Following a non-conference schedule where the Milwaukee women's soccer team got the chance to come together and get to know the new pieces in place this season, the attention now shifts to Horizon League play this week. The conference slate will start on a positive note, with the program back in the United Soccer Coaches Association Top 25 North Region Poll at No. 10. Up first this week is a road trip to Ohio, followed by the first conference home game on the weekend.

The party kicks off at Wright State Thursday, set for a 4 p.m. CST kickoff to the league season. Then, on Sunday, Milwaukee returns back home to play host to Robert Morris. Game time against the Colonials is set for 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Matt Menzl on the call against RMU, and both will have live statistics available. All links are available on the MKE website.

The Panthers are 29-9-6 all-time against Wright State and are on a very nice current run in the series. MKE has claimed seven consecutive victories and is also unbeaten in the past nine at 8-0-1. Two of the past three have been convincing, with Milwaukee claiming 3-0 shutouts in both 2020 and 2019. A year ago, MKE jumped up 2-0 in the first half before taking the 2-1 win.

The ledger against Robert Morris is short but perfect, coming into play Sunday at 4-0 all-time, outscoring the Colonials 10-1 in the series. A year ago, it was a 2-0 win for the Panthers.

LOOKING AT THE OPPONENTS:
WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders went 5-10-3 under the direction of first-year head coach Travis Sobers in 2021, finishing with non-league wins at Marshall and Akron and a 3-6-2 ledger in conference games. Wright State returns 10 players who logged nine or more starts, including a pair of All-Horizon League performers in Olga Massombo and Olivia Mace. Jessika Seward is in her third season as goalkeeper, where she has tallied 103 saves in 21 career starts.

The team is off to a 3-4 start, dropping three games in a row since topping Central Michigan, 3-0, back on Aug. 28. The losses have come to Kentucky (4-1), Eastern Kentucky (2-1), and Butler (7-0). The offense is led by Keylin Helinski, who leads the way with five points and is the only player with more than one goal (2G/1A). Seward has started all seven games, posting a .622 save percentage and 2.34 goals-against average.

ROBERT MORRIS: The Colonials are coming off their second season as members of the Horizon League, finishing 6-10-3 overall (2-6-3 Horizon) in 2021. Third-year coach Chris Shaw features 10 new players and has the team off an impressive 5-0-2 start in 2022, coming after the team was ranked No. 11 in the HL preseason poll.

Robert Morris is averaging 2.71 goals per game and currently sits at the top of the Horizon League in numerous statistical categories. The Colonials pace the league with over 19 shots per game and 10 shots on goal this season, while topping the chart with 19 goals and 19 assists. Haleigh Finale and Gabriella Lecuona are tied for the top spot with identical 3G/2A-8 point statlines so far. Isabella Bohlen has played all but 12 minutes in net (of 630 total), posting a 0.58 goals-against average and .826 save percentage.

HOO-RAY HORIZON
When it comes to Horizon League openers, the record is quite impressive all-time. Milwaukee has now gone 25-2-1 in opening action (since joining the league in 1994), with a string of 14 wins in a row from 1998 through 2011. The squad has victories in each of the past nine as well, following the win over WSU in 2021.

The Panthers have had a very long line of success when it comes to Horizon League play, claiming the regular-season title in six of the past seven seasons (2015-19/2021) as well as 20 of the past 22 titles overall. In fact, the team has posted a sparkling 58-2-4 ledger (.938 win %) over the past seven campaigns (coming into 2022) in regular-season conference play.

A NEW ERA IN MKE
The 2022 season brings a new look for the Panthers after Kevin Boyd was named the ninth coach in Milwaukee program history. He inherits a program that has made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, won 21 regular-season league titles and 14 league tournament trophies, reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons, as well as the second round in each of the past two. Boyd brings over 20 years of head-coaching experience with him to Milwaukee, having spent two decades in the Pac-12 as head coach at both Arizona State University and at the University of California, Berkeley. No matter the stop, Boyd has been a proven winner, ranking as the all-time winningest coach during his final campaigns at both Pac-12 programs, while compiling over 200 victories in his career.
 
