Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 2 for 2018

Hello Panther fans!

It’s been busy, focused, and energetic, and there’s no shortage of entertainment with this edition of ‘Nights Under the Lights,’ but what else can you expect during an NCAA soccer season? With games coming quickly and constantly, there’s almost no chance to breathe, let alone stay mentally focused with high energy during these past few weeks.

Our home-opening weekend came against Valparaiso and University of Pennsylvania, both teams with quality and were not going to lay down easily. Valparaiso deemed to be a frustrating opponent for us, and although we controlled the match and created many quality chances during it, we came out of the game with a 1-0 loss from a corner in the 88th minute. The game of football can be unbelievably cruel, and I’ve learned that during my years here at UWM, but sometimes the soccer God’s just aren’t on your side on the day.

We pulled up our socks and prepared for U-Penn on the upcoming Sunday, where again we came out strong with high intensity and created many chances. Except on this occasion we learned from our mistakes, putting away two quick goals and staying disciplined throughout the rest of the match to secure a clean sheet. It was a weekend of learning curves and major improvements from the squad, and we were looking forward to conference play the next weekend against Cleveland state at home!

Conference play is always a different type of battle compared to non-conference matches earlier in the season, so we as a squad knew we’d have to roll up our sleeves and be ready for a grueling battle. The match ended 1-1, with a goal coming from defender Jake Kelderman, but it definitely wasn’t our best performance. That being said, drawing a side in conference when we’re not at our best is a sign of better things to come; we had to improve, and we did.

The Milwaukee Cup. As a senior athlete at UWM you really grow to dislike Marquette. Each year you play them, the occasion gets more and more intense, and your desire to win that derby and host the trophy after the match only grows. It was at their ground this season, and I tell you there is nothing more I, and the team, wanted that week than to host that trophy on Valley Field, and it showed. From the first whistle to last, every guy on that pitch in a UWM uniform worked their tail off. A goal each from the Three Lions Josh Kaye and Sean Holmes was enough to get us over the line, and we earned a vital three points against our most fierce cross-town rivals.

Next up was another conference match against top 50 side Northern Kentucky, who were on a streak of good results and had some top players earning some great statistical achievements at the start of this season. With some torrid conditions including rain and a dodgy pitch, we came out of the first half knotted at nil-nil. That being said, we knew we could get better and that only encouraged us going into the second half. We came out and showed some great quality to earn us another 2-1 win, goals coming from Evan Conway and Alex ‘Whitey’ Sykes. It was a happy bus ride home, and we could go into the next week where winning two trophies was possible in the horizon.

Next up came midweek opposition in Northern-Illinois, who going into the match were ranked #13 in the nation according to RPI standings. We were excited, and with a big crowd from the tailgate prior to the match our energy levels were through the roof. We came out strong with many quality chances in the first half and went into the break up 1-0 with a goal from captain Sean Reynolds, with the only negative aspect of our performance being we hadn’t gone two or three up in the first 20 minutes. Unfortunately, this came to bite us in the butt as we gave away a couple soft goals in the second half and couldn’t rebound back. It was a disappointing game, and although it wasn’t a conference game, it was still a game we could look back on as frustrating. But another learning experience for us as a team, because no less than three days later we were back on Engelmann pitch again against our second Wisconsin rivals, Green Bay.

They had snaked away with the trophy last season with a goal on our home pitch in overtime to win it, so we as an entire team were nothing but eager to recreate that script. Conference match and a heated rivalry between us, everyone knew going into the match we would have to be energetic and ready to battle. It was a massive chess match, with each team feeling the other out and it lead to a stalemate at the end of the regular 90 minutes. Into overtime we went, and with so many matches in the last couple weeks it was nothing less than taxing on the bodies. With a minute to go in the first overtime, English lad Sean Holmes came up with the goods yet again scoring a proper turn and finish, and the celebrations began. It was a great, well-deserved win, and we left the field with our heads held high having regained the Chancellors cup.

Well, like I said it’s been busy but no short of energy and entertainment. We’re on the road now for a few matches with another cross-state rivalry game against BIG 10 Wisconsin-Madison this week, with conference games also coming up! Make sure to tune into ESPN for our upcoming matches, and we’re looking forward to continuing our run of form going into the last two-thirds of conference play!

Thanks for checking in!!

-Frankie

Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 1 for 2018

Hello Panthers and welcome to season two, entry one of our Milwaukee Men’s soccer blog ‘Nights Under the Lights.’

As many of you know, my name is Francesco and I am a senior going into this upcoming fall soccer season. It’s my fourth and final year here in Milwaukee, and I know everyone surrounding the program is extremely excited for this upcoming season! With a very good mix of older players in their third and fourth seasons like myself, and a good chunk of new faces in the locker room as well, I know we have a team that can challenge for the Horizon League title and then some this 2018 year.

We’ve been after it since the first day of August as a team, with captain’s training starting up very early this year. Again, this is a time where we as captain’s get the team together without the coaches prior to preseason to play some small-sided games. We got some touches, got to know a lot of the new guys, and overall it was a very enjoyable time where we could just play without the pressures of official preseason.

After about a week and a half of captain’s training, it was time to get the real deal started. First things first, fitness testing on day one with some small-sided games. The coaches got after it right from the start, which is just what we needed. After a grueling preseason, with multiple days where we trained two, maybe three times, some heavy humidity and darting sunshine, along with a few preseason matches to get into form, we were ready for opening weekend in Macomb, Ill., against the Western-Illinois Leathernecks.

Last season we took three points from the Leathernecks on opening day at Engelmann Stadium, so we knew they were going to want to avenge that result. However, the game was on a Sunday late afternoon and they had played two days prior in Oakland, which was taken to double overtime. We knew we would be fresh, while a double-overtime on opening day is nothing but heavy on the legs no doubt, so we were looking forward to hopefully using that to our advantage. It was hot, and temperatures were in the late 90s and early 100s, with the humidity so intense the air almost felt sticky. After a rather slow first half, with each team feeling the other out, at the end of the first half sophomore Vuk Latinovich put away a free kick from about 25ish yards out! It was a great strike into the bottom corner, and from there we never looked back. The match ended 4-0 in favour of the Panthers, with additional goals from Alex ‘Whitey’ Sykes, Josh Kaye, and Sean Holmes. It was a fantastic start to the season and led to a happy ride home back to Milwaukee.

