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Milwaukee Cup

Men's Soccer Chris Zills

Tuesday Brings First "Milwaukee Cup" Contest Since 2019 Season

Panthers also play at Cleveland State Saturday

Up next, the Milwaukee men's soccer team prepares for two road games this week, including one of the biggest nights on its schedule. After COVID-19 put a halt to a series that had been played every season from 1973 to 2019, the Panthers will make the short trip to crosstown rival Marquette Tuesday for the "Milwaukee Cup".

Game time for the event, which can be watched live on FLOSPORTS, is set for 7 p.m. with Matt Menzl and Sean Reti on the call from Valley Fields.

Following that, the Panthers will remain on the road to dip back into Horizon League action for a matchup with Cleveland State Saturday. Both matchups on the schedule this week will feature live stats. The game against the Vikings, set to start at 6 p.m. CST, will not have a stream available due to event overlap conflicts in the CSU athletic department. All links are available on the Milwaukee website.

Milwaukee is 27-20-5 all-time against the Vikings in one of the oldest series in program history that dates back to 1973. It also includes a stellar stretch by MKE back in the late 1990's and early 2000's, a span that saw the Panthers post a remarkable 18 wins in a row (1993 through 2007). Most recently, the action has been changing, with Kris Kelderman going 3-6-2 against CSU in his time on campus. The Vikings took a tight 2-1 decision in 2021 and have gone 4-0-1 the past five meetings.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
MARQUETTE:
The Golden Eagles are coming off a 7-8-1 campaign a season ago, with head coach Louis Bennett welcoming back 11 starters, 16 letterwinners, and 10 newcomers as he navigates his 17th season at Marquette. That follows a very successful run as the head coach at Milwaukee (1996-2005).

As a team, the Golden Eagles were picked to finish seventh in the Big East preseason poll with Lukas Sunesson earning a spot on the Preseason All-Big East Team. So far in 2022 the squad is 3-3, dropping back-to-back decisions to Wisconsin (4-2 Sept. 12) and Yale (3-2 Sept. 17) following a promising 3-1 start. Sunesson paces the offense with nine points (4G/1A), with Abdoul Karim Pare (8 on 3G/2A) and Zyan Andrade (7 points on 3G/1A) close behind. In net, Chandler Hallwood has seen the majority of time (354:26 of 540 minutes), posting a 1.78 goals-against average and .667 save percentage.

CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings are coming off a 2021 campaign where they won a program-best eight Horizon League games, including a perfect 5-0 mark at Krenzler Field. The team finished 10-8 overall, but with their 8-2 league record the Vikings earned the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament and went on to earn a spot in the title game for the first time since 2012. Player of the Year Jannis Schmidt and Bojan Kolevski highlight the returners.

The squad is off to a 4-1-1 start and will host Ohio State Wednesday. Schmidt and Kolevski both have a team-best nine points on four goals and one assist. Three different goalkeepers have seen time, with Max Kasputis starting four of the games. He has posted a 1.52 GAA and .400 save percentage. CSU drew with Detroit Mercy, 1-1, to open conference play.

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 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 with a 2-1 victory the last time this game was played on Sept. 18 of 2019. MKE is 3-0-2 over the last five meetings.

Marquette head coach Louis Bennett has been a part of every one of these matchups since 1996, having served as the head coach of the Panthers (1996-2005) before heading across town to lead MU.

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 their fans jam-packed into Engelmann Stadium for the 'Milwaukee Cup' matchup against Marquette Sept. 3, 2015, to 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 remains the largest crowd to ever watch a collegiate men's soccer game in the history of the state of Wisconsin. Milwaukee 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

NIFTY FIFTY
The Milwaukee men's soccer program is celebrating its 50th season in program history in 2022, all of which have been played at the NCAA Division I level. The Panthers have had 418 different student-athletes suit up in the Black & Gold, listed alphabetically from Mosa Abu-Khader (1982-83) to Jerry Zuba (1974). The program has collected over 500 victories (509 heading into 2022) during its tenure and participated in the NCAA tournament on 10 occasions, most recently following the 2020 campaign. MKE has claimed five regular-season league titles in Horizon League and Midwestern Collegiate Conference action and earned six conference tournament titles. Individual success includes 209 all-conference honorees, 59 all-region selections, and 14 All-America accolades.

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
The Panthers are now 24-12-3 all-time in league openers in seasons in which they have been affiliated with a conference following a loss to Robert Morris in 2022. Head coach Kris Kelderman is 5-5-2 in his 12 seasons, with the team also knocking off UIC to open 2021 by a final score of 2-1 and also beat Purdue Fort Wayne, 3-2, in 2020.