Boyd's 214-148-48 overall record as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level includes 13 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, helping his players move on to the professional level in every pro women's soccer league that has existed. Boyd comes to the Panthers after spending the past two seasons as the associate head coach at Washington State, helping lead the Cougars to an overall record of 20-6-7 in that span.

FIGURING IT OUT
The Panthers put together an unbeaten streak of four games (3-0-1) following a season-opening loss at Wake Forest, relying on a sound defense (three shutouts in those four games) as well as an offense that started to find its footing. The team scored a season-best three goals in the win over Illinois State Sept. 4 and have really been creating opportunities. In fact, the offense recorded 20-or-more shot attempts in three-straight games (31 vs. Lindenwood/21 vs. WIU/21 vs. Illinois State). A look back over the years shows just how impressive that is. Outside of last season's record-setting offense - which accomplished the feat twice - the last time a Panther offense had three-consecutive matches of 20-plus shots was during the 2009 campaign, opening October with 21 against Valparaiso and 37 against both Cleveland State and Youngstown State. A year ago, the team actually ripped off a stretch of three in a row (26/26/27) as well as a school-record four straight (30/36/22/26) to open October.

LINDEN-"WOOD" IS RIGHT
The Panthers dominated Lindenwood August 28 but had to settle for a 2-0 victory after cracking balls off the woodwork all afternoon - the team actually hit the cross bar or post on five occasions.

The 31 shots were also a season-high, with 13 different players recording at least one. Kayla Rollins led the way with five (four on target/one off the post) and scored both goals, earning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts. The team put up 30-plus shots on two occasions last season (36 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne/30 vs. Youngstown State), but prior to that had not reached that level since posting 32 shots against Eastern Illinois back in early September of 2019.

A NEW LOOK
Along with a new coach, the roster will also have a new look after the Panthers lost 12 players to graduation or transfer and will now be able to count on just two returning starters on the field following a stellar 19-2 campaign that set school records for overall wins (19) and winning percentage (.905), as well as longest-ever win streak (14). After a season in which the Panthers set the school record for points (206) and assists (80), and finished second in all-time goals for a season (63), just 28.7 percent of those points are set to return. The team will also be inexperienced in goal, as all 1,924:51 of playing time between the pipes last season is not back on the field.

Points: returners accounted for 59 of the 206 points (28.7 percent)
Goals: 18 of 63 goals (28.6 percent)
Assists: 23 of 80 assists (28.8 percent)
Starts: returning players accounted for 51 starts last season.
Minutes: returning players accounted for 5,830 of 21,175 minutes played (27.5 percent), with just two players that saw the field over 1,000 minutes (Clara Broecker 1,894 and Kat Van Booven 1,104).

ROSTER BREAKDOWN
A look at the roster sees one of the youngest teams in the nation this season, with the Panthers featuring just four total players classified as juniors or seniors. In addition, the squad will consist of 21 freshmen (12 true/nine redshirt freshmen) and 11 sophomores (eight true/three redshirt sophomores).
The upperclassmen breakdown is as follows:
SENIORS: Haley Johnson, Trudy Quidzinski
JUNIORS: Natalie Auble, Brooke Parnello

A look at the starting lineup in the season opener against Wake Forest August 18 shows a quick sample of the roster situation. It was also the first collegiate start for seven of the 11 players.
SENIORS (1): Haley Johnson
JUNIORS (2): Natalie Auble, Brooke Parnello
SOPHOMORES (6): Lexi Blaser, Parker Donahugh, Emma Famulak, Lainey Higgins, Anna Karam, Kat Van Booven
FRESHMEN (2): Anna Champine, Senya Meurer

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers opened 2021 against Northern Illinois with a 6-0 victory, now moving to 15-15-3 in season openers at the NCAA Division I level following the 2-0 loss to a Wake Forest team receiving votes in the national poll in 2022. The team has now gone 6-3-2 in season openers the past 11 years, with a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois in 2015 snapping a three-game stretch without a victory. Two seasons ago, MKE opened the campaign with a 5-1 victory over Robert Morris on the road. In addition, the Panthers are now 18-2 in home openers. Speaking of debuts, the six goals marked the most in program history for a lid-lifter, topping the five scored against Robert Morris to open the 2020 campaign. Four had not been scored in over 30 years (4-2 over St. Norbert in 1988 and 4-0 over St. Mary's (IN) in 1987), while three has also been recorded on four different occasions.

