The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team returns to action with a pair of road games this week, getting things started with another rivalry cup game against Northern Illinois Tuesday. Then, on Saturday, Horizon League play continues when the Panthers head to Tennessee for a matchup against Belmont University.

Tuesday's game will feature a live broadcast via NIU Tube, as well as live statistics on GameTracker. Live stats will also be available Saturday. All links are available on the Milwaukee website.

The Panthers lead the all-time series against NIU by a count of 21-15-5. Following three wins in a row in the series, UWM kept possession of the LeWang Cup in 2014 with a 2-2 draw in Milwaukee. It will mark the 46th 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. LeWang came to NIU as head coach in 1980 following his time as an assistant at Milwaukee and died in a car accident after his first season leading the Huskies. Since 1981, the two teams have played for the trophy named in his honor.

The all-time series between UWM and Belmont consists of just one game, played in 2014 during the first season the Bruins were in the Horizon League. The Panthers claimed a 2-0 victory in that contest.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies enter the week with 6-2-0 record overall and a 3-0 mark at home after topping regionally-ranked Bowling Green on the road last week. The Huskies have already eclipsed their win total from all of last season (3-9-5 in 2014), having gone 5-1 their past six outings - claiming victories in overtime an impressive three times in that stretch.

Luke Read leads the team with eight points, and has four of the team's 11 total goals on the campaign. In goal, Andrew Glaeser has played every minute of the season (773:45), posting 24 saves and a 1.05 goals-against average. Head coach Eric Luzzi welcomed back 12 letterwinners this season, including seven starters.

BELMONT: The Bruins are struggling through the 2015 campaign, going 1-9-1 overall (0-3 in Horizon League action and 1-3 at home) entering play this week, with the team taking on Georgia State midweek as well. That comes on the heels of a 3-15 season a year ago. The squad has tallied eight goals in 11 games, allowing 21. Rasha Hyacenth leads the offense with six points (3G) as the only player with more than two. Grayson Rector has seen the lion's share of minutes in goal, posting a 1.52 goals-against average.

CLOSE DOES COUNT
Outside of a lopsided victory in the opener over Evansville and a loss to the now No. 1 team in the land in Creighton just afterwards, the past seven games the Panthers have played have been one-goal decisions or have gone into overtime. Milwaukee has also played back-to-back double-OT contests against Oakland and UIC, something that had not happened since playing in three 2OT games in a row at the end of September in 2012. That year, UWM lost to Bowling Green (2-1) Sept. 25 before playing back-to-back double-overtime draws against Loyola (1-1) and Green Bay (2-2).

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression in 2015, as 14 players out of the 33 on the roster will be making their UWM debuts this year, all as freshmen. It's one of youngest rosters in the land, as seven sophomores give the Panthers 21 underclassmen. Based on a recent analysis, just a handful have more across the country. Tulsa, with 15 freshmen and nine sophomores (24 total underclassmen) leads the list.

24 - Tulsa
23 - Radford & East Tennessee State
22 - Bradley
21 - Milwaukee, Xavier & Northeastern
20 - Indiana & Seton Hall

And they have been playing a major role so far. Six players out of the group have appeared in every game so far and five have started all nine contests (Matthias Binder, Francesco Saporito, Tinashe Marowa, Sean Holmes & Jason P. Svensson).

MAKING THE BIG TIME
The freshmen on the roster have been playing a key role and found some recognition for it Sept. 27 when four of them were featured on the "Beyond the Game" segment on FOX 6 Sports with Tim Van Vooren. Newcomers Matthias Binder, Tinashe Marowa, Francesco Saporito and Josh Kaye were the foursome featured in the segment on local TV.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
The Panthers found a way to earn the hard-fought 1-0 victory over Oakland Sept. 19 in the waning minutes, with freshman Francesco Saporito putting home the golden goal on a beautiful 20-yard free kick just three-plus minutes from the end of the second overtime (goal came at 106:43).

That ended a streak of double-overtime jinxes at 12 games, as Milwaukee had been 0-1-10 in the previous 11 games it played into the second overtime period. The last 2OT win? Cody Banks' memorable goal to claim the Chancellors Cup on September 28, 2011 - giving UWM the 3-2 victory with the clock reading 109:53.

