Mercy – 37
9. Youngstown State – 24
10. Green Bay – 18

INTERNET HYPE
The women's college soccer blog AllWhiteKit.com has also picked the Panthers to win the 2018 Horizon League title. The conference preview article labeled Lourdes Onwuemeka as "one of the league's breakout players last season" and "vital in keeping the Panthers scoring after netting six goals and nine assists last year". It goes on to target midfielder McKaela Schmelzer as a "vital figure this year after a solid sophomore season with six goals and six assists". Other observations included "a bigger role for last year's super sub du jour, Mackenzie Schill, as the sophomore started zero games but scored seven goals" and "a big wild card could be Fort Wayne transfer Jessica Schoenfeldt, who was something of a big fish in a tiny pond in 2017 but who could be a big part in ensuring the Panthers don't skip a beat in 2018".

NATIONAL PRESEASON PUB
When the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll came out in early August, Milwaukee saw itself receiving votes. That marked just the second time in program history for that accomplishment in the preseason, along with the initial poll of 2012. That poll followed a 2011 campaign where the squad finished 19-3-0 and No. 23 in the country. Milwaukee spent the bulk of the 2011 season ranked, cracking the Top-10 in the NSCAA poll for the first time ever, peaking at No. 9 in the Soccer America rankings.

TOP BILLING BY TOP DRAWER SOCCER
The Top Drawer Soccer website released its 2018 Horizon League preview and had this to say about who they thought was the top choice: "Last year's regular season crown marked the third straight year Milwaukee ruled the campaign, and it's certain that they enter the new season as the team to beat". They also listed Lourdes Onwuemeka and Kelli Swenson as "Key Players to Watch". In addition, Swenson was ranked No. 75 on the website's "Women's DI Top 100 Players to Watch".

LOOKING BACK ON AN UNPRECEDENTED ACCOMPLISHMENT
After having gone 16-0-4 in 2017 and finishing the season as the lone unbeaten team in the nation, a look back at some of the accomplishments is quite impressive:
*No. 2 in the nation in goals-against average at 0.285 (Rutgers was No. 1 at 0.267)
*No. 2 in the nation in total assists with 61
*No. 2 in the nation in assists-per-game
*No. 3 in the nation with 19.8 shots-per-game
*No. 3 in the nation in save percentage at .908
*No. 3 in the nation in W-L-T percentage at .900
*No. 6 in the nation in total points with 151

Milwaukee became the first Horizon League team to ever finish a full season without a loss. The other close calls it topped were both by Notre Dame: the 1994 season (23-1-1) and the 1993 campaign (19-2-0).

MAKING MORE HISTORY
At 20 games, the current unbeaten streak not only broke the former overall school record of 13, a mark set on three different occasions, but is the longest active streak at the NCAA Division I level. Most recently it was the end of the 2015 season (7-0-3 to end the campaign, including a season-ending 1-1 draw against Wright State in the league semifinals), stretching into 2016 (another 2-0-1 for a 9-0-4 overall mark in the span). Those three marks included:
1. 16-0-4 (2017)
2. 9-0-4 (end of 2015/start of 2016)
3. 12-0-1 (2006)
4. 10-0-3 (2005)

The team now has just a short ways to go for the league record, which is 24. That was set in 1994 when Notre Dame was part of the league in the previously-mentioned season in which they went 23-1-1, losing only in the NCAA Championship that fall. Amazingly enough, MKE would need to go four more games unbeaten to even crack the Top 25 all-time for most consecutive games without a loss in NCAA women's soccer history. No. 1 on that list? A whopping 103 in a row by North Carolina, which was followed up by a streak of 101 more by the Tarheels the very next week in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

SETTING THE TONE
Milwaukee was in control in nearly every game last season, scoring first (and early) on a regular basis. In fact, the Panthers went 14-0-0 when scoring first last year, 17-0-1 once they netted a second goal and 13-0-3 when outshooting the opponent.

The Panthers trailed for less than 15 total minutes (13:12) the entire regular season. After a comeback was needed in the semifinals of the postseason against Wright State, that number ended up at just 56:40. Based on 1,893:32 of total minutes on the overall campaign, that means that MKE trailed for just 2.9 percent of the total time (They were tied at 0-0 for a cumulative total of 757:07). WSU also became the first team to be ahead of Milwaukee on the scoreboard and it finally came in game No. 13. That 1-0 deficit lasted all of 50 seconds that day before it was tied again.

SETTING THE BAR HIGH
Not only has Troy Fabiano picked up his third Horizon League Coach of the Year honors in his three seasons at the helm, but his 40 victories are easily the most wins over the first three years of any coach in program history. The win total easily outdistances the 34 recorded by Michael Moynihan over the course of his first three seasons (13 in 1997, 10 in 1998 and 11 in 1999).

GOOD UP AND DOWN
One look at the team statistics following the conclusion of the 2017 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 MKE offense led the conference in points with 151 (second was 99), goals with 45 (second was 33), assists with 61 (second was 35) and shots with 19.8 per contest (15.0 was runner-up). Defensively, it was Milwaukee again leading the way in goals-against average at 0.29 (second was 1.08), fewest goals allowed at 6 (20) and shutouts at 14 (11).

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will once again be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2018. A season ago, 11 of the 30 players on the roster were making their MKE debuts. This year, 17 of the 32 student-athletes will be appearing in a Panther uniform for the first time (12 true freshmen and a trio of redshirt freshmen in addition to two transfers). Newcomers earned 18 total starts last campaign, with Taylor Tabbert accounting for all of them on her way to earning Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors. Mackenzie Schill joined her on the all-freshman team after appearing in all 20 games off the bench.

