The Milwaukee men's soccer team looks to extend its unbeaten start to the 2026 season with a pair of games this week, hitting the road to battle Drake Wednesday evening before returning to Engelmann Stadium to host St. Thomas (MN) Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (1-0-2) are unbeaten through the first three games of a season for the second time in the past three years (2-0-2 to open 2024) and if the team can stay that way through this week it would mark the best five-game opening to a new campaign since going 4-0-1 through five matches to open the 2013 slate.

Milwaukee and Drake are set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Wednesday, while Saturday's matinee affair is set for a 1 p.m. start. The midweek game can be viewed on ESPN+, with live statistics available for both matches this week. All links are on the MKE website.

Milwaukee has gone 13-4-3 all-time against Drake in a series that dates back to 1987. After winning nine of the first 10 meetings, the series is a near dead-even 4-3-3 since, with MKE coming away with victories in three of the past four times these teams met: a 2-0 decision in September of 2019 as well as a 2-1 comeback win in the 2021 season opener. The squads played to a 1-1 draw in September of 2022, with Milwaukee prevailing, 2-1, in the most recent battle in October of 2024.

With St. Thomas recently transitioning to the NCAA Division I level in recent years, the all-time series is brief. The Tommies do hold the upper hand at 2-1-2, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw last fall. The lone win in the series for the Panthers came in September of 1986, a 3-0 shutout decision.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
DRAKE: The Bulldogs lost just twice in an 8-2-7 overall campaign last season, finishing 3-1-3 in Missouri Valley Conference action. Pat Flinn was named head men's soccer coach at Drake in January of 2022. In both 2024 and 2025, the Bulldogs finished second overall in the MVC and the team was rewarded in postseason honors last fall: Eskil Gjerde won Midfielder of the Year, while also picking up First-Team All-MVC honors. He was joined on the first team by Cole Schrage, with second-team status going to Tomas Butkovic, Sam DeLong, and Preston Kipnusu. The team checked in at No. 2 in the MVC preseason poll with Butkovic, DeLong, Schrage, and Preston Kipnusu named to the preseason All-MVC list (the most of any team). The Bulldogs are off to a 2-0-2 start, topping Green Bay (W, 2-0 Aug. 26) and Wartburg (W, 2-0 Aug. 29) in most recent action. Evan Carlson paces the offense with six points (3G), while Butkovic has been the starter all four games, posting a 0.51 GAA while only needing to make four saves.

ST. THOMAS: The Tommies were 7-5-5 last season (the seven wins was a program best since moving up from DIII), finishing 1-3-2 in Summit League play. The team set NCAA Division I program records in nearly every statistical category and finished with a positive goal differential (24-22) for the first time in program history. The 2026 season marks Jon Lowery's 15th season as a head coach for the Tommie program. Lowery coached his 200th game with St. Thomas in 2022 season is the longest tenured coach at his school among the Summit men's soccer coaches. The team was picked to finish tied for fifth place in the preseason league poll, with goalkeeper Moritz Krenc and Merrick Schaefer selected Players to Watch. The Tommies have opened 2026 at 1-1-2 and will play St. Cloud State this week before heading to Milwaukee. Jacon Nokken (1G/2A) and Ednilson Voilas (2G) lead the team with four points, while Krenc (1.50 GAA/5 saves) and Damian Climent (1.00 GAA/4 saves) splitting time in net.

FOR OPENERS
Milwaukee is now 27-19-8 all-time in season openers following a 0-0 draw against Southern Indiana to open 2026. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has 16 season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going 10-3-3. 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.

HARD TO TOP DEBUT
Freshman Filip Dostanic earned the starting job in goal in the preseason and did not disappoint in his debut, blanking Southern Indiana Aug. 20, while making five saves. In doing so, he became just the fifth freshman in the past 25 years to start the season opener in goal for the Panthers (freshman Freddy Lorenzen was the last in 2017, a 1-0 win over Western Illinois). 

ALL FOUR; ZUNIGA BEFORE
The Panthers have scored four goals so far on the young season, with the noteworthy thing being that all four have seen Dominic Zuniga serve as the primary (and only) assist on each goal - including a trio against Chicago State Aug. 24. Not only does he lead the Horizon League in assists, but starts the week ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in the category, just behind the national leader with five. His three assists against the Cougars went down as a tie for the fifth-most in a game in school history, with the most recent player to record the triple-helper coming via Raul Medina in August of 2024. The school record is five in a single game.
5: Bobby Lish on 10/27/2002 ... Zach Papanikolaou on 9/29/73
4: Ryan Seymour on 9/3/2000 ... Milan Stojsavljevic on 10/7/77

A NEW LOOK FOR 2026
The Panthers will have a new look on offense this season, as the top two scorers from last season, as well as five of the top seven, have either graduated or transferred to different programs. Dominic Zuniga (11 points on 3G/5A) and Jack Bretzmann (10 points on 5G) will be the top returning scorers for Milwaukee in 2026 after a campaign in which the team did lead the Horizon League in goals scored with 32 (second was 27).

