MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's soccer team will play No. 12 Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The postseason contest will take place November 10 in Madison, set for a kickoff of 7 p.m.
 
Full NCAA Bracket (PDF)
 
The team found out its first-round matchup late this afternoon at a viewing party on the UWM campus when the field and bracket for the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship were announced by the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Committee on NCAA.com.
 
"I am really proud of this team and can't tell them that enough," head coach Kevin Boyd said. "This makes six years in a row (to the NCAA Tournament) and a second-straight year with me. Last year, we were kind of the 'Cinderella' team and had a lot to overcome. This year we were expected to win it and sometimes that is much tougher. Credit to this team. They went undefeated in conference and haven't lost in 12 games – that is pretty special."
 
The Panthers (12-3-3) and the Badgers (13-4-4), who are a No. 4 seed in the tournament, will square off Friday, November 10 at McClimon Soccer Complex in Madison. The winner of the match will face the winner of the match between Texas (15-4-2) and Lamar (15-2-3) the following weekend.
 
"We want to win our first-round game and now we know who we are facing," Boyd said. "We know them – we saw them last spring and last fall. We know they are very good and it's going to be a hard game. It will be a battle and we are looking forward to it."

The Panthers are making their 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 16th with the Horizon League's automatic berth. Milwaukee made previous tournament trips in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008-13, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. This will be the third time MKE will face Wisconsin.
 
Milwaukee enters the NCAA Tournament at 12-2-5 and is on an 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3), including wins in three consecutive contests that wrapped up this weekend with a 5-0 blowout over Robert Morris in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals and a 1-0 shutout over Northern Kentucky in the title game, led by the only goal of the contest scored by Horizon League Tournament Most Valuable Player Brooke Parnello.
 
Parnello, who was named second-team all-league, had a goal in each game (2G/1A) of the postseason in upping her point total on the season to a career-best 11 (4G/3A). She is one of six players to record double-figure points, led by Horizon League Player of the Year and league offensive player of the year Kayla Rollins.
 
Rollins leads the league with her 26 points and 12 goals, checking in at No. 20 in the NCAA in total goals as well as in the top 50 in points.
 
She was joined on the all-league first team by Lainey Higgins, Kat Van Booven, and Clara Broecker, as well as Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year Kendall Edwards. Higgins and Van Booven each recorded 18 points (6G/6A) to tie for fifth in the conference on the scoring list. Broecker added 12 points (4G/4A) from her spot along the back line.
 
In net, Edwards has been on an impressive run down the stretch and currently has posted a 0.85 goals-against average and .808 save percentage on the season. She has eight shutouts, including the 1-0 victory in the league title game Saturday, earning her a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
 
Wisconsin checks in at 13-4-4 on the season after falling to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament title game. The Badgers were ranked No. 12 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches National poll and were the #3 seed in that league event following a 7-2-1 run through league action. First Team All-Big Ten forward Emma Jaskaniec leads the Badgers with 26 points on 11 goals and four assists. Forward Aryssa Mahrt is next with 17 points on five goals and a team-high seven assists.
 
Paula Wilkins, the winningest coach in UW program history, is in her 17th season as head coach of the Wisconsin program. Her defense has also played a strong role this season, posting a 0.62 goals-against average as a team, led by goalkeeper Erin McKinney's 0.65 GAA and .819 save percentage. McKinney was named third team all-conference.
 
In the past, MKE has also been sent to Minnesota (1997), Madison (2009/2019), Ann Arbor (2013), California (2018), North Carolina (2020), Ohio (2021), Notre Dame three times (2006, 08, 12) and across town to Marquette four times (2001-02, 2005, 2010). They also hosted their 2011 first-round match.
 
First-round action will be played Nov. 10-12, while the second/third rounds will be held Nov. 17 and 19, with the quarterfinals on Nov. 24 or 25. The 42nd annual NCAA Women's College Cup will be played on Dec. 1 and 4 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with the University of North Carolina and Town of Cary, serving as hosts. The first national semifinal will be played and broadcast live on ESPNU at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 1, followed by the second semifinal beginning at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET live on ESPNU. The national championship match will take place at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 5 and will also broadcast live on ESPNU.