GABE SETTING IT UP
After finishing fourth in the Horizon League with his six assists a season ago, Gabe Anguil picked up right where he left off to open 2022. Through the early season action, Anguil had recorded assists on three of the first five MKE goals of the campaign, including a pair of helpers at NIU Sept. 5.

RIGHT IN THE MIX
Milwaukee was picked by league coaches to finish third in the preseason poll. The Panthers tallied 81 points and did record a first-place vote in the coaches' poll to hold down the third spot, not far off of the 93-point total of Oakland, who topped the list and received six first-place votes. The top tier of teams also included Cleveland State in second, who registered 90 points and a pair of first-place votes.

The next tier of teams saw Wright State in fourth place with 68 points (also a first-place vote), followed by Detroit Mercy in fifth with 56. The next grouping consisted of Northern Kentucky (sixth/42) and Robert Morris (seventh/37). The poll was rounded out by Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne tied for ninth (32) and IUPUI in 10th with 19 points.

2022 #HLMSOC Preseason Poll
Pl.  Team – Pts. (First-place votes)
1. Oakland (6) – 93
2. Cleveland State (2) – 90
3. Milwaukee (1) – 81
4. Wright State (1) – 68
5. Detroit Mercy – 56
6. Northern Kentucky – 42
7. RMU – 37
T8. Green Bay – 32
T8. Purdue Fort Wayne – 32
10. IUPUI – 19

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 27-18-5 all-time in season openers following a 2-0 loss to Elon Aug. 26 to open 2022. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has 12 season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 10-2-0. In addition to the wins over Purdue Fort Wayne (2020), 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.

FARR-ING WELL
Sophomore Logan Farrington was one of just two players to finish in the top four in the Horizon League in the following three categories for the 2021 season: points, goals, and assists. Farrington put together another stellar campaign, capped by a repeat spot on the Horizon League First-Team All-Conference squad. He led the team in scoring (23 points), goals (8), assists (7), total shots (58), shots on target (22), and game-winning goals (4). On the charts, his totals ranked among Horizon League leaders in numerous categories: he finished fourth in points scored, third in assists, fourth in goals, third in shots, sixth in shots on goal, and tied for second in game-winners. In addition, his numbers also ranked 48th in the NCAA in points, 62nd in goals, 53rrd in assists, and 31st in shots/game (3.22).

A TRIO ON THE TOP SQUAD ... AGAIN!
Three members of the team were named First-Team All-Horizon League in 2021, as Logan Farrington, Paolo Gratton and Jake Kelderman all repeated as members of the First Team. A season after becoming the first trio of MKE teammates to earn first-team status in the same year since 2003, Kelderman, Gratton, and Farrington did it again just seven months later. For Kelderman, it marks the fourth honor of his career, adding to the second-team accolades he won in 2019 and All-Freshman status in 2017. In all, seven different players picked up postseason honors with Adi Vaknin, Gabe Anguil, Hugo Espejo, and Phillip Reiwerts all being selected to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team.

SQUID IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN
Graduate student Shawn Azcueta is welcomed to the roster in 2022 for his extra season of COVID eligibility and will be the only player on the team to be listed above junior-class status. He's been a steady presence since stepping on campus in 2018, and leads all returners in games played (63) and starts (49) for career number totals. Farrington leads in career points (37) and goals (13), while Josh Kidder paces the roster in career assists with 19. Outside of Azcueta's 63 career games, the next on the list (heading into 2022) are Abdu Regassa (49/35 starts), Josh Kidder (44/28 starts), and Kasper Davidsson (33/30 starts).

FARR AND AWAY THE LATE WINNER
Logan Farrington helped carry the Panthers to a 2-1 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne in the 2021 regular-season finale, helping Milwaukee earn the No. 3 seed in the postseason with some late-game heroics. Down 1-0 with the clock winding down, he set up Paolo Gratton for the equalizer against the Mastodons in the 82nd minute and then sealed the deal with the winner with just 24 seconds remaining in regulation. Farrington leads the team in points (23), goals (8), and assists (7) and is the only league player to rank in the Top 4 in each category.

REGASSA RECHARGE
Abdu Regassa picked a great time to shine against Northern Kentucky Oct. 23 of last season, scoring a pair of goals for his first career brace. Even more impressive, coming into play against NKU, Regassa had netted two goals in 43 career games as a Panther before finding the back of the net twice in a span of 27 minutes to help MKE to the huge 3-1 comeback win. For his efforts, he was named Horizon League Player of the Week.

In addition, Gijs Van Schouten gave the Panthers a pair of weekly winners, earning Defensive Player of the Week accolades after a triumphant return to the starting lineup. He posted seven saves, with two of them near-identical in leaving his feet to get just enough of attempts in the 62nd and 89th minutes to knock them over the bar and out of harm's way.

