If UIC puts together its first winning streak of the season, they will have done what no other Horizon League team has been able to accomplish this year: knocking off first-place Milwaukee.

The Panthers have lost just once this year – in double overtime to Wisconsin – and have outscored their six conference foes 22-2.  Four players have at least seven goals, and Gaby Schwartz leads the nation in assists.  David Nikolic acknowledged their firepower, saying, "They're an excellent side.  They score goals in bunches.  They're very aggressive going forward.  They take full advantage of their facility and the beautiful field they have. 

"There's a lot of things in their favor, but the game still has to be played," he continued.  "So we're going to put the game plan together in a way that we think we can minimize some of their strengths."

The Flames found strength in Kaitlyn Montague.  The sophomore scored the first two goals of her career in UIC's 2-0 win over Robert Morris Thursday.  She now shares the program's single-game records for goals and assists – having posted three helpers against Robert Morris last season.

UIC's defense has also grown as a strength.  Lena Kurz and Sara Sanabria split the shutout of the Colonials, and UIC has blanked two straight conference foes.  As a team, the Flames are in the top four in the conference in save percentage and goals-against average.

UIC has not played Milwaukee since the 2019 Horizon League championship match.  The teams were schedule to play in Chicago last season, but coronavirus issues scrapped that match.  That means that 18 current Flames have never played the Panthers, who have won every meeting in series history.

The match will start at 1:00 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.