PART OF HISTORY
The Panthers and all of the fans jam-packed into Engelmann Stadium for the 'Milwaukee Cup' matchup against Marquette Sept. 3 became part of history. The 4,030 in attendance not only blew away the old facility record of 3,312 (set in the 2013 'Milwaukee Cup'), but was also the largest crowd to ever watch a collegiate men's soccer game in the history of the state of Wisconsin. UWM now holds four of the top five spots on the list.

4,030 - SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 (MKE CUP)
3,312 - Aug. 30, 2013 - Milwaukee 2, Marquette 1 (MKE CUP)
3,256 - Sept. 13, 2006 - Milwaukee 3, Marquette 2 (MKE CUP)
3,000 - Nov. 22, 1980 - Cleveland State 1, Milwaukee 0
2,470 - Oct. 13, 1995 - Wisconsin 2, Indiana 0
2,250 - Sept. 3, 1990 - Milwaukee 0, Evansville 0
2,145 - Oct. 15, 1993 - Indiana 5, Wisconsin 1
2,138 - Oct. 1, 2003 - Wisconsin 1, Milwaukee 0

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
The Panthers are now 20-8-2 all-time in league openers in seasons in which they have been affiliated with a conference. Head coach Kris Kelderman is 1-1-1 in his three seasons, with the team falling to Cleveland State to open conference play a season ago.

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.

The Panthers certainly have the upper hand all-time, now holding a 28-11-4 record in the series. They also posted back-to-back wins very recently, reclaiming the Cup in 2010 with a 4-2 victory and keeping possession in 2011 with a 2-1 final score.

The 2012 matchup will also go down in the memory books, as the Golden Eagles, trailing the Panthers 2-1 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the contest, pulled off a stunning finish to grab possession of the Cup. Following a goalkeeper miscue, Marquette found the equalizer at the 81:53 mark and then won the contest at the buzzer as the winning goal crossed the line at the 89:59 mark before the horn sounded. The 2013 edition was just as exciting, with the Panthers scoring just 60 seconds into the affair en route to a 2-1 victory over a Marquette squad that was ranked No. 12 at the time.

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 21-17-5 all-time in season openers, including a 26-12-5 ledger in home openers after dominating Evansville, 5-2, Aug. 28. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has five season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 4-1-0. In addition to the victories over the Purple Aces (2015), DePaul (2014) and a nationally-ranked Marquette squad (2013), his Green Bay squad topped SIU Edwardsville, 1-0, in 2011.

DAZZLING OPENER
There were many highlights for the Panthers from the season-opening 5-2 victory over Evansville. Among them:
-The most goals scored in a season opener since 1996 (a 5-0 win over Northwestern) and the second-most all time (seven is the record).
-No fewer than six freshmen (#4 Josh Kaye, #10 Matthias Binder, #19 Sean Holmes, #26 Francesco Saporito, #27 Jason P. Svensson & #28 Tinashe Marowa) started the contest, the most for a UWM team in at least the past 20 years. The former high-water mark was four freshmen, which has been done three times (2014, 2011, 2009).
-Senior Declan Rodriguez scored twice to become the first player to record a brace in a season opener since Edison Crespo had a pair vs. Marquette in the 2010 opener. The program record remains a hat trick (3) by Dan Day in 1984.
-The two newcomers to score (Binder/Saporito) became the sixth and seventh freshmen since 2000 to net a goal in the opener.

BRING ON THE CUP
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". Back 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. A year ago, the team tied the Phoenix, 2-2 (Green Bay kept the cup), and also tied NIU, 2-2, to retain possession of the LeWang Cup.

TOP OF THE CHARTS
In taking on Creighton Aug. 30, the Panthers battled a squad that is a consensus Top-10 program in 2015, with the Blue Jays ranked No. 6 by the National Soccer Coaches Association when they played (they rose to No. 1 Sept. 8).