WELL-REPRESENTED
The Panthers had eight different players earn postseason honors. Highlighting the way was a program-best five first-team honorees, Kelli Swenson earning Defensive Player of the Year and Troy Fabiano being named the Horizon League Coach of the Year for the third year in a row.

The First-Team All-League members included a pair of second-time honorees in Anna Smalley and Cassidy Blanchard as well as Aubrey Krahn, Lourdes Onwuemeka and Swenson as first-time honorees.
 
Mallory Geurts joined her teammates with second-team accolades and both Taylor Tabbert and Mackenzie Schill round out the list with an appearance on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

GEURTS CLAMPED DOWN ON "D"
The season record for shutouts had stood at 13, a mark that Erin Kane established in 2005 and tied again in 2006. Mallory Geurts posted a shutout in the league title game to finish at 14 for a new school and Horizon League mark.
1. Geurts, 14 (2017)
2. Kane, 13 (2005 and 2006)
4. Jamie Forbes, 11 (2011)
5. Erin Kane, 10 (2007)

AN OPENING STATEMENT
A year ago, the Panthers drew even with the school record by opening the season with four consecutive shutouts and extended that mark to nine in a row before coming to an end. The prior record of "just" four was accomplished by the 2009 team. That year, with Jamie Forbes in goal, Milwaukee opened the season with 0-0 draws against Northwestern and Wisconsin, before topping Michigan, 6-0, and Rice by a score of 1-0. No other team in program history started with even as many as three clean sheets in a row. Unbeaten through 20 games (16-0-4) obviously marked the best start to a new schedule for an MKE team in program history. That eclipsed the 7-0-2 opening to the 1997 season and the 6-0-1 start of the 2008 team.

RANKINGS RISE IN 2017
With each passing week, the Panthers continued to make noise in the regional - and national - polls. The team started the 2017 season ranked No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches Great Lakes Regional Poll. They moved to No. 12, No. 9, again at No. 9 (Week 4), then up to No. 6 (Week 5), then again holding steady there in Week 6. National votes for the Top 25 started to appear Week 4 (2), bumping up again in Week 5 (5) and again in Week 6 (11). Week 7 saw the Panthers at No. 9 in the region and with five votes in the national poll, while Week 8 sees a regional rise to No. 8 in addition to four national poll votes. Week 9 saw another rise, landing at No. 7 in the region to go along with 10 national votes. Again the bar was raised in Week 10, moving to sixth in the region and to 13 national votes, essentially sitting at No. 28 in the country.

RANKING RUNDOWN
Milwaukee topped Marquette, 2-1, September 17 last year to claim a win over a nationally-ranked opponent. The Golden Eagles came in at No. 19 and with an eight-game unbeaten streak of their own before MKE claimed the big victory. That marked the first defeat of a ranked opponent since knocking off then-No. 16 Missouri, 1-0, back on September 17, 2006 – 11 years to the date (Milwaukee had been 0-15-3 since and is now 3-33-6 all-time).

BLANKING THEM ALL
For Mallory Geurts, posting shutouts was almost routine. She broke Jamie Forbes mark for longest scoreless streak to begin a season - Forbes made it to 411:06 back in 2009 before allowing a goal in game No. 5 to Marquette. In doing so, Geurts picked up Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors - the first Panther to ever earn back-to-back defensive accolades.

The longest overall shutout streak by a goalkeeper came next. The record for MKE was 717:10 by Erin Kane back in 2005. Geurts eclipsed that mark against Southern Utah Sept. 10. When her streak finally came to an end in the win over No. 19 Marquette, the tally earned her the ninth-longest scoreless streak in women's soccer history at the NCAA Division I level.

Longest Shutout Streak By A Goalkeeper
1.     917:27      2016-17      Mallory Geurts
2.    717:10      2005      Erin Kane
3.    697:53      2015      Paige Lincicum
4.    595:22      2006      Erin Kane
5.     590:52      2006      Erin Kane

EVEN BIGGER LIST
As mentioned, Geurts goes into the NCAA record book as the ninth-longest ever.

1,669:25 ... Anne Sherow, North Carolina (Sept. 5, 1987-Sept. 3, 1988)
1,268:29 ... Crystal Gordon, Santa Clara (Sept. 19, 1998-Dec. 4, 1998)
1,134:36 ... Shay Mannino, Central Mich. (Sept. 11, 2009-Oct. 29, 2009)
1,114:00 ... Jenni Branam, North Carolina (Oct. 8, 1999-Dec. 5, 1999)
1,084:10 ... Melissa Sanger, La Salle (Aug. 19, 2011-Oct. 7, 2011)
1,003:58 ... Tiffany DeCoff, Holy Cross (Sept. 25, 1999-Nov. 10, 1999)
969:43 ... Katelyn Rowland, UCLA (Oct. 9, 2014-Nov. 28, 2014)
966:36 ... Erika Bohn, Notre Dame (Sept. 28, 2003-Oct. 29, 2003)
*MALLORY GEURTS ... 917:27 in 2017

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS
The Panthers blanked Akron 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 the same Zips in what was newcomer Mallory Geurts' MKE 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 Panther debut since Jamie Forbes in 2009 (0-0 draw at Northwestern).

ROAD TRIPPIN'
The Panthers opened the 2017 campaign in near-unprecedented style. The team played 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 traveled (counting the exhibition season) over 4,000 miles and into four different states before playing on their home turf this season.

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 MKE fans this season, as all but one home game (and nearly all conference road games) will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.

ESPN+, which will host the Horizon League women's soccer, men's soccer and volleyball championships this fall, offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time. Launched in April of 2018, ESPN+ is an integrated part of a completely redesigned ESPN App.

ON TAP
The Panthers will be off for a week before hosting Eastern Illinois next Friday at Engelmann Stadium. Kickoff in the Panther v. Panther battle is 7 p.m.