Detroit-Milwaukee Highlights Conference Schedule

Horizon League Women's Soccer Schedule

Only three conference matches are slated in the Horizon League this weekend, but Sunday's Detroit-Milwaukee matchup could go a long way to helping decide the 2011 regular season champion.

Regionally ranked for the first time in program history (No. 10, Great Lakes), Detroit (8-3-1, 1-0-0 Horizon) enters Sunday's clash (2 p.m. ET, Horizon League Network) as the League's top scoring team, having scored 37 goals on the year. Taking out the Titans' two matches against non-Division I opponents, Detroit has still netted 21 goals, which still paces the League. Among the top 10 points scorers in the League, the Titans boast five - Abby McCollum (18), Alyssa Riley (14), Sarah Dzuris (12), Lauren Roffey (11) and Kaitlyn Quarrell (10).

In net, Nora Abolins has been solid, making 30 saves in her seven matches, holding a 1.13 goals against average.

Abolins will need another strong outing on Sunday, as No. 15 Milwaukee (8-1-0, 1-0-0 Horizon) holds its own on offense, potting 19 goals against one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the region. Sitting atop the Great Lakes region rankings, the Panthers are led by two-time League Player of the Year Sarah Hagen, who has upped her output with 11 goals and 24 points through the year's first nine matches.  Keara Thompson and Helen Steinhauser have controlled the middle of the field, handing out six and four assists, respectively.

Across from Abolins will be Jamie Forbes, who has been outstanding for the Panthers, swatting aside 40 shots on goal and recording a stellar 0.65 GAA.

Milwaukee will need to not look ahead to Sunday's match, as Western Illinois visits Engelmann Stadium on Friday at 8 p.m. ET, with HLN providing live coverage.

Friday's other match will see Valparaiso (5-3-1) kick off the Crusader Classic against visiting Campbell at 8:30 p.m. ET. The tournament is the first in-season tournament hosted by Valpo, with IUPUI and Air Force also participating. Rachel Hoaglin earned the first Horizon League Player of the Week honor of her career this past Monday after scoring a pair of match-winning goals for the Crusaders against Green Bay and Bowling Green.  Hoaglin leads the team with five goals, fourth best in the Horizon League, while ranking fifth with 11 total points. The junior has found the back of the net in four straight matches, in which Valpo has gone 3-0-1.

The Crusaders will meet Air Force on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET to wrap up the tournament.

Saturday's lone match will see the lights turned on at the Butler Bowl for the first time, as Wright State (5-3-2, 0-0-1 Horizon) travels to Butler (5-5-0, 0-1-0 Horizon) for a 7:30 p.m. ET clash. The match will be the third contest of the day at the Bowl, part of Butler's "Triple Dawg Dare" throughout the day. Both teams have utilized balanced attacks to this point in the season, as Bekah Bonny and Brittany Persaud share the WSU points lead with 9 apiece, while Katie Griswold (8 points) and Jackie Hafele (7) are separated by a lone point for the Butler lead.

Last season, Butler used a 1-0 win against the Raiders to get off to a quick start to the League season, one that resulted in a regular season co-championship for the Bulldogs. Wright State would knock off Milwaukee later in the year (just as Butler did) in finishing third before the Panthers cruised through the League Tournament.

Conference play for the weekend will wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, when Green Bay (2-7-2, 0-1- Horizon) hosts Cleveland State (7-3-0, 0-1-0 Horizon). Phoenix keeper Maddie Drusch is on the cusp of setting a new saves record, having turned in 350 during her four-year career. Drush is three shy of breaking the school record held by Laura Sandt (1994-97). In addition, the senior has 14 career shutouts, a figure that ranks second on the school's all-time list behind Barb Singer (17.5 shutouts, 1990-93).

The Vikings have been scoring goals at a record pace this year with 18 tallies through the first 10 matches of the season. It is the most goals by a CSU squad through nine matches to open a season. The school record for goals in a season is 24, which was set last year. A main reason for that has been the play of senior Natalie Daniels, who is ranked second in the Horizon League with six assists this year. Daniels is closing in on the CSU single season record of seven, held by Lisa Conway (2006).

Around the League:
- Loyola and Youngstown State both hit the road for non-conference play this weekend. The Ramblers head to College Station, Texas, to meet Texas A&M on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. The Aggies are receiving votes in the NSCAA Top 25 and are the No. 6 team in the Central Region rankings.
- YSU travels across Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, where the Penguins take on the Quakers of Penn. Jade Flory will look to continue her strong freshman season, ranking second in the League in goals (6) and third in points (15).