Sept. 11, 2012

The Last Meeting Northern Illinois (LeWang Trophy) 0 Milwaukee 1 November 2, 2011 Engelmann Stadium Stevenson Sends Panthers Home A Winner Against Huskies Freshman Zach Stevenson scored the only goal of the game and junior John Shakon made nine saves to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Northern Illinois University Wednesday night at Engelmann Stadium. Recap | Box Score

The Last Meeting Milwaukee 3 Northwestern (EXH) 1 August 27, 2005 Evanston, Ill. Panthers Knock Off Northwestern 3-1 In Exhibition Finale The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team converted each of their first three shots on goal into scores on Saturday afternoon, racing out to a 3-0 lead in defeating Northwestern University 3-1 at the LBT Sports Complex. The victory gives the Panthers a perfect 2-0 preseason record in what was the exhibition finale for both teams. Recap | Box Score

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team remains on the road again this week, traveling to Evanston, Ill., for a weekend of games at the Northwestern Lakeside Classic. Milwaukee joins the host Wildcats, Northern Illinois and Iona in the four-team event, playing NIU Friday and then taking on nationally-ranked Northwestern to close out the weekend Sunday.

UWM Game Notes

Friday's match has a bit more riding on it, as the annual matchup with the Huskies is always for the LeWang Cup, which UWM regained with a 1-0 victory in the series in 2011. The contest will be the first neutral field for the series since 2003 and just the second one all-time. It will mark the 39th showdown between the regional foes and former Midwestern Collegiate Conference rivals. The winner of the match claims the John LeWang Cup, which is named after the former NIU coach who was killed in a car accident prior to the 1981 season.

Live statistics of both weekend matches will be available via GameTracker on the UWM website. A live blog and in-game updates on Twitter will also be provided by Assistant SID Chris Zills.

Sunday's matchup will be the second in three games against a nationally-ranked foe, as NU is in all the polls and as high as No. 18 by College Soccer News. The Panthers have a dominating record of 15-2-1 all-time against Northwestern, but the two teams have not played since 2002.

In addition, the Panthers are receiving votes in the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional poll (for the second week in a row) for the first time since September of last season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
NIU: The Huskies are still without a victory (0-2-2) after starting the season ranked in most polls.

They return eight starters from last season's MAC Tournament Championship team, including senior goalkeeper Jordan Godsey and leading scorer, junior forward James Stevenson. Godsey started all 21 matches for the Huskies in goal last season and recorded 12 shutouts with a 0.70 goals against average. Stevenson scored a team-high 15 points with a team-best six goals.

NIU finished last season with a 15-6-0 record and reached as high as No. 13 in the adidas/NSCAA national ranking and No. 16 in the RPI. The Huskies finished the season ranked No. 24 in the RPI.

Northwestern: The Wildcats are 3-0-2 in 2012 after going 11-5-5 and winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in 2011. They have been picked to repeat as league champs in the 2012 preseason poll as well.

Under the direction of 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year Tim Lenahan, NU returns a strong core from last year's championship squad that posted an unbeaten 4-0-2 record in conference action. Nine starters, including All-Big Ten honorees sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Miller, senior midfielder Chris Ritter, junior midfielder Lepe Seetane and sophomore defender Nikko Boxall are back in 2012.

XAVIER PULLS AWAY
Milwaukee had just one game last week and had its three-game winning streak come to an end against #25 Xavier. Freshman Stuart McBain tied the game at 1-1 about 15 minutes after the half, but XU scored less than five minutes later to retake the lead and added a final goal in the last minute in the 3-1 decision. UWM is now 0-9-2 in its past 11 games against nationally-ranked opponents since its last victory (a 1-0 win over Northern Illinois in 2005).

HISTORY IS ON UWM'S SIDE
Milwaukee went 2-0 to claim the title at the 38th Panther Invitational. Both UWM and Canisius posted a pair of wins, but the Panthers had a goal differential at +3 to repeat as team champions.

The Panthers had not played the part of gracious tournament host in the past 37 versions, owning a 52-20-2 all-time record in the event while earning the tourney title in 22 of 37 tries. After claiming the team title again in 2012, UWM has now been the champion in this event in eight of the last 14 years it has been held.

RING THE BELL
Sophomore Laurie Bell was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 4 after tallying two goals and one assist in UWM's 2-0 week. The honor was a career-first.

