The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will embark on its 43rd season of NCAA Division I men's soccer this week with a pair of games, hosting Evansville Friday at Engelmann Stadium. Then, it's off to Nebraska to take on nationally-ranked Creighton Sunday. The season opener Friday is set for a 7 p.m. start time and will be carried live on ESPN3. Sunday's matchup with the No. 6 Blue Jays is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. That game will also have free video and live stats with all links available on the UWM website.

Milwaukee is now 20-17-5 all-time in season openers, including a 25-12-5 ledger in home openers after a knocking off DePaul, 2-1, in the first game of 2014.

Head coach Kris Kelderman has four season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 3-1-0. In addition to the victories over the Blue Demons (2014) and a nationally-ranked Marquette squad (2013), his Green Bay squad topped SIU Edwardsville, 1-0, in 2011.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
EVANSVILLE: The Purple Aces are projected to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. They are coming off a season in which they were 6-11-1 but placed third in the MVC with a 4-2-0 mark.

UE will be under the guidance of first year head coach Marshall Ray. A former player (1995-99) at Evansville, Ray graduated from UE in 2000 and has served on the staff for nine years with the last six as associate head coach. Evansville will benefit from 15 returning letterwinners including Vince DiPrimio (16 starts last year), Nate Opperman (two assists last season), Jared Robinson (2013 MVC All-Freshman Team) and Ian McGrath (2014 MVC All-Freshman Team). The Aces also welcome eight newcomers to the mix.

CREIGHTON: The Creighton men's soccer team enters 2015 ranked sixth in the NSCAA's (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Preseason Top 25 Poll released on Monday, August 3. Fifth-year head coach Elmar Bolowich leads Creighton in their quest for the program's 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance in the past 24 seasons in 2015. Bolowich guided Creighton to a BIG EAST regular season title last season, earning Co-BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors.

After closing 2014 with a 16-3-3 record, Creighton returns virtually its entire arsenal from last season. The Bluejays reached the NCAA Quarterfinals last season, finishing the season in a 1-1 tie with UMBC as Maryland-Baltimore County advanced via penalty kicks. Creighton returns its top six scorers from 2014 as well as goalkeeper Connor Sparrow, who closed the season with a 0.49 goals against average. Sparrow allowed just 11 goals in 22 matches in 2014.

The Panthers are 4-9-4 all-time against Evansville, but the teams have not played since the 2004 season. That game in 2004, a 1-1 draw, was the first matchup between the two schools since 1993. The schools were regular opponents in the 1980's.

The series with Creighton has seen the Bluejays win three of five, with the Panthers getting a 3-0 victory in Omaha in 2001 and a 1-1 draw in 1983. The two teams squared off in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, with Creighton advancing, 3-2. The winning goal was scored in the 82nd minute of a game where the Panthers were ranked #10 and the Bluejays #11 in the land. The two teams did play to a 0-0 draw in the 2014 exhibition season.

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 quick analysis, only Tulsa, with 15 freshmen and nine sophomores (24 total underclassmen) has more that UWM this season.

TOP OF THE CHARTS
In taking on Creighton Sunday, the Panthers will battle a squad that is a consensus Top-10 program in 2015, with the Blue Jays ranked No. 6 by the National Soccer Coaches Association.

The Panthers have 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. Junior Liam Anderson was credited with three saves and allowed a pair of goals.

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".

I LOVE L.A.
Junior Liam Anderson is halfway through his playing career and has made serious inroads on the all-time goalkeeping records. Starting the 2015 season, he sits 10th all-time with his 36 starts and fifth all-time with his 0.99 goals-against average. At 13 career shutouts, he will move into the Top 5 with one more clean sheet, as he tries to chase down the school record of 21 over the remainder of his career.

ONE LOOK AT IT
The website HeroSports.com (formerly BennettRanking.com) listed all 206 NCAA Division I women's soccer programs from top to bottom in the preseason, with UCLA coming it at No. 1 and Virginia No. 2. A look at all of the Horizon League schools sees the Panthers in the mix in the middle of the chart.

93. Oakland
114. Valparaiso
119. Wright State
121. UIC
138. Milwaukee
148. Detroit
171. Cleveland State
183. Green Bay
198. Belmont

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
One of the biggest games of the season is on the schedule next, as the Panthers welcome Marquette back to Engelmann Stadium for the yearly battle for the "Milwaukee Cup". That game takes place Thursday. UWM will also play on Sunday, traveling to Illinois to take on Bradley.