PRESEASON POLL
Milwaukee was picked by league coaches to finish second in the 2022 Horizon League regular season. The Panthers tallied five first-place votes and 108 points in the coaches' poll to hold down the runner-up spot, just behind the 115-point total of Oakland, who also received five first-place votes. Despite being Horizon League Tournament champions for a fourth consecutive year and appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in program history a year ago, Milwaukee was not selected for the top spot for the first time in six seasons – a spot they have held in the league poll 19 times since 2000, as well as an amazing run of 13 straight from 2000-2012. Northern Kentucky finished in third place, earning 96 points, while Cleveland State was a distant fourth with 74 points.
2022 PRESEASON POLL
1. Oakland (5) – 115
2. Milwaukee (5) – 108
3. Northern Kentucky – 96
4. Cleveland State – 74
5. Green Bay – 65
6. Wright State – 60
7. IUPUI – 55
8. Purdue Fort Wayne – 51
9. Youngstown State (1) – 49
10. Detroit Mercy – 28
11. RMU – 25

EXPERIENCE WILL MATTER
With the roster featuring a new look and plenty of inexperience looking to build quickly, the Panthers will depend on their upperclassmen and look the way of Haley Johnson to lead the charge. Johnson is easily the most experience returner and has recorded the most games played (64), games started (59), goals (19), assists (17), shots (122), and career points (55) of any player on the roster. Natalie Auble, currently listed in the junior class, has the second-most points/goals/assists with a 10-7-27 statline heading into 2022.

AN IMPRESSIVE LIST TO TOP
Let's be honest, the Panthers have been very good since the start of the 2017 campaign. How good? Well, at 77-8-7 (.875), they actually have the BEST winning percentage in the nation over that span in NCAA play heading into 2022. The only one who had been higher is 2019 & 2017 NCAA National Champion Stanford, but they are now in third at 88-15-5 (.838) over the same time frame following a 13-6-1 campaign in 2021. No. 2 on that list is now North Carolina (92-14-8/.842), with UCLA (83-13-12/.824), Georgetown (74-11-18/.806), and Duke (76-19-15/.759) to follow.

TOPS IN THE LAND (OR CLOSE!)
The 2021 campaign will go down in the record books as one of the most successful in program history, setting numerous records in addition to being one of the highest-ranked teams in the country in numerous NCAA categories.

The Panthers finished FIRST in the NCAA in:
Assists Per Game (3.81 apg)
Shutout Percentage (.762)
Save Percentage (.893)
Goals-Against Average (0.374)
Points Per Game (9.81)
Total Assists (80)

Other high ranks include:
Scoring Offense (3.0 gpg/2nd)
Win-Loss % (.905/2nd)
Total Points (206/3rd)
Shots on Goal Per Game (9.86 SOGPG/3rd)
Total Goals (63/5th)
Shots Per Game (19.33/10th)

In addition, the team had a pair of players crowned NCAA statistical champions following the conclusion of the season. Gaby Schwartz received top honors in both assists-per-game (0.90apg) as well as total assists (school-record 19). In goal, Elaina LaMacchia notched the top spot with her 0.424 goals-against average and just missed in save percentage, finishing second with her .882 mark.