Next up was the University of Dayton Invitational, where we were scheduled to meet up with both the University of Dayton Flyers and Ohio State Buckeyes. First up was Dayton on the Friday night, and it being their home opener we knew the atmosphere would be electric. It was something we were all looking forward to, and the build-up to the match was very exciting. The fans were loud, both teams were ready to use the energy to their benefit. Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way we had planned, and we ended up losing the match 2-0. It wasn’t our best performance by any means, but we knew we could be better and we were determined to make things right come Sunday.

Preparation began for Big Ten side Ohio State, and preparation on Saturday consisted of both a pool and video session to help us get ready for the battle. It was another hot and humid day, where again temperatures were reaching the high 90s with the luxury of high humidity yet again. However, we as a team were more than eager to make things right in terms of our performance. We started off the game much better and in control, with good possession and dangerous counters as well. Finally, our play paid off and Evan Conway scored a brilliant flick on goal from a Latinovich cross and we were one-nil up! It was well deserved, and we carried that goal with us the rest of the match to win 1 nil. It was a great win that everyone contributed to in good style.

Our next matches come at home finally, against Valparaiso on Friday night and University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, both at Engelmann stadium at 7PM. We will continue to work hard and make each session and match count! Thanks for tuning in and we hope to see you at our home opening weekend!

Frankie

Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 4

Hey fellow Panthers, and welcome to entry four of “Nights Under the Lights,” where things have really started falling into place as we go into the final part of the season. We have found a bit of a rhythm on both the offensive and defensive sides to our game, which has definitely come through perseverance, hard work, and repetition on the training pitch. With five Horizon League victories on the trot, we can really start to look forward to the excitement of post-season coming up the first week of November!

Anyways, after a fantastic win away to Cleveland State, we had the next week to prepare for first-place challenging Wright State at Engelmann on the upcoming Saturday. It was a good week of preparation and despite the weather conditions, everyone was raring to go against a top side in our conference. After a hard fought first half, we went into the locker room one nil down, but we had looked confident and still had high hopes of coming away with a result. We took the beginning of the second half by the scruff of the neck and got our reward through Evan Conway who tied it up at one apiece. Against the run of play Wright State regained the lead, but not for long before Jaime Colin put the ball into the back of the goal off a low cross from captain Jason Svensson. At the end of 90 minutes it was knotted at two goals each, but we all knew we deserved three points. With that belief, came a sudden death goal from Evan Conway just under five minutes into overtime! It was potentially our biggest win of the season, and teams around the league were really starting to take notice of our recent results and performances.

That game gave us even more confidence leading up to our next Horizon League game in ‘Motor City’ against the University of Detroit Titans. We had another full week to recover and prepare for the trip to Detroit, which was another crucial match where we expected nothing less than three points. Arriving to the match, most of us knew the atmosphere wasn’t going to be great so we were determined to make something out of nothing and create a positive environment for ourselves. We took control of the match from the start, and despite a defensive error and going down a goal fairly early, we continued to create lots of chances and looked very dangerous. Nick Moon scored our lone goal of the half, and we went into half time wanting even more. Reid Stevenson found himself in the right place at the right time to find our game winner, and Evan Conway found himself on the score sheet yet again. A convincing away win against a very tough opposition who looked to get the ball in the air as much as possible, it was a very positive ride home back to MKE.

After two full weeks of preparing for the past two matches, we had a quick turn around against in-state rivals Wisconsin-Madison. Madison is a top side amongst division one this season, and were making a name for themselves amongst the top schools with some good results and resounding performances. However, we knew we were in a very good place with some great performances on our backs, and we were all eager to test ourselves against some of the best around the nation. The air was brisk, and it felt like a true late October night, and the game started off a bit slow where each team assessed the other out. The match picked up in the second half, and chances occurred at each end, with Freddy Lorenzen coming up with two spectacular saves. Big time keepers come up in big time games when the team isn’t playing at the top of their game, and Freddy made sure to give us the best chance possible to carve something out of this one. The match ended nil-nil through overtime, but we showed resilience and proved we weren’t going to be merely pushed aside like many may have thought prior to the match up.

Our attention turned back to conference play, where we’d slowly moved our way up the rankings and were fighting for a top spot. IUPUI were up next at home, and they’d struggled throughout the season to pick up results, but we knew they’d be playing without any pressure and we were ready for the fight. Another brisk night at Engelmann, where we honored our four seniors Magnus Flaatedal, Nick Moon, Reid Stevenson, and Jonathan Stadler, who are big time leaders for our group in different ways and have shown that from the beginning of my career at UWM and throughout this season. We took control of this one from the very beginning, and both Jaime Colin and Evan Conway found the goal yet again early on in the match, and our dominance continued. Jake Kelderman opened up his account for the season after getting on the end of a Vuk Latinovich set piece, and from there it was a comfortable win that could have ended with plenty more goals for us.

Now, we look forward to our final match of the season in Michigan against the Oakland Grizzlies, who are fighting for postseason action as we fight for a top seed in hope of potentially hosting the conference tournament. Things are looking more positive than they have all season long, and we want to do our best to extend our season for as long as possible! Thanks for tuning in yet again, and hopefully there’s a lot more to celebrate come my next entry!

-Frankie

Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 3

Hello again Panther fans, and welcome to the third entry of ‘Nights Under the Lights!”

