Things start to feel a bit more normal for the Milwaukee men's soccer team this weekend, getting to play outside when it returns to play on Engelmann Stadium for the first time this spring against Wright State Sunday. The matchup with the Raiders will have live statistics available and get underway at 1 p.m. Originally slated for an ESPN broadcast, a live audio stream will now be provided, with Matt Menzl on the call. All links are available on the MKE website.

Milwaukee is 18-12-6 all-time against Wright State, which includes a long stretch of dominance in the early 2000's that witnessed a 12-game winning streak. The Raiders have turned the tables of late, winning six of the past nine meetings and going 6-1-2 in that stretch. The most recent decision in 2019 was in the Horizon League Tournament Championship, a game that went to penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw through two overtimes. MKE lost that heartbreaker, 4-3, in the PK round.

The 2020-21 campaign, which was postponed from the fall to this spring, will be a shortened version seeing the Panthers play 10 Horizon League matches.

Milwaukee closed out the 2019 campaign playing very well, posting a 6-1-4 record from October 1 on, while closing the season on an eight-game unbeaten streak (5-0-3), which included that 1-1 draw in the Horizon League Tournament Championship before falling in heartbreaking fashion in a penalty-kick shootout. The squad had two players earn first-team all-league honors as well as six players with postseason accolades in total. The defense was tops in the Horizon League, posting a conference-best 1.00 goals-against average as well as eight shutouts.

CHIAPPA THE KEY
Nick Chiappa was named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Feb. 26 after his work in the 1-0 overtime victory over Detroit Mercy. He picked up the first league honor as a Panther after making four saves to record the clean sheet, the second of his career. One of his four saves came in the 90th minute to get the match to the extra session. Raul Medina then came up big, scoring the golden goal in the 92nd minute.

GREAT THINGS FOR GRATTON
Junior Paolo Gratton is off to a great start in 2021, sitting eighth in the Horizon League with five points (2G/1A). After scoring in the Horizon League Tournament Championship in the final game of 2019, Gratton has carried that momentum into this campaign. He has stayed strong on offense, already establishing career-highs in all categories with his five points and seven shot attempts.

DANDY DEBUT
Freshman Logan Farrington made quite the first impression with his outing against Purdue Fort Wayne in the season opener. He scored twice, netting the first goal of the game at the 15:09 mark while also accounting for what stood up as the game-winner when he made it 3-0 at the 57:35 mark.

The brace in the 3-2 victory marked a first for an MKE freshman in a season opener since Edison Crespo did the same in the 2010 opener. It also marked just the third time in program history the feat has been recorded (Dan Day actually had three back in 1984).

STEADY DOSE OF OFFENSE
Farrington did set some history while he played all 90 minutes against the Mastodons Feb. 4, as his nine shots are the most-ever for a Panther freshman debut outing. To compare to the other multi-goal debuts mentioned above, Crespo pulled off the task in stunning fashion, playing just 13 minutes and scoring in the 88th and 89th minutes (four total shots) of a 4-2 win to secure the "Milwaukee Cup" against Marquette.

Day's day in 1984 consisted of six shots and included an assist. Farrington finished just one shot away from what would have been the third double-figure shot outing since 2006. Vuk Latinovich had 11 shot attempts against IUPUI in 2019, while Steve Sperl had 10 against Cleveland State in October of 2006.

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 26-17-5 all-time in season openers following a 3-2 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne to open the 2020 slate. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has 10 season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 9-1-0. In addition to the wins over Purdue Fort Wayne (2021), 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.

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
The Panthers are now 23-11-3 all-time in league openers in seasons in which they have been affiliated with a conference following the 3-2 victory at Purdue Fort Wayne this spring. Head coach Kris Kelderman is 4-4-2 in his 10 seasons, with the team also knocking off Oakland in overtime, 1-0, three years ago.

VUK HEADED TO THE BIG APPLE
Vuk Latinovich was selected by New York City FC in the 2021 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. NYCFC selected the senior midfielder in the third round of the draft with the 71st overall pick.
 
Latinovich was a two-time All-Horizon League honoree who earned First-Team All-League and Second Team United Soccer Coaches All-North Region accolades as a junior in 2019, missing what would have been his senior campaign when athletic events were cancelled due to COVID-19 in the fall. He becomes the fifth Milwaukee men's soccer player to be drafted by an MLS team and the first since Steve Bode was selected by the Chicago Fire in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Soccer Draft. Antou Jallow (fourth round in 2005), Tighe Dombrowski (fifth round of 2004 draft) and Chad Dombrowski (fifth round in 2003) round out the distinguished list.

LEAN ON THE EXPERIENCE
The Panthers lost a handful of key players who were regular starters to graduation and other factors from the 2019 campaign, but do return four of their six student-athletes that earned league postseason honors.

Set to return in 2021 is All-Horizon League Second Team member Jake Kelderman, as well as Horizon League All-Freshman Team selections Kasper Davidsson, Josh Kidder and Abdu Regassa.

Kelderman has been a three-year starter and will continue to anchor the MKE backline this season. He started all 20 games in 2019, netting a pair of goals on nine shots. Davidsson (16 starts in his 16 appearances), Kidder (12 starts in 20 games) and Abdu Regassa (14 starts in 20 games) all played key roles as freshmen and will be looked at to provide leadership this spring.

HEATING UP
The Panthers picked the perfect time of the season to play their best soccer to end the 2019 campaign, posting a 6-1-4 record after the calendar turned to October. The defense led the way, allowing just eight goals in the stretch while posting six shutouts for a team goals-against average of 0.67. Milwaukee closed the season on an eight-game unbeaten streak (5-0-3), its best stretch since a 10-game unbeaten start (9-0-1) to the 2013 season.

GETTING TO TWO
The Milwaukee defense was stingy a season ago, producing eight shutouts which was good for second in the league. The team goals-against average of 1.00 was also good for the top spot. Offensively, once the team found a second goal, the Panthers were very tough to beat. The squad went 10-0-1 when scoring two or more goals. That brings the four-year tally (heading into the 2021 campaign) to 32-3-6 when finding the back of the net at least twice in a match.

THAT'S OFFENSIVE
The Panthers put up quite the offensive display against IUPUI in a 2-2 draw in October of 2019. The team ran up 34 total shots in symmetrical fashion, firing off 13 in each half and four apiece in each overtime period. The 34 shot attempts marked the most since equaling that total with 34 against Green Bay back in October of 2012.

KEEP FIRING
The team was in every game in 2019 and gave itself a very good opportunity on both sides of the ball, night-in and night-out. The Panthers averaged 13.95 shots per game and were third in the league with 293 total shots. The team also paced the conference in corner kicks with 123.

TOUGH DECISIONS
The Panthers were on the wrong side of some hard-luck decisions during the 2019 campaign, with four of the six losses coming as one-goal setbacks and the Green Bay game essentially getting decided in the final minutes. Included in those four results are a pair of overtime losses (one on a PK), as well as a 2-1 loss on a 72nd-minute penalty kick.

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 39-18-12 (.652) at home in Kris Kelderman's eight-plus years as the head coach.

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 in 2018, 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.

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).

CATCH THEM IN ACTION
Milwaukee men's soccer will be available for the viewing pleasure of MKE fans this season, as all home games are scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+ (subject to change due to weather and location). 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 season, 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 $5.99 a month (or $59.99 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
The Panthers continue the spring slate with a home game against Cleveland State March 6, currently set for a 1 p.m. kickoff.