July 2, 2012

MILWAUKEE - Contests against four NCAA Tournament teams and a seven-game home schedule featuring the 38th Panther Invitational highlight the 2012 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer schedule, released today by head coach Kris Kelderman.

The Panthers open the new campaign early, heading to Valley Fields to take on Marquette for the Milwaukee Cup on August 24. The contest against the Big East Division champions equals the earliest date for a season opener in program history, tying the start date of the 1991 campaign.

2012 Men's Soccer Schedule

Four of their opponents played in the NCAA Tournament last year. In addition to Loyola, which earned the Horizon League's automatic bid, the Panthers will also travel to Atlantic-10 champion Xavier on Sept. 9. They will also take on Northern Illinois (15-6-0 in 2011) Sept. 14 and Northwestern (11-5-5) Sept. 16, as part of participation in the Big Ten champ's weekend invitational.

The home opener is set for August 26, when Milwaukee welcomes Northern Kentucky (14-5-0 in 2011) to Engelmann Stadium for a noon kickoff.

That sets the stage for the 38th Panther Invitational, taking place Aug. 31-Sept. 2. UWM welcomes Eastern Illinois, Canisius and IUPUI to the historical tournament, taking on IUPUI Friday at 7:30 p.m. and wrapping up the weekend against EIU at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Northwestern Lakeside Classic will take place Sept. 14-16, with a unique location for the LeWang Trophy showdown against Northern Illinois - which advanced to the second round of the NCAA's a year ago - as part of the weekend, scheduled for Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m. It will be a weekend full of challenges, closing out play against the host Wildcats at 2 p.m. Sunday, a team that won the Big Ten's regular season and tournament titles in 2011.

A road contest at Bowling Green Sept. 25 is the final match before Horizon League play. The Panthers open conference action at Loyola Sept. 29 before traveling to play Green Bay (11-7-1 in 2011) for the Chancellor's Cup. Milwaukee is then home for the start of October, welcoming UIC (9-7-3) on Oct. 6.

A break in league action is next, heading to Madison to take on the Badgers (10-8-2, second in Big Ten) Oct. 10 in front of a home game against Nebraska-Omaha Oct. 16.

Final league contests include trips to Cleveland State (9-9-1) Oct. 20 and Wright State (11-7-2) Oct. 27. Final home games see Detroit (5-12-1) at Engelmann Oct. 24 and the final game of the regular season against last year's conference champ Valparaiso (9-6-5) Nov. 3.

The league tournament is Nov. 6, 9 and 11th and the team starts the new campaign with a home exhibition against DePaul Aug. 20.