We’ve seen a couple trophies, some competitive matches, and emotions flying all around us on and off the pitch, so there’s a lot to cover in this week’s entry! As I mentioned in my prior post, the season continues to fly by day-by-day and we can hardly catch our breath as we enter the final third, and possibly the most important part of our season. Our team has continued to grow and improve over the course of this season and we’ve definitely had several learning experiences together as a group, which have enabled us to look nothing but forward for the challenges ahead.

Picking up from last time where we came across a tough Belmont side, we took a couple days away from the field to reflect and we came back onto the pitch hungrier than ever. Northern Illinois was our next opponent, which included the second of three trophies on the line we’d fight for this season, the LeWang Trophy. We took the short bus ride down to Northern Illinois and we were eager to earn the trophy back after falling to them at home last year in the dying seconds. The game had a rather slow start as each team assessed one another, until Jaime Colin picked up the ball from about 30 yards out and picked out the top right hand corner! 1-0 up, and from there we established our dominance and fought for our lives. It was a very well-earned victory and a nice bus ride home with the LeWang trophy strapped in alongside captain Sean Reynolds.

We used that victory to fuel us going into another conference game against UIC at home on the upcoming Saturday. UIC knocked us out of the Horizon League Semifinal last season and both teams needed conference results, so it was set up for a high-paced and intense match. We came out of the blocks slow, and gave up two early goals, which made things very tough from the start. We earned one back from a Latinovich penalty but couldn’t find the net again and the match ended 2-1, which was somewhat disheartening from such a great performance a few days before. But as many teams will figure out during soccer season, you can’t dwell on the past and we immediately turned our focus to the exciting Milwaukee Cup against Marquette at Engelmann in three days time.

Since my freshmen year we had never won against Marquette, fall or spring, and no player on our current team had won the Milwaukee Cup during any fall season, so you can probably imagine how revved up our team was. Both coaches and players had an unbelievable amount of energy leading up to the match, and it showed when the match kicked off. We took off and pressed Marquette from minute one till the clock hit 90, nothing stopped us, and I’m sure our sophomore striker Evan Conway will tell you he hadn’t, nor will ever again, run that much in a match. Both seniors Reid Stevenson and Nick Moon scored, which made things that much sweeter for them to lift that trophy in front of our own fans at the end of the match.

We turned our attention back to conference, and while we left that result against Marquette in the past, we still had some of the juices running and wanted to keep that ball-rolling heading into the Northern Kentucky match up. We knew we had struggled in conference play, but we also knew one win could quickly turn things around and that’s what we did against Northern Kentucky. Another fantastic performance that lead to yet another 2-0 win, where we worked extremely hard, created a few good chances, which were taken by Evan Conway and Henrik Fennefoss, and things were looking up and there was a great vibe in the locker room after two well-earned victories.

Our attention quickly turned again to SIUE who we’d seen a couple times in my Panther career, but never in regular season play. They were always a competitive team that played good soccer, but we were on a high and felt we could take advantage of that. Unfortunately things didn’t go our way, and we came away with a 2-0 loss, which reflected our play. It was a rather unexpected performance, where energy lacked and the quality wasn’t quite there from us, perhaps so many games in a short amount of time. Either way, we weren’t making excuses because we knew the other team was in the same situation, so we took the match on the chin and had another quick turn around.

Cleveland State was up next, who had some positive results in conference play and were looking confident in securing an early playoff spot. We had spoiled their playoff hopes last year in the final match of the season with a last-minute goal, and our team wanted to come out and remind them of that result from last season. There was a sense that we were going to be an easy match for them, but we were determined to prove them we weren’t there for the taking. The first half ended a stalemate with limited chances on each end, but 15 minutes into the second half Nick Moon found himself bursting past his defender and slotting the ball in far post. Along with that, I was lucky enough to find myself on the score sheet with my first goal of the season, which gave us a 2-0 lead that we held onto till the end of the match! A confident display from us, and we feel as though we’re picking up some steam and getting hot at the perfect time. We’re still right in the mix of things regarding conference play and play off spots, so we will continue to fight every day and work for what we feel we deserve! Thanks for tuning in, a rather long entry this week but nonetheless we appreciate you keeping up with us!

-Frankie

Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 2

Hello and welcome back Panther fans, to this week’s edition of “Nights Under the Lights!”

This first month and a bit has flown right by, and as I mentioned in the last write-up the team continues to work, battle and stay hungry for positive performances and results. The vibe around the dressing room is a positive one and our group continues to grow and learn about one another on and off the pitch.

Picking up from last time, our team hopped on the bus and made the long trip to Evansville, Indiana, for a couple of matches against hosts Evansville University on Friday, and University of Bradley from Illinois on Sunday.

Evansville is a good team with lots of international players who had some great experience, along with a preseason All-American midfielder, but none of that mattered to us come game time. We went down two-nil and we were fighting some adversity from fans and the referee, but we had no doubt in ourselves. Senior Magnus Flaatedal opened his account for the season with a composed finished from the penalty spot, and in the final moments sophomore Evan Conway scored to tie the game. Overtime proved to be a back and forth encounter with chances at both ends, but unfortunately we conceded and came away without a point, which didn’t properly reflect great resilience and a convincing performance.

We brought those positives to Sunday’s match versus Bradley, a team known for their athleticism, set pieces and long throw-ins, and seeing the ball in the air a lot. It was a hot afternoon, but come the second half, you could tell our good possession play started to take its toll on the opposition’s legs. 80 minutes in, it stayed even at 0-0, but finally Evan Conway found himself on the end of a cross to score his second of the season and see us take the lead! Along with that, senior Nick Moon also opened his account after taking on three players convincingly from half way and confidently slotting the ball into the goal to round off a proper performance and a great result for the team. A good three points, along with some bad music selections from Jaime Colin on the bus ride home, we were already looking forward to next weekend’s home match versus in-state rivals Green Bay for the Chancellors Cup.

