UWM's women's soccer team one of two unbeaten teams in nation

Gary D'Amato
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
UWM women's soccer midfielder Anna Smalley leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 21 points.

And then there were two.

UW-Milwaukee’s women’s soccer team is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the nation. The Panthers are 12-0-3 and UCLA is 12-0-2.

It would be understandable if the Panthers got caught up in their school-record unbeaten streak of 15 games. But that would be counter to their collective mindset and might affect the way they play, so they politely steer the conversation in another direction.

“Honestly, that’s not even on my mind,” said senior midfielder Anna Smalley, who leads the team in scoring with eight goals and 21 points.

“Obviously, we want to stay unbeaten but we have to focus on each game,” said redshirt senior goalie Mallory Geurts.

That’s because as well as they’ve played the Panthers can’t afford to let down their guard. In a bit of a statistical oddity, while they are unbeaten overall they are third in the Horizon League at 4-0-2. IUPUI is 6-0 (13-2 overall) and Northern Kentucky is 5-0-1 (8-4-1).

And it’s showdown time as UWM hosts IUPUI at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Engelmann Stadium. After that, only two regular-season games remain before the conference tournament.

The Panthers’ success starts with defense. They’ve outscored their opponents, 33-4, and are ranked No. 2 in the nation in goals against average (0.255).

UWM women's soccer goalie Mallory Geurts is second nationally with 11 shutouts this season.

Geurts is second nationally with 11 shutouts. She started the season with a shutout streak of 917:25 – the ninth-best mark in NCAA Division I history – before Marquette scored in the 86th minute in a 2-1 Panthers victory Sept. 17.

“It’s not just the defense, it’s the entire group,” said coach Troy Fabiano. “One thing we stress is our first line of defense is our forwards. Trying to get forwards to buy into defense sometimes is not the easiest thing.”

Said Smalley, “Troy does a good job of making you understand that if you don’t play defense, you’re not going to play.”

Fabiano has an impressive track record. He compiled a .770 winning percentage (222-74-29) in 17 years at UW-Parkside before taking over at UWM in 2015.

In his third season as coach of the UWM women's soccer team, Troy Fabiano is 36-8-9 overall and 20-1-3 in Horizon League play.

Now in his third season, Fabiano is 36-8-9 overall and 20-1-3 in Horizon League play. The Panthers lost in the conference tournament title game last year.

“He just produces winning teams,” said Geurts, who played for Fabiano at Parkside and transferred to UWM. “He gets players that are determined, that want to work hard. He gets players who are dedicated to the program. I think that’s a big thing.”

Fabiano said an important part of his coaching philosophy was to involve his players in the decision-making process.

“I think it’s a group effort,” he said. “It’s the players having a say in it. They need to feel entitled to something. I’m very big on having captains pick everything from the uniforms to where we eat. I’m just open to having them have a say as opposed to, ‘This is how we’re going to do it.’

“I like to keep things simple. Sometimes I think people get too technical and tactical about things. At the end of the day it’s a game. It’s about scoring goals and not letting the other team score goals.”

The Panthers have been pretty good at both.