DEKALB, Ill. -- First-year Northern Illinois University head coach Julie Colhoff announced the 2018 Huskie women's soccer schedule on Tuesday. Highlighted by nine home games, the Huskies will kickoff the season with a home exhibition contest on Friday, Aug. 10 against Creighton. 

Following the exhibition, the Huskies will begin the 2018 regular season at Milwaukee on Friday, Aug. 17. The champions of the Horizon League a season ago, Milwaukee went 16-0-4 in 2017, falling on penalty kicks in the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament. 

The regular season home opener will take place on Thursday, Aug. 23 as the Huskies host Western Illinois before hitting the road for three-straight games. The road trip will begin at Illinois on Aug. 26 before a two-game trip west as NIU travels to New Mexico State (Aug. 31) and UTEP (Sept. 7).

NIU hosts Green Bay (Sept. 7) and Eastern Illinois (Sept. 9) before closing its non-conference slate on Friday, Sept. 14, at 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament finalist Northern Iowa. 

The 11-game Mid-American Conference slate will begin with a pair of home games for the Huskies as they host Buffalo on Friday, Sept. 21, and Akron on Sunday, Sept. 23. 

Three of the next four matches will be on the road for NIU, starting at Bowling Green on Friday, Sept. 28 before visiting 2017 MAC Tournament champions Toledo on Sunday, Sept. 30. Following a home date with Ball State on Thursday, Oct. 4, the Huskies will visit Miami on Sunday, Oct. 7. 

The final home weekend of the regular season will see the Huskies host Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 12 and Central Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 14. 

NIU's final three regular season matches will all be on the road, beginning with a trip to Athens, Ohio to meet the Bobcats on Thursday, Oct. 18. The Huskies will then face 2017 MAC regular season champions Kent State on Sunday, Oct. 21, before closing the regular season at Western Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 25. 

The MAC Tournament will begin on Sunday, Oct. 28, with the quarterfinals, the highest remaining seed will then host the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2, and the final on Sunday, Nov. 4.