We had a full week to prepare for the match, which always stirred up emotions from past matches between the two sets of teams. Saturday came and it was a beautiful night, where we were physically and mentally ready to fight in front of a great crowd at Engelmann stadium. The match took little time to get going and both teams saw chances go astray, but neither was willing to make a mistake that would cost a result. Green Bay scored, and the crowd came to a hush as the team looked to regroup and find a second of magic to tie up the match. Again, never count out this team, because come the final 10 seconds senior defender Jonathan Stadler found himself burying the ball into the goal off a corner kick; both the stands and our bench erupt in celebration and we found ourselves in another overtime match. Unfortunately the celebrations were cut short, after Green Bay found a goal a few minutes into overtime to snag the Chancellors Cup from right under our noses. It had a complete sour taste in all our mouths and although we as a team were very disappointed in the result, it fueled us for our next home game against UMKC in three days time.

Both teams surprisingly came out flying out of the gates the start of Tuesday’s game, considering it was an out-of-conference match up. We took first blood from a brilliant finish from senior striker Reid Stevenson, which saw him run over and celebrate with his sister on the sideline. He always said he was a lover, not a fighter. UMKC continued to look to move the ball and keep possession, and they were able to tie the game up and even score a second to make the match 2-1. Luckily though, junior defender sergeant Svensson scored a header off a Latinovich free kick in the final few minutes, and here we were in yet another overtime situation. Both teams looked to play and keep possession, looking to break lines and play good football, which made for a great match up all game. Overtime ran out and we came out with a point against a good team that had only conceded one goal all season before meeting us.

This past weekend we made the long and tedious journey to Belmont University in Tennessee, but we were looking forward to Horizon League play once again and wanted to make an impact. It was hot and humid down in Nashville at midday, and 11 hours on the bus over the course of two days didn’t help our legs, but we were determined to fight for a result. Unfortunately, things didn’t go our way, and we ended up losing to Belmont 2-1. Again, another game we saw slip by at our finger tips.

A record of 2-3-2 after the first third of the season, which continues to fly by day by day, isn’t a terrible place to be in. Each game we felt we outplayed the opposition, had more shots and had the better chances, and now it’s just finding a way to get back to the basics and find a way to put the ball in the goal. We’ll regroup, and look forward to the LeWang Trophy against Northern Illinois this upcoming Wednesday!

Thanks for tuning in once again!

-Frankie

Nights Under the Lights: Entry No. 1

Finding Our Feet

Hello past, present, and future Panthers, as well as our fans!

We hope you’ve had enjoyable, warm and safe summers all round, because soon enough we will be seeing shorter days and cooler temperatures here in the city of Milwaukee. The season of fall is upon us, but what does that really mean? It means that the UWM men’s soccer team’s season has kicked off and has fired straight into action! A team with huge ambitions, exciting expectations, and 32 passionate young men who fight for each other everyday, along with coaches who drive us to be our very best at each and every training session. No one will want to miss out on the “Nights Under the Lights” this season at Engelmann stadium.

In the past we’ve had former soccer players write up some articles for a blog, which looks to give updates on our Men’s soccer team. Former captain Dustin Ashley’s “Back Line Blog” and Laurie Bell’s “Bell’s Blog,” are a couple that come to mind within the last five years. Personally I think it’s important to have a connection and interact with our fans as much as possible, and that’s one of the reasons why I’ve decided to pick up and continue this tradition!

If you don’t know me, my name is Francesco Saporito and I play on the men’s soccer team here at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. A little bit about me: I’m in my Junior year here at UWM, I’m an international student who was born and raised in the great white north of Edmonton Canada, and I major in Kinesiology, which is involved with sports sciences and sport rehabilitation. Some interests of mine other than soccer include travelling and exploring different cultures, playing board games with my family when I’m back home, and hanging out with my buddies, which usually consists of winning each round of Mario Kart against fellow teammates Josh Kaye and Alex Eastman, but that story is for another day.

But enough about me, and let’s rewind about a month ago to a dry, warm, August day where you pass by Engelmann field and can see our team running shuttles across the field, or otherwise known as EuroFits, as our strength and conditioning coach, Matt Holt, loves to call them. He’s another big part of our team’s project behind the scenes that many fail to see, so a special shout out to him because he’s a special individual who works his tail off for all our athlete’s here at UWM. Captain’s training starts, and you see many returning and familiar faces, as well as a large chunk of new faces around the locker room. These days we spent playing small-sided games, running shuttles across the pitch, and a couple team activities off the pitch to get everyone together prior to the real thing come August 8th. There’s also nothing like a good run to Bradford Beach during captain’s training, where you see co-captain Jonathon Stadler sprint off ahead of the group, demanding more from each of us going into preseason.

Finally we hit the first day of official training with Coach Kelderman, Zenoni, and Rey, who many of you fans I’m sure are familiar with. Both Coach Kelderman and Coach Zenoni have entered their sixth year at the helm of our team here at UWM, while Coach Rey is our goalkeeper coach who played with me during my freshmen year here at UWM. Training started off very good, competitive, energetic, and you could see there was eagerness amongst the group. My freshmen year in 2015 we failed to qualify for post-season conference play, and last season we established third in regular season play, but lost out to UIC in overtime of the post-season semi final match. This year, as I mentioned earlier has even higher expectations, and we’re aiming for nothing but higher this season. Our first preseason match saw us take a 2-2 draw away to a team, which appeared in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2016 season, Loyola, where we won in penalty shootout. Our second preseason match featured our first ever “Black and Gold” game where we played an intersquad amongst ourselves. Finally, our third and final preseason match saw us take on another NCAA tournament team from the 2016 season in the University of Dayton, where we won a thrilling 5-3 match. And just like that, a grueling, yet very positive preseason was over.