RECAPPING THE 2021 NCAA TRIP
The Panthers made their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 14th with the Horizon League's automatic berth last fall. Milwaukee made previous tournament trips in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008-13, 2018, 2019, and 2020. The team has previously been sent to Minnesota (1997), Madison (2009/2019), Ann Arbor (2013), Santa Clara (2018), Notre Dame three times (2006, 2008, 2012) and across town to Marquette four times (2001-02, 2005, 2010). They also hosted their 2011 first-round match.

With the win over Xavier, the team has now posted an all-time mark in the event of 3-15-2, also claiming a 1-0 decision over Elon in 2020 and a 3-0 victory over Illinois State at home in 2011 in addition to advancing to the second round following PK shootouts in both 2006 (T, 0-0 vs. Michigan/advance 5-3) and 2005 (T, 0-0 vs. Purdue/advance 6-5).

HOW THEY GOT HERE
The Panthers earned the Horizon League's automatic bid by posting back-to-back shutouts of Green Bay and Oakland by identical 2-0 scorelines. Horizon League Tournament MVP Lesley Kiesling scored in both, including the eventual winner in the semifinal victory over the Phoenix. She then added an insurance strike in the 76th minute to put the title game away against Oakland. Goalkeeper Elaina LaMacchia went 180 scoreless minutes, making a total of seven saves in the pair of matches. Kiesling and LaMacchia were joined on the All-Tournament Team by Rachel Phillpotts and Maggy Henschler.

Milwaukee then advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history (and second-straight year) with a 1-0 defeat of #14 Xavier. Taylor Hattori found the back of the net in the 16th minute and Elaina LaMacchia did the rest, recording five saves – including an incredible game-saver late – to record her ninth individual shutout of the fall, as well as the 15th total clean sheet she has been a major part of this season.

CHAMPS. AGAIN.
In a battle of league unbeatens, the 9-0 Panthers topped the 8-0-1 Golden Grizzlies Oct. 23 of last season, giving Milwaukee the regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed and hosting right for the Horizon League Tournament. The regular-season title was the sixth in the past seven years for MKE, a span that has seen the team go 57-2-4. In addition, the team has now won the regular-season title 20 times since 2000 (all but 2020 and 2014) and 21 total times overall.

HANG TEN
The victory over Oakland Oct. 23 not only gave Milwaukee the regular-season title, but also extended its winning streak to 10 games on the season. It's the fifth time in program history a winning streak reached double-figures and also makes them the first Horizon League team to post a double-figure win league slate. The streak then reached 11 with the 1-0 win over Green Bay Oct. 27 and a new mark of 13 was established with two wins in the league championship. It reached 14 with the NCAA First-Round victory before coming to a close.
14 straight wins: 2021  |#|  11 straight wins: 2019 and 2006  |#|  10 straight: 2017 and 2009

A BIG HUGE PILE OF POSTSEASON WARDS
Following a perfect 11-0 run through the year to claim the Horizon League regular-season title, Milwaukee made a significant haul of the major awards, highlighted by Mackenzie Schill being named the Horizon League Player of the Year, as well as the Offensive Player of the Year. Rachel Phillpotts was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year, and Elaina LaMacchia as the Goalkeeper of the Year to round out the top honors for the program. In all, seven different student-athletes were selected for postseason honors: Schill, Phillpotts, LaMacchia, and Gaby Schwartz were Horizon League First-Team members, Jelena Sever was named to the Second-Team, and Clara Broecker and Kat Van Booven were picked for the All-Freshman Team.
 
Schill is Milwaukee's first HL Player of the Year since Kelly Lewers in 2013 and the 11th all-time. She is the fourth Offensive Player of the Year, the first since Lewers' same honor in 2013. Phillpotts gives the MKE defense its seventh Defensive Player of the Year in program history, and the fourth in the past five seasons, with McKaela Schmelzer the most recent in 2019. LaMacchia is just the second Goalkeeper of the Year for the Panthers and the first in 10 years, joining Jamie Forbes on the list (2011).

