The Milwaukee women’s soccer team has been selected by league coaches to finish first in the upcoming Horizon League regular season, according to the Under Armour preseason poll released by the league office.
Milwaukee received 10 first-place votes and earned the maximum 120 points in the coaches’ poll. Northern Kentucky followed in second place with 105 points. This selection marks the seventh time in eight seasons that Milwaukee has been chosen as the preseason favorite, and it is their 22nd top selection since 2000. The program also held a streak of 13 consecutive years at number one from 2000 to 2012.
Head coach Kevin Boyd led Milwaukee to both Horizon League regular-season and tournament titles in his first year, then repeated those achievements and returned the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament for a 17th time in program history in both 2023 and again in 2024. Boyd’s record over three years stands at 36-14-10 (.683 winning percentage), including a strong mark of 26-1-6 (.879) in regular-season Horizon League games.
In the previous season, Milwaukee posted a record of 12-7-2 overall and went unbeaten with a near-perfect mark of 9-0-1 during conference play. The team led all statistical categories within conference matches, including shots (221), shots per game (10.2), shots on goal (102), total points (88), goals (28), and assists (32). Defensively, they recorded eight shutouts out of ten matches and allowed an average of just 0.20 goals per game, which was significantly ahead of other teams.
Nationally, Milwaukee finished among NCAA leaders: eleventh in scoring offense (2.38 goals per game), points per game (7.24), and assists per game (2.48); fifteenth in total points (152); twelfth in total assists (52); and seventeenth in total goals (50). Individual honors included Lainey Higgins as Horizon League Player of the Year, Parker Donahugh as Goalkeeper of the Year, and Kayla Rollins repeating as Offensive Player of the Year. The team also set a program record with six players named to the all-league first team.
Detroit Mercy placed third with one first-place vote and a total of 98 points; Robert Morris was fourth with 80 points; IU Indianapolis and Wright State tied for fifth with 64 points each; Purdue Fort Wayne was seventh at 57; Green Bay eighth at 47; Oakland and Youngstown State tied for ninth at 32; Cleveland State rounded out the poll at eleventh with 27 points.
The full results for the Horizon League preseason poll are:
1. Milwaukee – 120 points (10 first-place votes)
2. Northern Kentucky – 105
3. Detroit Mercy – 98 (1)
4. Robert Morris – 80
T5. IU Indianapolis – 64
T5. Wright State – 64
7. Purdue Fort Wayne – 57
8. Green Bay – 47
T9. Oakland – 32
T9. Youngstown State – 32
11. Cleveland State – 27
