The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team returns home for one of the biggest games on the schedule. The Panthers are set to welcome Marquette Thursday for the annual matchup for the Milwaukee Cup. Game time for the event, which will be aired live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel with Matt Menzl and Matt Schroeder on the call, is set for 7 p.m.

Milwaukee students are invited to attend the "Welcome Week Tailgate" that takes place in the Engelmann Stadium parking lot before the big game against the Golden Eagles. Festivities will get underway at 6 p.m. and will feature local food vendors, activities for the students, ice cream and drinks.

In addition, the Panthers will also travel to Peoria, Ill., Sunday to take on Bradley University in a 1 p.m. matinee. That matchup will also feature live stats and video on ESPN3.

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, posting a 28-11-3 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.

SERIES VS. BRADLEY
The Panthers own the all-time series, 3-0-1. The two teams have not played since the 2005 season, a year in which they squared off twice. During the regular season, UWM netted three unanswered goals to turn a 1-0 deficit in the 62nd minute into a 3-2 victory. The teams also met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Peoria that year. The Panthers scored early in setting the tone for a 2-0 postseason victory.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the BIG EAST Conference in 2015, behind conference favorites Creighton and Georgetown. The team has started 1-1, falling to Oregon State in overtime of the opener before knocking off Portland. Both games were on the road.

One year removed from an 8-6-4 record, the Golden Eagles feature two players on the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad in forward C. Nortey and midfielder Louis Bennett II. They will be hard-pressed to replace two regulars who moved on to professional careers after the 2014 campaign. Axel Sjoberg (Colorado Rapids) and Charlie Lyon (Seattle Sounders) led Marquette to a BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles, as well as back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances over their final three seasons.

BRADLEY: The Braves have started the 2015 season at 1-1, knocking off Houston Baptist (1-0) and falling to Horizon League foe UIC (2-0). Senior Grant Bell was named preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference and the Braves were selected to place fourth in the preseason coaches poll.

Bradley, which is working 16 freshmen into the mix, went 0-2-1 in the exhibition season, taking on Marquette (T, 3-3), No. 6 Creighton (L, 3-0) and No. 25 Akron (L, 3-1). The team went 9-11-0 during the 2014 season.

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.

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, 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

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.

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. 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.

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's off to the state of Washington for the first time since the 2005 season next, heading to Spokane to participate in a tournament at Gonzaga. The Panthers take on Houston Baptist Friday and the host Zags Sunday.