DEKALB, Ill. – The 2019 season for the Northern Illinois University women's soccer team will officially kickoff on Saturday, August 25, as the Huskies travel north to meet Milwaukee. Game time between the Huskies and Panthers is slated for 7 p.m., and the contest will be available on ESPN+. 

"We are excited for our first regular season game and to kick off the campaign officially," said NIU head coach Julie Colhoff. "The biggest thing I am looking for from our team is, first and foremost, to showcase their tenacity and their grit, and then to be able to back that up with the execution of the tactics and the game plan. Throughout preseason we were able to get a lot of minutes and experience for different people, so hopefully that will pay off heading into this match."

NIU returns 17 players from last season's roster, 14 of whom have made at least one start in their Huskie career. Senior Kelsey Chope (San Jose, Calif./Leland) has played in 59 matches during her career at NIU, starting all but one of those contests. A two-time Academic All-MAC honoree, Chope was one of just two players, along with sophomore Kylee Hermeyer (Dixon, Ill./Dixon), to start all 19 games in 2018. 

Along with Chope, two other Huskies seniors, Jennie Nailor (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) and Abby Gregg (Brookfield, Wis./Brookfield East), come into the 2019 season with more than 50 career games played. Nailor has seen action in 58 contests while at NIU, starting all 58, while Gregg has played in 55 matches, making 30 career starts, and has scored four career goals. 

Gregg is one of five Huskie goal scorers from a season ago that returns for the 2019 season. Gregg, along with sophomore Trudy Quidzinski (Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) and senior Kyleigh Dominguez (Geneva, Ill./Cincinnati), each found the back of the net twice in 2018 while Chope and junior Amanda Czerniak (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) both scored once a season ago. 

In goal, NIU welcomes back two players who both saw action a season ago in junior Megan Donnally (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) and sophomore Julia Lentz (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook). Donnally ranked third in the Mid-American Conference last season in saves per game, making 5.77 per contest in her 13 matches played.  

Along with its 17 returnees, the Huskies have added eight newcomers to the roster in 2019, including a trio of in-state products: Nicolette Gossage (Moneka, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central), Abby McHugh (Wauconda, Ill./Wauconda) and Julia Neary (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills). 

Sunday's season opener for the Huskies will be the second match of the season for Milwaukee, who opened the season with a 2-1 victory over DePaul on Thursday (Aug. 22). The Panthers recorded a 16-2-1 mark last season, winning the Horizon League regular season and tournament crowns. 

"Starting with Milwaukee excites me; I love playing at Milwaukee," said Colhoff. "I think they have a hellacious atmosphere which, for competitors, brings out the best in you. As a team, that is a great opportunity for us to showcase what we are made of, both on the field as well as character-wise and mentality-wise. I'm looking forward to seeing our leaders lead and then our freshmen playing some big roles as well."

Following Sunday's trip to Milwaukee, the Huskies will return home to host Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday, August 30, in the home opener at 7 p.m.