Finally, this past weekend we opened up the regular season with two home matches against two teams we matched up against last year in Eastern Illinois on Friday night, and Western Illinois on Sunday afternoon. Both were determined to bring their A-game, knowing that we’d come away with victories against both of them last season, but our group was ready for the challenges ahead. Eastern Illinois came with an organized, defensive plan, and were set on making it a frustrating night for us. Regardless, we persevered and we determined to fight for a positive result. With 4 minutes to play, freshmen Henrik Fennefoss, a very flamboyant and deceptive midfielder from Norway, found himself on the end of Nick Anguil-Andriacchi header and bang, just like that, 1-nil up! 3 points, and we looked to go again Sunday afternoon. Come Sunday, we hit a bit of a roadblock against another very defensive set team in Western Illinois. Unfortunately we went down 1-nil very early, but clawed our way back to 1-1 from a very nice finish from freshmen Vuk Latinovich. Another game where shots were highly in our favor, but we couldn’t quite find that second goal and took away a point each. All in all, it was a positive weekend where we were able to find our feet a little and find areas to work on in training, which is exactly what we did leading up to our trip to Evansville this weekend! Excited, hungry, and keen to take away nothing but six points from both matches, don’t forget to tune in to ESPN3 and watch our this Friday night and Sunday afternoon!

Thanks for tuning in!

-Frankie

Former Panther Make's SportsCenter's Top Play

Former Milwaukee men's soccer player Tenzin Rampa found his name in the headlines earlier this week.

Rampa, who played with Milwaukee from 2004-07, made an incredible save for the Milwaukee Wave. His all-out, diving effort to keep the ball from going in the back of the net with the game on the line made the No. 1 play on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays the following day.

Rampa's save was key to the Wave's big 5-3 win over St. Louis, stretching their winning streak to three.

To see the clip from ESPN, click here.

FOX 6 Does Feature Story on Men's Soccer

In case you missed it Sunday, Tim Van Vooren from FOX 6 Sports put together a feature highlighting four freshmen from the men's soccer team. In it's "Beyond the Game" segment, Van Vooren highlighted newcomers Matthias Binder, Francesco Saporito, Tinashe Marowa and Josh Kaye and their travels from overseas to become members of the Milwaukee men's soccer team.

Information on the "Milwaukee Cup March"

Note: The following event is being held in conjunction with the Milwaukee/Marquette game Wednesday. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is not affiliated with the event. The Athletics Communication Office is providing the information due to requests received from fans of the soccer program. The following is from the website: http://www.milsoccerdg.org

The Milwaukee Soccer Development Group is uniting the local soccer community in an event that is being christened the "Milwaukee Cup March" for the Marquette University vs. Milwaukee Men’s NCAA soccer game on Wednesday, September 17th.

MSDG is pleased to announce the hosting of a soccer march at Twisted Fisherman Crab Shack for the UW-Milwaukee (UWM) Vs Marquette University (MU) men’s soccer game. With the game starting at 7 p.m., the tailgate starts at 5 p.m. The Twisted Fisherman Crab Shack is located at 1200 W. Canal Street, just a few blocks away from Valley Fields where the game is being played. The tailgate is a followup to MSDG’s Professional Soccer in Milwaukee symposium held on July 15th at Milwaukee City Hall. The tailgate and march is a challenge to the local soccer community to unite and show its strength of support for professional outdoor soccer in Milwaukee. Each year, the UWM and MU men’s soccer teams battle for the Milwaukee Cup trophy. The match stands as one of the few examples of a true derby in American soccer and their soccer rivalry is also one of the oldest, dating back to 1973.

The Milwaukee Cup March is not only a chance to support local soccer but also demonstrate Milwaukee’s desire for a professional outdoor soccer team, and will also include a Q&A with select members of the local soccer community. After the discussion, soccer fans will march to the Marquette fields west on Canal Street. The Milwaukee Cup is the highest level of outdoor soccer in Milwaukee and the goal will be to sell out this game and in doing so prove that Wisconsin is ready for a professional outdoor team.

The Twisted Fisherman will donate a portion of the proceeds towards MSDG’s goal of raising funds to properly convert a set of unused tennis courts to soccer courts in the Greater Milwaukee Area. Court conversion includes new line painting, goals and signs. MSDG is also hosting a 3v3 tournament on Saturday, October 11th at the Burnham Park Tennis Courts for the same cause.

Anyone interested in media coverage, sponsorship, or further information about MSDG’s Milwaukee Cup March should inquire via email to jmoran@milsoccerdg.org.

Milwaukee Soccer Development Group is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded in 2012. The mission of MSDG is to promote the sport of soccer in the Greater Milwaukee Area by providing opportunities and support for young people at any level to enjoy the game within the community.

Come ready to support your team, wear your soccer shirts, wave your flags, bring your banners, sing your hearts out and become part of this historic local derby between two great Wisconsin D-1 soccer teams.

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Meet and Greet
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm Speakers
6:30 pm - 6:45 pm March to Valley Fields
7:00 pm - Kick-off
Cost: The ‘Milwaukee Cup March’ is free but there is cost for the tickets to the game.

Laurie Bell Featured in "IAMUWM" Video

Senior Laurie Bell of the Milwaukee men's soccer team is the latest student-athlete to be featured in an IAMUWM video spotlight on UW-Milwaukee's homepage.

Watch it here:

Litton Heading Overseas With U.S. Futsal National Team

Mark Litton, one of the assistants for the Milwaukee men's soccer team, is also the assistant for the U.S. Futsal National Team. Sounds like soccer, but what exactly is that, you ask?

According to its website, futsal (Five-a-Side Soccer) is "The Way the World Plays Indoor Soccer" and is the international form of indoor soccer approved by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It is played in all continents of the world by over 100 countries with 12 million players. The term FUTSAL is the international term used for the game. It is derived from the Spanish or Portuguese word for "soccer", FUTbol or FUTebol, and the French or Spanish word for "indoor", SALon or SALa and it was first used by U.S. Futsal in 1987. U.S. Futsal President Alex Para, lobbied to FIFA to have the name Futsal used for the game, until that time FIFA had used the name Indoor Soccer and Five-a-Side Soccer. FIFA took up the name in 1989.

It is, essentially, a modified form of soccer played with five players per side on a smaller, typically indoor, field.

