Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer team will travel to Missouri and Illinois for the second week of their 2025 season, facing Lindenwood on Tuesday and Bradley on Thursday. Both matches are scheduled for 5 p.m. starts and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live statistics and viewing links are available on the Milwaukee athletics website.

Milwaukee has played Lindenwood only once before, resulting in a scoreless draw last fall. Against Bradley, the Panthers have a 6-1-1 all-time record, including a 3-2 win last year that extended their series win streak to three games. The teams have not met in Peoria since September 2017.

Lindenwood is coming off an 11-6-3 season and finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference under head coach Kris Bertsch. Last year, they led the OVC in goals (39) and assists (40), with eight shutouts—the most since 2012. The Lions started their current campaign with a 7-0 win over Chicago State.

Bradley ended last season at 4-8-4 overall under new head coach Tim Regan, who previously spent six years as an assistant after playing professionally in Major League Soccer and starring at Bradley from 1999 to 2002. This year, Bradley tied Marquette (0-0) and lost to Wisconsin (4-1) ahead of their matchup with Milwaukee.

The Panthers recently extended their home unbeaten streak to ten games following a draw against Northern Illinois on August 21. This is their longest such streak at Engelmann Stadium since winning eleven straight between late 2004 and early 2005.

In season openers, Milwaukee holds a historical record of 27-19-7 after drawing Northern Illinois this year. Head coach Kris Kelderman now has fifteen Division I openers on his resume with a record of 10-3-2.

This season sees significant changes for Milwaukee's offense due to the departure of its top scorers from last year; Bienvenu Djunga is now the leading returning scorer after tallying nine points in the previous campaign. The returning players account for about one-third of last year's offensive output—31 out of 94 total points—and just over half of all minutes played.

On defense, Daniel Ibarra finished second among league goalkeepers with a goals-against average just above one per game as part of a unit that allowed one or fewer goals in nearly three-fourths of matches last season. Freshmen Jack Wagner and Ryan Berghauer were key contributors along the backline.

Milwaukee concluded last season unbeaten at home (6-0-3), matching its best recent home record set by the squad in 2019 (6-1-1). The team’s international roster includes student-athletes from eight countries outside the United States.

New transfer goalkeeper Nic Diana joins from Purdue Fort Wayne after leading the Horizon League with a .92 goals-against average and six shutouts last year.

The long-standing "Milwaukee Cup" rivalry between Milwaukee and Marquette remains notable; College Soccer News ranked it tenth among college soccer rivalries nationally in summer 2011. The Panthers hold an all-time advantage but have seen dramatic results throughout recent meetings.

The Chancellor's Cup series versus Green Bay also continues to provide close contests; seven out of fourteen recent games have gone into overtime, many decided by late or golden goals.

Historically, when scoring two or more goals in matches over six-plus seasons, Milwaukee has compiled a strong record: they are unbeaten or nearly so when reaching that mark during each campaign since 2019.

Engelmann Stadium remains an advantage for Milwaukee: between 2001–2006 they posted one of college soccer’s best home records nationally, while head coach Kris Kelderman’s tenure has seen continued success at home venues.

Fans can watch six out of nine scheduled home games this year via ESPN+, which carries Horizon League digital broadcasts through its platform subscription service launched in April 2018.

Milwaukee returns home for three consecutive games starting September 5 against Eastern Illinois.