The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer team drew a road game at No. 7 Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the team learned Monday during the tournament selection show.
The Panthers (10-8-1) and the Wolverines (15-3-1) will square off Saturday at U-M Soccer Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. eastern time.
The winner of the matchup will then advance in the bracket to face the winner of Louisville and Illinois State. That part of the tournament will likely be played at second-seeded Marquette, should the Golden Eagles advance to that point.
Milwaukee is making its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and a school-record sixth straight. UWM has squared off against the Wolverines one other time in the NCAA Tournament, playing to a scoreless draw in 2006 before the Panthers advanced on penalty kicks, 5-3. All time, Milwaukee is 1-2-1 against Michigan.
This season, U-M is 15-3-1. The Wolverines got an at-large berth into the tournament and were ranked seventh in the NSCAA National Poll released last week.
The Panthers are 10-8-1 on the season and were the top seed in the Horizon League Tournament after winning their 14th-straight regular season title with a 6-1 league mark. Milwaukee hosted the league tournament and won its semifinal match against Detroit, 3-0, before taking down Oakland in a thrilling championship game, 4-3. Kelly Lewers was named tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by Krissy Dorre, Kelsey Holbert and Maria Stephans. Lewers was also named Horizon League Player of the Year and was joined on the all-league first team by Holbert and Dorre. Amy Kauffung and Sara Stern were all-league second team honorees. The Panthers also had three members on the all-freshman team in Kelly Manski, Alleina Szydlowski and Paige Lincicum.
Milwaukee is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 10th with the Horizon League's automatic berth. The Panthers made previous tournament trips in 1997, 2001-2002, 2005-06 and 2008-12.
(Release courtesy of Tim Prahl, Milwaukee Athletics)
