The Milwaukee men's soccer team will embark on its 52nd season of NCAA Division I soccer this week when it opens the 2024 campaign with a pair of home contests at Engelmann Stadium. Up first is a battle against Lindenwood Thursday, followed by a Sunday matinee against Bradley.

The matchup with the Lions is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. Thursday and the weekend wraps up against the Braves Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ with Matt Menzl on the call. Each contest will have live statistics as well and all links are available on the Milwaukee website.

The game against Lindenwood will be the first between the two schools in program history. Against Bradley, the Panthers hold a record of 5-1-1 all-time, with a 2-0 victory the most recent decision in the series coming back in September of 2017. MKE has posted four shutouts in the all-time series, including a 2-0 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament back in the 2005 season. The Panthers have outscored BU by a total of 19-4 all-time.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
LINDENWOOD: The Lions went 7-7-6 a year ago in the first year under the watch of head coach Kris Bertsch. He helped the team immediately improve from their first Division I season as he led them to a four-match win improvement from the previous season while going 3-3-4 in Ohio Valley Conference matches, placing fourth, while also claiming all-conference honors for five players. During the season, Lindenwood was ranked four times in the United Soccer Coaches North Region Poll, a first for the program. The team was selected fourth in the OVC preseason poll, with Josh Gates selected as a "Preseason Player to Watch" for Lindenwood.

BRADLEY: The Braves posted an overall record of 5-6-6 a year ago, which included a 1-6-1 mark in Missouri Valley Conference action. Tim Regan begins his first year as the head coach for Bradley after six years as a Bradley assistant coach. The preseason poll saw them come in ninth in the MVC. The team will open the season against Chicago State Thursday.

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 27-19-5 all-time in season openers following a 3-2 loss to Chicago State to open 2023. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has 13 season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 10-3-0. 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.

EXPERIENCE; WITH A NEW LOOK
The Panthers will have a new look this season, as 14 of the 30 players on the roster did not appear in a game at Milwaukee last season. In addition to nine true freshmen (and one redshirt freshman), the team also welcomes four transfers from other programs, all of which are listed in the junior class for eligibility purposes.

On the other side of the spectrum, the returning core is heavy on experience, as nine starters are back on the field in 2024, including the top five scoring leaders from last fall as well as six of the top seven. Leading the charge are top scorers Raul Medina (15 points on 5G/5A), Bienvenu Djunga (13 points on 4G/5A), and Asher Ozuzu (9 points on 4G/1A). The team will be very experienced in goal, as all 1,530 of playing time between the pipes last season (all Daniel Ibarra) is back on the field.

Points: returners accounted for 57 of the 68 points (83.8 percent)
Goals: 21 of 24 goals (87.5 percent)
Assists: 17 of 20 assists (85.0 percent)
Starts: returning players accounted for 135 starts last season (72.1 percent).
Minutes: returning players accounted for 11,609 of 16,774 minutes played (69.2 percent), with five players that saw the field over 1,200 minutes (Daniel Ibarra/1,530 ... Micah O'Garro/1,315 ... David Cox/1,292 ... Daiki Kumakawa/1,236 ... Bienvenu Djunga/1,232).

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
The Panthers continue to add quite a mix to the active roster as players with international roots continue to join the program. This fall, the team will have student-athletes from nine different countries or territories. In addition to 19 players from the United States, the roster will have representation from the following:

Cayman Islands: Micah O'Garro (George Town)
France: Bienvenu Djunga (Asnières-sur-Seine)
German: Nico Steinweg (Dortmund)
Ireland: Matthew Toolan (Dublin)
Japan: Daiki Kumakawa (Ryugasaki)
Mexico: Daniel Ibarra (Monterrey)
Scotland: Jack Bowden (Aberdeen)
Spain: Mesfin Roda (Barcelona)/Alejandro Martinez (Santander)/Raul Medina (Madrid)
United Kingdom: Daniel Gill (Newport, Wales, U.K.)

DAN'S THE MAN
Newcomer Daniel Ibarra earned the starting goalkeeper job and played every minute in net last season for the Panthers. He posted a 1.76 goals-against average and added a .709 save percentage and topped the conference in total saves with 73 and saves per game at 4.29.

THE FAMILIAR FACES
Three players on the roster this season that are set to graduate have spent their entire careers as Panthers. David Cox has been at Milwaukee since a redshirt 2019 campaign and has been a starter ever since, appearing in 62 career games while making 45 starts. He has 20 career points, coming on six goals (2GW) and eight assists. Raul Medina has been a Panther since 2020, making starts in 53 of his 54 career games played. He is also the current member of the roster with the most career points, accumulating 43 in his career on 14 goals (2GW) and 15 assists. Collin Mullen (listed as a RS-JR) is also set to graduate and has been on the MKE roster since 2021.

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 31-12-6 record in the series and did maintain possession of the Cup from 2017 until fall of 2022. Over the past eight meetings, the Panthers are 3-2-3.

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.

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 in fall of 2021 and David Cox was the hero in 2020's version, netting the game-winner with 36 seconds left in regulation. Last fall, Raul Medina netted a goal in the 83rd to help MKE find a 1-1 decision and maintain possession of the Cup.

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 14 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. Nine 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.

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
The Panthers are now 24-13-3 all-time in league openers in seasons in which they have been affiliated with a conference following a loss to Purdue Fort Wayne last year. Head coach Kris Kelderman is 5-6-2 in his 13 seasons, with the team knocking off UIC to open 2021 by a final score of 2-1 and also beating Purdue Fort Wayne, 3-2, in 2020.

GETTING TO TWO
Recently on offense, once the team has found a second goal, the Panthers continue to be very tough to beat. The squad went 7-1-0 in 2021, 6-1-0 in 2020, and 10-0-1 in 2019 when scoring two or more goals. That brings the six-plus year tally to 56-14-12 (.765) 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 52-29-25 (.609) at home in Kris Kelderman's 12-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 $10.99 a month (or $109.99 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 remain at home, welcoming St. Thomas to campus September 2, set for a 5 p.m. kickoff.