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
Jelena Sever became a national highlight last year when she established a new NCAA record for quickest goal to start a match in women's soccer history against YSU, sending the opening kickoff into the net in just three seconds. That broke the WSOC DI standard of :04, which had been done in both 2009 (by Purdue) and 2006 (North Carolina). It got her the No. 4 spot on ESPN SportsCenter's "Top 10 Plays of the Day" and also garnered the "Play of the Day" on Good Morning America. The accompanying ESPN Instagram post has gone a bit viral and been liked close to 750,000 times. The ESPN tweet has been viewed over 400,000 times and liked over 10,000 times, totaling well over 1,000,000 engagements between the two.

A look around all levels of NCAA soccer shows just where Sever's epic strike ranks, tying the all-time mark with the three seconds with men's NCAA DIII (set in 2016) and women's NCAA DII (also 2016). It is quicker than MSOC DI (:06 set in 2008), WSOC DIII (:06 in 2004), and MSOC DII (:04 in 1998). It's the second time that Sever made the MKE all-time list in 2021, making her first entry 47 seconds into the victory over Eastern Kentucky Aug. 27 when she one-timed a cross from Natalie Auble into the back of the net early that afternoon. Sever also picked up Horizon League Player of the Week honors Sept. 7, following back-to-back games in which she netted the game-winning goal. It marked the fifth time she has won the honor in her career.

1.    0:03    9/26/21      Youngstown St.     Jelena Sever
2.    0:26    10/27/98      Loyola      Katie Waltenberger
3.    0:40    8/21/11      DePaul      Kelly Lewers
4.    0:41    9/30/94      Butler      Lisa Krzykowski
5.    0:44    9/28/16      Valparaiso      Anna Smalley
6.    0:47    8/27/21      Eastern Ky.      Jelena Sever

PUTTING THE "O" IN OFFENSE
The Panthers were quite impressive all season a year ago, and the back-to-back 7-0 victories over Cleveland State and Youngstown State to close September of 2021 were actually unprecedented. Never before in program history had the team posted back-to-back games of seven-plus goals. In fact, a look back will show that the team had never even posted six-plus before and haven't gone for five goals in back-to-back games since the 1995 campaign (they did it twice that fall). Five-plus has been done just three times overall. The most recent occurrence was six against Wright State and five against Loyola Chicago at the end of September, 1995. MKE scored five-plus goals in a game on six different occasions last fall for a new program record - the prior best was five such occurrences in 2009.

THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR
Milwaukee recorded a 1-0 victory over #14 Xavier to advance in the NCAA Tournament. That 1-0 scoreline has a familiar ring to it, as the team has been simply amazing in games featuring that final score recently. Since 2015, the Panthers have played 31 games that ended 1-0 (either way). Their record? An impressive 26-6 in those pressure-packed outings, including against Marquette earlier this season.

SETTING THE TONE
Milwaukee continued its recent trend of picking up victories after getting on the board first. The Panthers went a perfect 9-0 when finding the back of the net first in 2020, which included a 7-0 mark when leading at halftime. That now improves the squad to 77-0 the past five-plus seasons (includes a 17-0 mark in 2021) after getting the first goal of a game after a 17-0 ledger in 2019, 16-0 in 2018, and 14-0 in 2017. The last time the Panthers lost (or even tied) a match in which they scored first was the 2016 Horizon League Tournament title game against Northern Kentucky (Nov. 5, 2016), a contest they led 2-0 early before falling, 3-2. They are also 65-1-7 when outshooting their opponent in that same span, getting outshot just 16 times over the five-plus year stretch.

WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!
Milwaukee went 5-1-4 at home back in 2015. Since then, the Panthers have posted an impressive 52-6-4 ledger at Engelmann Stadium (an .871 winning percentage), including a perfect 11-0 run through home outings in fall of 2019 and a 13-1 mark last fall.

CATCH THEM IN ACTION
Milwaukee women's soccer will be available for the viewing pleasure of MKE fans this season, as all six home games are scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+ (subject to change due to weather and location). 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 season, 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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 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
Horizon League play rolls on, taking on Cleveland State at home Thursday before traveling to play Youngstown State on the road Sunday.