The Panthers had not played a Top-10 team since the 2009 season, dropping a 2-0 decision to then-No. 9 UC Santa Barbara. The last time UWM played a team as high as No. 6 was when it took on then-No. 6 Washington in 2006, falling 2-1 in overtime.

A season ago, Milwaukee was 0-3 against Top 25 opponents, but is just a year removed from winning two of three games against ranked opponents in 2013. That season, the Panthers opened with a 2-1 win over No. 12 Marquette and beat No. 23 UIC 2-0 in the Horizon League Tournament Championship before falling to No. 19 Wisconsin, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played a pair of exhibition contests this year, playing Loyola to a 1-1 draw (no overtime periods were played) and a 2-0 loss to a very good SIU Edwardsville team that is coming off a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and is the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley Conference race this year. The team recorded 18 shots in the two games, led by five off the feet of senior Declan Rodriguez. Sophomore Nick Moon was next with three, while freshmen Tinashe Marowa (goal) and Josh Kaye (assist) combined on the score. Time in goal was split in half each contest, with senior Agustin Rey allowing one goal and making two saves.

NOW THIS IS HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
When it comes to home field advantage, the Panthers have historically ranked right up there with the best in the business. From 2001 through 2006, UWM turned Engelmann Stadium into a place visiting teams did not want to see on their schedule, going 49-8-2 in that time. After a few down seasons by UWM standards, the magic is back - the Panthers have compiled a record of 16-5-3 at home in Kris Kelderman's three years as the head coach.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
The squad lost a very talented senior class - which included an All-American - and four regular starters overall. What that means is that there will be plenty of opportunity for a new group of players to shine. The Panthers lost two of their top three point scorers from 2014. If you look over the list, the team lost over half of its total points (32 of 59) and half of its goals (9 of 18).

POSTSEASON HARDWARE
The team had six players earn all-conference honors in 2014, with a pair of seniors moving on with first-team accolades in All-American Laurie Bell and captain Luke Goodnetter. Three of the six are back on the field in 2015. Declan Rodriguez was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team, while Nick Moon and Reid Stevenson were named to the all-freshman team.

Rodriguez earned second-team status for the second time in his career in the midfield, also accomplishing the feat as a freshman in 2012. He started and appeared in 17 games, playing every minute of 14 of the contests in recording a pair of goals on the season and 32 shots.

PRESEASON CHATTER
The Panthers are targeted as the fifth place team in a tightly-packed Horizon League, according to the HeroSports.com website, with Oakland as holding the top spot. The website tabs senior Declan Rodriguez as "The Cornerstone" and hails sophomore Reid Stevenson as "The Supporting Cast".

CATCH THEM ANYWHERE
Milwaukee men's soccer will be readily available for the viewing pleasure of UWM fans this season, as eight home games will be streamed live on ESPN3. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN3 platform. ESPN3 is available to nearly 116.3 million homes. In addition, the men's game against Marquette Sept. 3 and Green Bay Oct. 14 are set to be televised locally by Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.

A LOOK BACK AT THE SCHEDULE
The Panthers certainly had their hands full with the strength of their schedule prior to the start of league play in 2014. In addition to playing teams that were ranked No. 19 (George Mason) and No. 22 (American) at the time, UWM took on No. 17 Marquette Sept. 17. On top of that, Milwaukee played an Oregon State team that ended up nationally-ranked and matched up with a Creighton squad (a 0-0 draw in the exhibition season) that was as high as the No. 2 team in the land. In fact, that stretch marked a program first. Never before had Milwaukee played three consecutive games against ranked opponents. The most prior was two and has occurred on just a pair of occasions: UWM played No. 23 UIC in the league tournament championship and then No. 19 Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. The only other prior occurrence was in the NCAA's in the 2004 postseason, defeating No. 20 San Francisco before falling to No. 1 UC Santa Barbara.

ON TAP
It will be another week of two games with another featuring hardware on the line. Both will be at home, starting Wednesday when the Panthers welcome Green Bay in the battle for the "Chancellors Cup". Then, Saturday, the team will take on Wright State at Engelmann Stadium. Start time is 7 p.m. Wednesday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday as the second game of another women's/men's doubleheader.