All told, the MKE offense will return just 42 of the 98 total points from 2025. From a starting perspective, the Panthers do return five regular starters, including Jack Wagner (started all 19 games in 2025) and Mitch Goodman (played all 19; started 16) along the back line. Pavle Ivkovic, a freshman last fall, made 13 starts in his 15 appearances once he made his way into the lineup on defense. They are joined in experience by Dominic Zuniga and Jack Bretzmann, as both are returners who made 11 starts among their 16 games played apiece.

Points: returners accounted for 42 of the 98 points (42.9 percent)
Goals: 12 of 32 goals (37.5 percent)
Assists: 18 of 34 assists (52.9 percent)
Starts: returning players accounted for 87 starts last season (41.6 percent).
Minutes: returning players accounted for 9,123 of 18,766 minutes played (48.6 percent).
One of the biggest opportunities will be in net, where 2025 starter Nic Diana played all but 90:00 last season (out of 1710:00/94.7 percent).

A FAMILY AFFAIR
The Panthers have a lot of family connections on the 2026 roster, as the team not only has two pairs of brothers in action, but also a father-son and brother-sister connection. Felix Huwiler, a junior and two-year member of the Panthers, will be joined by brother, Katahdin. The younger Huwiler capped his time at Marquette University High School with a senior season in which he was named Wisconsin Soccer Coaches First-Team All-State and Greater Metro First-Team All-Conference for the second consecutive campaign. Joining the Panthers via the transfer route are brothers AJ and Allen Wild. AJ, a sophomore, arrives in Milwaukee following two seasons at Davidson where he appeared in 15 games in 2025, making nine starts. His brother Allen joins the MKE roster after beginning his collegiate career at Gardner-Webb, redshirting the 2025 campaign.

There are two other storylines, starting with Cole Luedke, who comes the Panthers following a very successful campaign at nearby Wisconsin Lutheran College. As a freshman in 2024, he was named Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Honorable Mention. His father, Joe, enjoyed a successful career on the pitch for the Black & Gold from 1996 to 1999. Lastly, freshman Timo Schroeder has an older sister, Svava, who is a current sophomore on the MKE women's tennis team.

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 seven different countries or territories. In addition to 18 players from the United States, the roster will have representation from the following:

New Zealand: Phoenix Coursey (Christchurch)
Germany: Paul Denz (Laufenburg), Timo Schroeder (Berlin)
Japan: Roy Nozawa (Tokyo)
Scotland: Ollie Weir (Falkirk)
Serbia: Pavle Ivkovic (Niš), Filip Dostanic (Belgrade)
Spain: Hur Irizar Lekue (Bilbao), Alvaro Perez Eugenio (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)
United Kingdom: Daniel Gill (Newport, Wales, U.K.)

REGULAR SEASON SHINE
The Panthers' unbeaten 2-0-3 start to Horizon League play last season marked their best undefeated opening run in conference play since a 4-0-1 five-match run to begin the 2007 campaign. The final ledger of 3-1-5 marked the fewest losses in a league schedule since a 6-1-0 mark back in 2004.

FIT TO BE TIED
Since the NCAA removed overtime from the regular season, the draw has been a much more common result for the Panthers. Prior to the start of the 2022 campaign (the year of the rule change), the program record for ties in a season was five, set on a pair of occasions with the most recent coming in 2008. Starting in 2022, Milwaukee reset the record with eight that fall, which approached what was then the NCAA record of nine. The team played games to even four times in 2023 before five in Fall of 2024. Last season, the Panthers again drew level with the program mark of eight. 

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 31-13-7 record in the series and did maintain possession of the Cup from 2017 until fall of 2022. Over the past nine meetings, the Panthers are 3-3-4.

Looking back, 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 nationally 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. It was there again last fall, seeing Fernando Pirry net a brilliant goal in the 73rd minute to break a 1-1 tie and hand the team the trophy. In 2023, Raul Medina netted a goal in the 83rd to help MKE find a 1-1 decision and maintain possession of the Cup. 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. 

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 possible 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. Twelve 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.

HOME SWEET HOME
Milwaukee extended its unbeaten streak in home games to 13 consecutive contests (7-0-6) dating back to the 2024 season with its 0-0 draw against Cleveland State Sept. 13 last fall. That eclipsed the longest such streak at Engelmann Stadium since the team won 11 straight from the end of the 2004 campaign (won final 10) into 2005 (victory in home opener) before the streak was snapped. The 13 consecutive drew even with the school record set of 13 (13-0-0) established in 2002 before coming to a conclusion in the 3-2 loss to Marquette Sept. 23.

LEAGUE LIFTOFF
The Panthers are 24-14-4 all-time in league openers in seasons in which they have been affiliated with a conference following a draw with Cleveland State this year. Head coach Kris Kelderman is 5-7-3 in his 15 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 65-16-15 (.755) 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 61-31-27 (.626) at home in Kris Kelderman's 14-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 $12.99 a month (or $129.99 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 open Horizon League play next, hosting Wright State Wednesday. Game time against the Raiders is set for 3 p.m.