OFFENSIVE BARRAGE
The Panthers netted a season-high total for goals in their 4-1 victory over IUPUI Oct. 2 last fall and the charge was led by Logan Farrington. His efforts resulted in playing a role in each score, netting a pair of goals while also recording a pair of assists. That gave him a career-best six points against the Jaguars - the highest single-game scoring effort for the Panthers since Aaron Horvat had eight points (four goals) against Detroit Mercy in September of 2013. He added two more goals his next outing against Western Illinois, giving him the fourth brace of his young career, over his first 23 college games. It also gave him back-to-back multi-goal outings - something done only one other time since 2004 - when Paolo Gratton accomplished the feat during the 2020 campaign (against Oakland and IUPUI). Prior to that, the last to do so was Antou Jallow in 2004. Farrington is also ranked No. 66 on the "Top 100 Freshmen" this season by Top Drawer Soccer.

DOUBLE-VISION
Logan Farrington not only netted a pair of goals against Western Illinois Oct. 5, but he did it in a flash, coming just 1:50 apart on the clock (55:46 and 57:36). That marked the fastest goals by the same MKE player since Edison Crespo found the back of the net at the 87:24 and 88:34 marks (just 1:10) in a 4-2 victory over Marquette to open the 2010 schedule.

The pair of goals came after Adi Vaknin had tied the contest at the 54:30 mark, giving the Panthers a total of three goals in a span of just 3:06 on the scoreboard - the quickest trio in at least 25 years of Panther soccer.

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. Jake Kelderman scored the only goal just 91 seconds into the 1-0 victory earlier this fall and David Cox was the hero in 2020's version, netting the game-winner with 36 seconds left in regulation.

The Chancellor's Cup, which originally began as a tournament of Wisconsin state schools in the 1980's, continues to be given to the winner in the annual Milwaukee/Green Bay game. As an extra storyline, Kris Kelderman spent the 2011 season as the head coach at Green Bay.

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 12 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. Eight 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.

FROM ZERO TO 100
Following injury, Kasper Davidsson made his first appearance of the 2021 campaign against UIC Sept. 11. He didn't wait long to make it a memorable debut, scoring the eventual game-winner at the 61:09 mark, just 2:27 after subbing in. He followed that up with a defensive highlight, coming up with a key team save in the 85th minute to preserve the victory.

GETTING TO TWO
The Milwaukee defense was stingy in 2019, 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 continue to be very tough to beat. The squad went 6-1-0 in 2020 and 10-0-1 in 2019 when scoring two or more goals. That brings the five-plus year tally (also counting the 2021 campaign) to 45-5-6 (.857) when finding the back of the net at least twice in a match.

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 48-23-14 (.647) at home in Kris Kelderman's 10-plus years as the head coach.

CATCH THEM IN ACTION
Milwaukee men's soccer will be available for the viewing pleasure of MKE fans this season, as five of the eight 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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 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
Next week brings a pair of home league games, starting with a contest against Wright State Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. that night.
 
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Players Mentioned

Shawn Azcueta

#2 Shawn Azcueta

D
5' 9"
Sophomore
Paolo Gratton

#32 Paolo Gratton

MF
5' 10"
Sophomore
Jake Kelderman

#14 Jake Kelderman

D
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
Kasper Davidsson

#13 Kasper Davidsson

MF/F
5' 10"
Freshman
Josh Kidder

#19 Josh Kidder

F
5' 8"
Freshman
David Cox

#23 David Cox

MF
6' 0"
Freshman
Abdu Regassa

#26 Abdu Regassa

F
5' 7"
Freshman
Adi Vaknin

#8 Adi Vaknin

F
5' 9"
Freshman
Gabe Anguil

#12 Gabe Anguil

MF/F
5' 7"
Sophomore
Hugo Espejo

#10 Hugo Espejo

MF
5' 8"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Shawn Azcueta

#2 Shawn Azcueta

5' 9"
Sophomore
D
Paolo Gratton

#32 Paolo Gratton

5' 10"
Sophomore
MF
Jake Kelderman

#14 Jake Kelderman

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
D
Kasper Davidsson

#13 Kasper Davidsson

5' 10"
Freshman
MF/F
Josh Kidder

#19 Josh Kidder

5' 8"
Freshman
F
David Cox

#23 David Cox

6' 0"
Freshman
MF
Abdu Regassa

#26 Abdu Regassa

5' 7"
Freshman
F
Adi Vaknin

#8 Adi Vaknin

5' 9"
Freshman
F
Gabe Anguil

#12 Gabe Anguil

5' 7"
Sophomore
MF/F
Hugo Espejo

#10 Hugo Espejo

5' 8"
Sophomore
MF