The Milwaukee men's soccer team closes out the month of September with a two-game road swing, traveling to Illinois midweek before making a stop in Ohio on the weekend.

Up first is another trophy battle Tuesday, making the drive down to DeKalb, Ill., for the yearly showdown with Northern Illinois for the "LeWang Cup". Then, it's back into Horizon League play Saturday, taking on Cleveland State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. midweek and 6 p.m. CST against the Vikings on the weekend.

Both games will have live statistics and a video feed. The NIU affair will be shown on NIU All-Access (fees apply). Saturday's conference tilt is available on ESPN+ (subscription-based). All links are available on the Milwaukee website.

The Panthers lead the all-time series against Northern Illinois by a count of 23-17-5. Following three MKE victories in a row in the series from 2011 through 2013, Milwaukee kept possession of the LeWang Cup in 2014 with a 2-2 draw at home and again in 2015 with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory on the road. The cup has now changed hands each of the past four years - all on one-goal decisions.

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.

Milwaukee leads the series with Cleveland State by a count of 27-16-5. The two teams have traded punches the past few seasons, with the series a dead-heat at 4-4-3 since 2008, which does include a 2-0 MKE win in 2017 and a 1-1 draw last fall. The Viking victory in 2008 snapped a span of significant length, ending the Panthers 18-game winning streak in the series that dated back to 1993. The two teams also have a history all the way back to 1973, including a pair of NCAA Tournament matchups in the early 1980's.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Third-year head coach Ryan Swan has breathed new life into the Huskie program, as NIU won eight matches in 2018 - the most for the program in seven years - finishing 8-9-1 overall. The 2018 Huskies appeared in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 for two weeks and Kevin Rodriguez made history, becoming the first NIU player selected in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

So far in 2019, the Huskies have gone 2-4-1, but are an unbeaten 1-0-1 at home. Most recently, NIU has won back-to-back contests, topping Bradley (W, 2-1 Sept. 15) and Purdue Fort Wayne (W, 3-1 Sept. 20). Nick Markanich (7 points on 3G/1A) and Jan Maertins (5 points on 2G/1A) lead the offense, with the goalkeeping minutes getting spread across three different keepers. The group has posted a 1.52 GAA, with Martin Sanchez the lowest at 0.80 in three outings.

CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings are off to a 2-2-1 start that includes a 1-1 mark in Horizon League play and a 2-2 tie at No. 14 Louisville to open the season. Both losses have been 1-0 setbacks. Gabe Pewu leads the team in points (6) and goals (3). In net, freshman Omeed Naeemy has posted a .706 save percentage and a 0.94 goals-against average.

Cleveland State returned 17 student-athletes from last year's roster and welcomed eight newcomers to the squad, including four transfers. It was picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll after posting a 4-8-3 mark a year ago, going 1-4-3 in conference contests.

CONWAY'S CAMPAIGN
Senior Evan Conway has been a three-year starter for the Panthers, making 55 starts in 57 career games coming into the 2019 campaign. The all-league honoree brought a resume into play this fall that included 21 goals, 12 assists, 54 points and 153 shots. With a similar final year stats-wise in a Milwaukee uniform, he could find his way into the record book for career Top 10 in all four of those categories. The current No. 10 spot in all of those categories looks like this:
Goals: 28 (Jake Provan, 1992-95) / Conway now at 23
Assists: 19 (three-way tie)  / now at 13
Points: 72 (Fabio Marras, 1980-83) / now at 59
Shots: 177 (Gerard Lagos, 1988-91) / now at 172

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 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 31-11-5 record in the series after retaining possession of the Cup home with a 2-1 victory Sept. 17. MKE is now 3-0-2 over the last four meetings.

The 2012 matchup remains one for 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.

PART OF HISTORY
The Panthers and all of the fans jam-packed into Engelmann Stadium for the 'Milwaukee Cup' matchup against Marquette Sept. 3, 2015 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. Milwaukee now holds the top four spots on the list.

4,030 - Sept. 3, 2015 - Milwaukee 1, Marquette 1 (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 22-11-3 all-time in league openers in seasons in which they have been affiliated with a conference following the hard-fought 1-0 victory at Detroit Mercy Sept. 14. Head coach Kris Kelderman is 3-4-2 in his nine seasons, with the team also knocking off Oakland in overtime, 1-0, three seasons ago.

TOUGH ROAD
The Panthers suffered a pair of one-goal losses in the second week of the season, with penalty kicks deciding both matches. MKE dropped 2-1 affairs to Memphis and to UAB - with the second defeat coming in overtime.

GETTING GOING
Freshman Matthew Cahill is making a quality first impression with the Panthers, scoring twice in his first four games. His goal at the 2:57 mark against UAB Sept. 8 is also the quickest to open a game for Milwaukee since September of 2016. That day, Nick Moon found the back of the net in just 1:49 to jumpstart a 2-0 win over Bradley. The school record is only 19 seconds (B.J. Blake against Memphis in 2003).

TWO AND "OH"!
It's always fun to start the new year unbeaten and Milwaukee accomplished that this fall, opening 2-0 for first time since 2014 (two years ago, the team was unbeaten at 1-0-1).