Here is the information on the trip, courtesy of www.wisconsinsoccercentral.com:

The U.S. Futsal national team, led by former Milwaukee Wave coach Keith Tozer, will return to England in June to defend its Four Nations Tournament title.

The Americans will face Qatar on June 5, Cyprus on June 6 and England on June 8 at the tournament in Newcastle. Last year, the U.S. edged England 2-1, routed Malaysia 8-1 and doubled up Poland 4-2 to win the event.

UW-Milwaukee men's goalkeeper coach Mark Litton (Racine St. Catherine's/UW-Parkside) is Tozer's assistant on the U.S. squad. The roster for the tournament hasn't been announced, but likely will include current or former Wave players.

The American team will train in Milwaukee ahead of the tournament, starting May 30, and could be back in town for a match later in June.

In its article earlier this month about Tozer parting ways with the Wave after 22 years, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that plans were being made for the U.S. Futsal team to face France in a match to coincide with the beginning of the World Cup, which starts June 12 in Brazil. The French Football Federation website confirmed that its futsal team will be playing in the U.S. this summer.

Tozer, the winningest coach in professional indoor soccer history with a 528-282 record in 27 seasons, now operates K. Tozer Soccer Academy. He was named the U.S. Futsal national team interim coach in 1996 and was promoted to head coach in 1998.

Former UWM Soccer Player Signs With Wave

Former University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer player Bryce Boyd recently saw one of his dreams come true - to play professional soccer - when he signed with the Milwaukee Wave.

The full article from the Wave website (HERE) is also below:

WAVE SIGNS GOALKEEPER BRYCE BOYD

MILWAUKEE (Jan. 31) — Once a Milwaukee Wave camper and later a staff coach, goalkeeper Bryce Boyd is now a player for the Milwaukee Wave after signing a contract with the team Wednesday.

Boyd, a native of Mequon who played at the University of San Francisco for three years and then at UW-Milwaukee in 2010, joins the roster with veteran Nick Vorberg headed to injured reserve due to a hand injury. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Boyd made six starts and seven total appearances at UWM with a 1.36 goals-against average.

“I started as a camper back in the day, went to games with my family,” Boyd said. “My first jersey was a Victor Nogueira jersey. To finally become a signed player is a dream come true.”

Boyd has been training with the team for two years and is familiar with the players and Coach Keith Tozer's system.

“We're fortunate to have a player of his ability who's fit, knows the system and can help us while Nick is on IR,” Tozer said.

Vorberg is 3-1 in four appearances this season, but has not played since Dec. 13. Marcel Feenstra is 7-1 in goal for the Wave and is third in the MISL with a 10.52 points allowed average.

The Wave (10-2) visit St. Louis (4-10) at 1:35 p.m. Saturday with hopes of maintaining its slim lead on Baltimore (10-3) in the league standings.

Horizon League Features Liam Anderson From MSOC

INDIANAPOLIS--Every week Cam Fuller talks with a Horizon League student-athlete who exemplifies integrity and excellence in both the classroom and on their respective playing field. This week, Fuller caught up with freshman goalkeeper Liam Anderson of the Milwaukee Men’s Soccer team. Anderson is off to a stellar start to his career, leading the Panthers to a 6-0-1 record.

FOR DIRECT LINK TO HORIZON LEAGUE WEBSITE

Meet Liam Anderson
Milwaukee Men’s Soccer
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
High School: West Lake Boys High School
Height/Weight: 6-0/190
Position: Goalkeeper

Soccer Background
-Three-year starter in the box for the Westlake Boys High School soccer team.
-Named the ASB Auckland Schoolboy Player of the Year.
-Appeared in ASB Premiership Runners-up 2013, FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2012, FIFA U17 World Cup Mexico 2011 and ASB Charity Cup Champions 2011.

2013 Season Highlights
-Milwaukee is unbeaten through seven games for the first time since 1996 when the Panthers started 7-0-0.
-The Panthers are ranked No. 6 in the NSCAA Great Lakes Poll.
-First career start was a 2-1 season opening victory over No. 12 Marquette in front of a record crowd of 3,312 at Engelmann Stadium.
-The true freshman has played every minute in the box for the Panthers.
-Anderson ranks top 10 in the nation in goals against average and save percentage. He has allowed a measly three goals in seven starts, and his save percentage of .885 ranks 10th in all of Division I. You hail from Auckland, New Zealand, what drew you to UW-Milwaukee?
The fact that I could play at a high level of soccer and also get a University degree at the same time. It’s not really an opportunity you get in New Zealand so America was a big thing. I’d been to America before, but I’d never been to Milwaukee at all. I never visited the school so it’s been quite a new experience.

What’s the transition been like from New Zealand to the United States and from high school soccer to college soccer?
It’s been good so far; it’s a similar standard of fútbol. The biggest difference is the pitches I think six of our first seven games have been on field turf which is quite new to me. The pace has been the biggest thing. It’s a faster game, but you never have to worry about a bad pitch or if you can’t play fútbol on the pitch.

Describe your first game in the box as a Panther, facing No. 12 Marquette with the Milwaukee Cup on the line. It was really exciting, probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in soccer. The crowd was amazing and there was so much build up for the game, it was really good. After we won it was a little bit of a pitch invasion by the fans, it was a really cool experience. Since that Marquette game we’ve had very high expectations. Milwaukee hasn’t had a winning record since the 2005 season when the Panthers won the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championships, later losing in penalty kicks to No. 1 New Mexico in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. What’s it going to take for the Panthers to get back to that level?
Just keep doing what we’re doing at the moment. We pride ourselves on being a really hard team to play against and a hard team to score against. The chances we get I think we can keep winning those and keep doing what we’re doing. At the moment I think we’re at the right step.