Bell scored in three games in a row and was looking to be the first UWM player to find the back of the net in four straight since Antou Jallow last accomplished the feat in November of 2004. A year ago, Robert Refai also had a similar stretch of three games. The goal-scoring streak was snapped at Xavier Sept 9, but he did have an assist to record at least one point in four games in a row. The last UWM player to record a goal or assist in five straight games was Zeke Dombrowski in 2007.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
The Panthers have now recorded 97 shots through the first five games of the season and lead the Horizon League in shots per game at 19.4. Detroit ranks a distant second at 12.0.

Milwaukee has three of the top five in the league in the category, with sophomore Laurie Bell leading the conference with 19 shots. In addition, sophomore Zach Stevenson is third (16) and freshman Aaron Horvat is tied for fifth (13). Lastly, Milwaukee is first in the league in points (28), goals (10) and assists (8).

SCORING IN BUNCHES
UWM has scored at least two goals in four out of five games in 2012 and lead the Horizon League in that category with 10 overall (Detroit is now second with nine). In addition to leading the league in goals, the squad also leads in total points with 28 (UDM again second with 26) and assists with eight (four-way tie).

For perspective, UWM scored 27 goals in 18 games in 2011 for an average of 1.5. It had 17 goals in 2011 and had just 12 over the course of the 2009 campaign. At this rate, Milwaukee will score its highest amount of goals in quite some time. The Panthers netted 17 goals in 2008, 16 in 2007 and 26 in 2006. The last time a Milwaukee squad averaged two goals per game or better was in 2004, when it tallied 44 goals in 22 games.

The Panthers have now already seven different players score goals and 10 different players record points this season. Once again for comparison, as recently as 2009, those numbers were eight goal scorers and nine point scorers over the course of the entire season.

THEY LIKE THE "S" IN GOALS
The multi-goal efforts from the Panthers so far in 2012 cannot be overlooked, as they had a streak of four-straight games with at least two goals snapped at Xavier Sept. 9 when they only netted one. UWM has had some high-powered offenses over the years, but the last time Milwaukee scored two goals (or more) in four straight games was the end of the 2004 campaign when it beat Cleveland State (4-0), Wright State (3-0), Detroit (3-0) and #20 San Francisco in the NCAA Tournament (3-2).

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 18-17-5 all-time in season openers, including a 13-12-3 ledger in road openers after the heartbreaking 3-2 loss at Marquette Aug. 24. Prior to a win in 2010, the Panthers had been a bit jinxed in their season opener the past few years, not having come out on top since the 2003 season in going 0-4-2 from 2004-09.

Head coach Kris Kelderman had one season opener under his belt at the collegiate level prior to last week. A year ago, his Green Bay squad topped SIU Edwardsville, 1-0.

89:59
For the second time this season, Milwaukee played in a game where the winning goal was scored as the horn sounded to end regulation, with freshman Pol Narbona thrilling a packed Engelmann Stadium with his goal against IUPUI Aug. 31. His winning goal went into the books at the 89:59 mark, quickly making happier memories of the buzzer-beater after UWM suffered the same fate at Marquette in the season opener.

If you are a fan of late goals, it can't come any later. Cody Banks scored the memorable game-winner against Green Bay last season with just seven seconds left in double-overtime, making it one of the latest goals to end a match (109:53) in recent memory. Since 2000, only a handful has even come close. UWM and Green Bay are familiar with the late heroics, with their game in 2010 decided in the 109th minute in the win by the Phoenix. Looking back, Milwaukee lost a 2-1 game to Michigan in October of 2005 in the 109th minute.

The other contenders? Vermont edged UWM, 2-1, with just 21 seconds left in double-OT in 2010 and Bowling Green defeated Milwaukee, 2-1, back in the 2001 season with just 15 seconds left in double-overtime as well.

FRESHMAN IMPACT
Freshman Declan Rodriguez did not take long to make an impression as a Panther. Inserted into the lineup at halftime of the game against Marquette Aug. 24, he tallied the first goal of his career just 25 minutes later to give UWM a 2-1 lead at the time. Then, against Northern Kentucky Aug. 26, his header off a corner kick tied the game, 1-1, before Milwaukee would go on to prevail.

In doing so, Rodriguez became the fourth freshman since 2000 to score in the season opener, joining Antou Jallow (2001), Adam Skalecki (2005) and Edison Crespo (2010) on that list. He also became just the second-ever freshman to score in the first two games of the season.