FREDDY JOINING SOME FAST COMPANY
Freddy Lorenzen was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 3 after going 2-0 to open the campaign, which included a five-save shutout of Drake Sept. 2 to mark the 14th clean sheet of his time in Milwaukee. It is also the sixth fifth time he has now won the honor in his career. Considering he's just embarking on the start of his junior season, he may have a crack at league history over his career. The conference record for most weekly awards is eight. With six on his resume, Lorenzen already stands in third place all-time.

1. Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit Mercy: 8
T2. Antou Jallow, Milwaukee: 7
T2. Eric Lukin, UIC: 7
3. Freddy Lorenzen, Milwaukee: 6
4. JC Banks, Green Bay: 5

SYKES DOUBLE-UP
Alex Sykes netted a pair of goals in the season opener against Western Illinois Aug. 30 and, with five points (2G/1A), is near the top of the Horizon League scoring race and well on his way to top the eight (3G/2A) he recorded a season ago. It continued a recent trend over the years, marking the fourth time since 2010 that a Panther scored twice in the season opener. The most recent to do it was Kostas Kotselas (2016), with the recent list including Declan Rodriguez (2015) and Edison Crespo (2010). The program record for the season opener remains a hat trick (3) by Dan Day in 1984.

EXHIBITION SEASON REWIND
Milwaukee played three exhibition contests this fall, posting a 2-1-0 mark as it topped Cardinal Stritch (2-0 Aug. 16) and Parkside (3-2 Aug. 23), while also dropping a tight one at Loyola Chicago (1-0 Aug. 20).

Vuk Latinovich paced the offense with a trio of goals (two against Parkside), recording five shots. Evan Conway had a goal, assist and three shots, while newcomer Matthew Cahill also scored and fired off five shot attempts. In net, freshman Nick Chiappa compiled 61:04 of scoreless play in two games, making two saves. Freddy Lorenzen saw 148-plus minutes of action, allowing two goals while making four 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, Milwaukee 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 MKE standards, the magic is getting brought back - the Panthers have compiled a record of 35-18-11 (.633) at home in Kris Kelderman's seven-plus years as the head coach.

WELCOME TO MILWAUKEE
There will be plenty of chances for newcomers to make an impression once again in 2019. A season ago, the Milwaukee squad was very young, with 12 of the 31 student-athletes appearing on a Panther uniform for the first time (nine true freshmen and two redshirt freshmen, as well as one transfer who sat out the prior season). This year, 10 of the 25 on the roster will be appearing in a Panther uniform for the first time (seven true freshmen, one redshirt freshmen, as well as a pair of transfers).

GETTING TO TWO
The Milwaukee defense was stingy a season ago, producing five shutouts which was good for third in the league. The team goals-against average of 1.10 was just off the top spot of 0.95 and also checked in at third. Offensively, once the team found a second goal, the Panthers were very tough to beat. Last fall, the squad went 6-1-0 when scoring two or more goals. That brings the three-year tally (heading into the 2019 campaign) to 22-3-5 when finding the back of the net at least twice in a match.

CHANCELLOR'S CUP DRAMA
The battle for the Chancellor's Cup has seen some thrillers over the years, but if it feels like the drama and intensity has been higher lately, you would be correct. It happened again last season, with Sean Holmes golden goal coming in the 99th minute. The year prior, MKE tied the game with just eight seconds remaining in regulation on a goal by Jonathan Stadler to force overtime before falling. And again in 2016, when Milwaukee reclaimed the Cup with a thrilling 1-0 victory Oct. 22 on a goal by Magnus Flaatedal.

Seven of the past nine occasions these two teams have now played, the game has gone into overtime (5 of 7 into double-overtime), with five of the seven ending in victories for one team or the other. Five years ago it was an own goal that won it for Green Bay, snapping Milwaukee's 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) to start the 2013 season. The 2012 version ended in a draw but the 2011 edition provided one of the most memorable finishes to a game in program history, with Cody Banks netting the winner at the 109:53 mark.

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 25-17-5 all-time in season openers following a 3-2 victory over Western Illinois to open the 2019 slate. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has nine season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 8-1-0. In addition to the wins over WIU (2017-2019), Eastern Illinois (2016), Evansville (2015), DePaul (2014) and a nationally-ranked Marquette squad (2013), his Green Bay squad topped SIU Edwardsville, 1-0, in 2011.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
A unique situation again takes place this fall on the field for the Milwaukee men's soccer team. Kris Kelderman will again be the head coach for his son, Jake, for a fourth straight campaign (Jake redshirted in 2016).

BRING ON THE CUP
The "Milwaukee Cup" 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, Milwaukee 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.

CATCH THEM ANYWHERE
Milwaukee men's soccer will be readily available for the viewing pleasure of MKE fans this season, as all but one home game (and nearly all conference road games) will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Horizon League and ESPN have an agreement that includes ESPN hosting the league's digital network on the ESPN+ platform.

ESPN+, which will host the Horizon League women's soccer, men's soccer and volleyball championships this fall, offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN's linear TV or digital networks. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time. Launched in April of 2018, ESPN+ is an integrated part of a completely redesigned ESPN App.

ON TAP
It's back home for a pair of games to open October, starting with a contest against Wisconsin Oct. 2. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m., but could change slightly due to it being the second game of a women's/men's doubleheader at Engelmann that evening.