Head Coach Kris Kelderman and Goalkeeper Coach Mark Litton both have a wealth of experience in soccer and have some very impressive playing and coaching resumes. What’s it been like to have those two guide you during your first year?
It’s been really good. I work a lot with Mark [Litton] and he knows what I’m talking about and he always has something I need to work on and how to improve my game. Kris [Kelderman] really helps me and the team tactically before matches. We’re always working hard to get better.

You beat out three other goalkeepers for the starting nod to begin the season and have allowed a mere three goals this season, good for a 0.41 goals against average which ranks eighth in the nation. Was this something you expected coming into the season?
Not really, I really didn’t know what it was going to be like once I got here, I just knew I was going to try the best I could. Then I got the starting spot which was great, only allowing three goals thus far is really good, so I just try to do the best I can and so far I’ve been playing well and getting clean sheets.

You plan on studying geography, what’s been your favorite class in your first semester of college?
My favorite class at the moment is The World-Peoples and Regions. It’s really interesting learning about other cultures such as Latin America and Europe and it’s a quite interesting class, that’s the one that’s stood out thus far.

You have quite a few teammates from Wisconsin, have they converted you into a Green Bay Packer fan yet?
I haven’t really watched that much football, I haven’t really had that much time to watch TV. A lot of people in my dorm watch and meet together for the Packer games. I think I might start watching them and see what it’s all about. Back home we get the Super Bowl every year and sometimes I watch that but other than that I’ve never seen American football.

What’s been your favorite American cuisine?
I love Qdoba, it’s amazing. I like their burritos and quesadillas. There aren’t a whole lot of differences in food from back home; we have a lot of McDonald’s, Subway’s and Burger King’s. It’s more of a variety of fast foods over here, but overall it’s very similar. The one thing I miss is mince cheese pies [New Zealand food tradition, prepared as a hamburger-like meat pie], they are amazing but aren’t found over here.

Once your career as a Panther student-athlete is over, where do you see yourself?
I want to pursue soccer as much as possible, I’d really like to go pro, and that’s the big thing for me. If I could play soccer as much as possible and play and make a living out of it that would be the perfect situation for me.

39th Panther Invitational In The Books

Final standings from the 39th Panther Invitational

Champion: Marquette (2-0, 7GF/1GA)
Second: Milwaukee (1-0-1, 3GF/1GA)
Third: Drake (0-1-1, 2GF/5GA)
Fourth: Bowling Green: (0-2, 0GF/5GA)

All-Tournament Team
Axel Sjoberg, Marquette (MVP)
Brady Wahl, Marquette
Louis Bennett, Marquette
Adam Lysak, Marquette
Laurie Bell, Milwaukee
Rami Younes, Milwaukee
Luke Goodnetter, Milwaukee
Mueng Sunday, Drake
Alec Bartlett, Drake
Brandon Silva, Bowling Green
Zach Schewee, Bowling Green

Kelderman Appearance On "Dennis Krause Show" Set For Next Week

The appearances by University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer coach Kris Kelderman on "The Dennis Krause Show" begin next week Monday (August 26).

The airing of the 30-minute sit-down interview is set for 6 and 10 p.m. on Aug. 26 on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel.

Krause and Kelderman discussed a wide variety of topics on the show, including a 2013 preview, Kelderman's background as a player at the high school, college and professional levels and his experiences as a coach.

Additional airings are scheduled for the duration of the week.

Monday, August 26: 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Tuesday, August 27: 7:30 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Wednesday, August 28: 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Thursday, August 29: 12:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Friday, August 30: 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Saturday, August 31: 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 1: 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Men's Soccer Picks Up Some Preseason Honors

With the Milwaukee men back on campus and practice underway, the regular season will be here in no time at all. On that note, various publications are sending out their "preseason all-conference" selections. First up on that list is the website "College Sports Madness".

They have included four members of the UWM team on their squads, with junior Laurie Bell and senior James Ashcroft on the first team and sophomores Aaron Horvat and Declan Rodriguez on the second team.

Click HERE for the full list.

Soccer Preseason Ranks Making Their Appearances

With the Milwaukee men’s soccer team showing up on campus this week to begin practice for the 2013 campaign, it’s time for preseason rankings to start appearing nationally.

The website “Bennett Rank” (www.bennettranking.com) has listed all 206 NCAA Division I men’s soccer programs from top to bottom, with Maryland coming it at No. 1 and North Carolina No. 2.

A look at all of the Horizon League schools shows a positive for the Panthers entering the new season, as they are the highest-ranked league program according to the list.

112. Milwaukee
115. UIC
133. Wright State
147. Green Bay
150. Valparaiso
152. Cleveland State
162. Detroit
164. Oakland

U.S. Futsal national team

The U.S. Futsal national team made some headlines earlier this month when it won a tournament in England ...

So why am I writing about that here, you ask?

Well, click on the LINK and you will see the news and also a familiar name to the UWM men's soccer program...

Volunteer Goalkeeper Coach Mark Litton serves as the team's goalkeeper coach. Congrats to Mark!

Men's Soccer: Spring Game Report Wisconsin Cup

The Panthers have six games scheduled for the spring season, which began on April 1. Assistant coach Ben Shepherd will again take time to report on how each match went.

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Sunday saw us round out our spring schedule by taking part in the 'Wisconsin Cup' down at Valley Fields. We kicked off first at 9:30 a.m. against a Marquette side that is coming off of its best season to date, having won the Big East regular season crown last year.

The game started well for us and we really attacked well in the opening minutes. After good approach play, Kevin Ferron slipped a good pass through to Cody Banks who was through 1 on 1 with the Marquette keeper, but a good save prevented us from taking an early lead.

The miss was compounded moments later, as a coming together between Jamie Ashcroft and a Marquette forward in our penalty box resulted in a penalty, which was put away to give Marquette a 1-0 lead - although John Shakon came extremely close to pulling off an excellent save.