THE BATTLE FOR THE MILWAUKEE CUP
Milwaukee and Marquette play for the "Milwaukee Cup", one of the longest-standing rivalries in all of college soccer. In fact, in the summer of 2011, the College Soccer News website published a list of what they called "The Fourteen Greatest Rivalries in College Soccer." Weighing in at No. 10 on their list was the Milwaukee Cup.

Despite the heartbreaking loss Aug. 24, the Panthers certainly have the upper hand all-time, posting a 27-10-3 record in the series. They had posted back-to-back wins the past two seasons, reclaiming the Cup in 2010 with a 4-2 victory and keeping possession in 2011 with a 2-1 final score.

THEY HAVE ALL OF `EM
Speaking of the "Milwaukee Cup", it is one of the three traveling trophies that the Panthers play for each and every season. In addition, Milwaukee takes on Green Bay for the "Chancellor's Cup" and also play Northern Illinois for the "LeWang Trophy". In 2011, UWM posted wins in all three games (2-1 over Marquette; 3-2 in double-overtime against Green Bay and 1-0 against NIU) to hold all three trophies for the first time since the start of the 2005 campaign.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played just one exhibition contest against outside competition, falling to DePaul, 1-0, Aug. 20. The Panthers outshot the Blue Demons and had plenty of scoring chances, but could not find the back of the net and a goal scored directly off a corner kick in the 59th minute proved the difference.

VIDEO COVERAGE EXTENDED
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will stream 29 home fall sporting events live through the end of October as part of the Horizon League Network. The 29 events during the first two-plus months of the school year mark just the beginning of an extensive streaming schedule for the Panthers through HLN.

Matt Menzl and Nate Lisko return as the two main voices of Panther athletics in the fall. Menzl will call the majority of soccer matches while Lisko will be the voice of Panther volleyball. In addition to the volume of home events, many of UWM's league road events are also available through the Horizon League Network via broadcasts from the host institution. Live streaming of home events is just one part of UWM's extensive online video presence. The Black and Gold Network - the You Tube channel for Panther athletics - will again provide a variety of features, previews, postgame interviews and highlights. Last school year, the Black and Gold Network produced over 300 video features with more than 50,000 page views. Those broadcasts are produced by the home school, with a full listing of those events available at horizonleague.com.

PANTHERS FOUND THE OFFENSE
Overall in 2011, the Panthers featured one of their highest-powered offenses in quite some time. Their 79 points led the Horizon League, with their 1.5 goals per game (27 total goals) second and 1.39 assists per game ranking at the top of the conference. For perspective, UWM scored 17 goals in 2010 and had just 12 total over the course of the 2009 campaign. The team also recorded 272 shots - a total that also placed second in the league.

COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS TABS BOYD
Junior Robbie Boyd earned some national recognition when the website "College Sports Madness" announced its Preseason All-Horizon League squads. Listed among the 22 members of the first and second team was Boyd, selected as a first-team honoree at forward.

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2012, as 16 players out of the 32 on the roster will be putting on a UWM uniform for the first time this season.

In addition to the players that have never put on a UWM uniform before, one addition will be welcomed back. Junior Andrew Wiedabach will return after a season away. Wiedabach has a resume that includes Horizon League All-Newcomer status as a freshman and then first-team all-league honors in 2010 when he led the team in points (13), goals (4), assists (5) and shots (58).

MORE WITH COACH KELDERMAN
Look for a weekly audio podcast of the "Kris Kelderman Show", as we sit down weekly with Kris to revisit the week that was and talk about the upcoming schedule. The first episode was made available Aug. 21 and will follow with a new episode every Monday during the course of the 2012 campaign.

The show is available as a link off the main UWM website page or directly at www.uwmpanthers.cstv.com/genrel/podcasts.html.

UWM'S NEW HOME TURF
A new synthetic playing surface was installed at Engelmann, giving the Panthers a FIFA Two-Star Field, with the new Polytan playing surface the first of its kind in North America.

Engelmann Stadium has been the home of Panther soccer since the 1970's, and soccer supporters have been stepping forward to help with improvements to what is considered one of the best college soccer environments in the country.

ON TAP
The Panthers have a full week off before returning to action, heading to Ohio to take on Bowling Green Sept. 25.