This goal really seemed to rock us as a team, and for the next 15 minutes Marquette dominated and we defended as a team very poorly. They scored a second from a set-piece and then a third from a good move, which meant within 20 minutes we found ourselves 3-0 down after probably having the best chance of the game at 0-0. From our standpoint, we allowed the penalty decision to affect our play which we need to learn from, but you also have to give Marquette credit as for that period of time they took advantage of our mistakes and made us pay!!

To give our guys credit though, once we were 3-0 down I thought we responded extremely well and finished the half much the stronger team, and got a goal back after good work by Patrick Donyen which resulted in Cody Banks tapping home at the back post to bring us back to 3-1 for his fifth goal in four games and that is how the score would end at the half.

The start of the second half saw us really take the game to Marquette and for the first 20 minutes we really pressed them in their own half and we had some great chances through Laurie Bell, Kyle Neumann among others. We really should have brought the game back to 3-2, which would have made things extremely interesting. Unfortunately we were unable to make our dominance pay and Marquette scored a good goal from another free-kick to make the score 4-1 and then right at the end they rounded off the scoring to make it 5-1 on the counter attack.

For us, the game was a lesson in that you can not afford to switch off for any period of time as the game was really lost in the first 15 minutes when we found ourselves 3-0 down. However; I also do feel the need to give our guys some credit in how they battled back and at one point in the second half we really showed what a good side this group of players has the potential to become and with a little better finishing, I think the game should and could of been far more interesting. Credit too though, to Marquette as they took their chances well and made us pay for our mistakes which is what the game is all about.

The second game saw us take on UW-Madison who had lost to Green Bay in their previous game 2-1. The first half was a little bit of a non-event, as you could see that both teams were a little sluggish and fatigued from the previous game and the tempo and speed of play was slightly slower - to say the least. Madison was probably the most threatening in the first half and took the lead from another penalty decision which went against us as we found ourselves 1-0 down at half-time.

The second half again saw us respond well, and we took the game to Madison and started to get the ball down and play our brand of soccer.

Kyle Neumann went close after a good move which saw the keeper pull off a good save and from the resulting corner Jamie Ashcroft went close with a header that went just over.

At the midpoint of the second half, some good intricate play between Jamie Bladen and Riley Weiner allowed us to get Zach Stevenson free down the left and he put in a great cross for Laurie Bell to arrive late from midfield to head home to tie the scores at 1-1. From our side of things, I think this was probably the best goal that we scored all Spring, as it was a really good build up of possession soccer with short one-touch passing, which is what we have emphasized all season so it was pleasing to see.

From here on we continued to create chances, although Madison also looked dangerous on the break and from set-pieces and the game seemed to step up a gear as it drew to a close.

Just as we were preparing to think about who we would select for penalties, an unforced error at the back gifted a Madison forward the opportunity to be through on goal, which he finished with ease, to win the game with the last kick of the game, which was disappointing after playing our way back after trailing at half.

Although it was disappointing to lose both games, especially to two local rivals, there were also positives to come from the games and these two results should not take away from how hard our players have worked this Spring and the positive steps that they have all taken which will stand them in good stead for this upcoming season.

The brand of soccer that we have played has been excellent and as a team we have taken big steps forward. Although we still have aspects of our game to work on, if we are going to achieve the success that we all desire I am proud of how they have handled themselves both on and off the field under difficult circumstances.

I would also like to take this opportunity to personally thank all the support that the team has received this spring, as it really has helped and we look forward to seeing you all again in August when it starts again.

Have a great summer and we'll see you all at Engelmann soon!!!

Men's Soccer: Spring Game Report vs. IUPUI

The Panthers have six games scheduled for the spring season, which began on April 1. Assistant coach Ben Shepherd will again take time to report on how each match went.

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Sunday saw the team travel down to Indiana to play IUPUI, which is a solid NCAA D-I program that is always strong at home and that was shown again last year with a 5-2 record on their own field.

The trip started early for the boys, as we had to leave Milwaukee at 7:30 a.m. to arrive in time for a 3 p.m. EST kick-off which meant it was important that the boys had a good thorough warm-up in order to start the game in the right fashion.

Due to injury and illness, we were down to the 'bare bones' so to speak, and only had two outfield player subs which meant that a few players had to play in unaccustomed positions, which they were all willing to do for the betterment of the team. Although the pitch was extremely difficult to play on and wasn't conducive to intricate play, we still maintained our way of playing and attempted to build off of our last two wins.

In the first half, we had the majority of possession and were in control of the game with Kyle Neumann and James Ashcroft going close with headers and shots from Laurie Bell, Kevin Ferron, Jamie Bladen and Cody Banks were not far off target. Defensively, we were very solid and IUPUI rarely threatened our goal and was limited to no shots on goal in the first half, but our dominance was not rewarded with a goal and so we had to settle for a scoreline of 0-0 at halftime.

In the second half, we started sluggishly and within the first five minutes IUPUI were awarded a penalty which they converted to undo all our good play as we found ourselves trailing by 1-0. However, to give our guys credit from this point on we really took the game by the scruff of the neck and dominated for the rest of the match and after some good play Cody Banks was hauled down in the box to earn us a penalty of our own. He duly dispatched with confidence to notch his fourth goal in three games.

We continued to push forward and Kevin Ferron went close, along with Cody Banks before our pressure finally told as Kyle Neumann was slipped through inside the box and he unselfishly squared the ball across goal for Kevin Ferron to slide home for his second goal in three games to make the final score 2-1.

Although the game was slightly scrappy due to the playing surface, we were happy with our overall performance in that we were in control of the game from start to finish even after going behind, and the pleasing aspect was how we responded and continued to push forward to get the right result.

There were good performances from Robbie Boyd, who had to fill in at right back, Riley Weiner returning from injury was excellent and really worked hard for the team and showed moments of real quality, and Zach Stevenson continued his good form and was probably our best all round player on the day!! Our attention now turns to the Wisconsin Cup, where we will play Marquette at Valley Fields this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and then later in the day either Madison or Green Bay, which will conclude our Spring Season. So, we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the game and appreciate the continued support!!!