Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee Panthers men's soccer team is preparing for two important matches this week, starting with the annual "Milwaukee Cup" rivalry against Marquette University on Tuesday. The match will begin at 7 p.m. and is part of Residence Life Spirit Night, which includes a giveaway for the first 200 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee students attending. Later in the week, the Panthers will travel to face Oakland in Horizon League play.

The "Milwaukee Cup," a fixture since 1973, was interrupted by COVID-19 but resumed in 2022. Marquette currently holds the trophy after winning in 2022 and retaining it through draws over the past two seasons. Despite these results, Milwaukee leads the all-time series with a record of 31-12-7. Head coach Kris Kelderman has a record of 4-3-4 in this city rivalry.

Looking at recent performance, Milwaukee has achieved three consecutive shutouts for the first time since late 2017 and remains unbeaten at home over their last 13 games (7-0-6), matching a school record set in 2002. Goalkeeper Nic Diana was recognized as Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on September 22 after recording back-to-back clean sheets. He currently leads the league with a goals-against average of 0.86 overall and has not allowed a goal in conference play so far.

Marquette enters Tuesday's match with a season record of 3-1-2 and has played only one away game to date, which resulted in a loss to Creighton on September 19. The Golden Eagles' offense has produced ten goals across six games, led by Mitchall Dryden and Mateo Stoka with six points each.

Oakland's team, coached by Paul Doroh, is coming off a successful previous season where they claimed their second straight regular-season title but have struggled this fall with an 0-5-2 start.

The Panthers began their current Horizon League campaign unbeaten at 1-0-1—their best opening since starting similarly in 2018—and are looking to build on that momentum.

Reflecting on historical context, College Soccer News ranked the "Milwaukee Cup" tenth among college soccer rivalries nationwide in its list of "The Fourteen Greatest Rivalries in College Soccer." Over recent years, matches between Milwaukee and Marquette have been closely contested; for example, Marquette staged a comeback win in dramatic fashion during the final minutes of their meeting in 2012.

On offense, Fernando Pirry tied a program record by scoring four goals—accomplished within one half—in Milwaukee’s recent victory over Chicago State on September 9. This achievement helped him earn Horizon League Player of the Week honors on September 15.

Returning players account for about one-third of last season’s offensive production: “Points: returners accounted for 31 of the 94 points (32.9 percent) Goals: ten out of thirty (33.3 percent) Assists: eleven out of thirty-four (32.4 percent) Starts: returning players accounted for one hundred five starts last season (50.2 percent). Minutes: returning players accounted for ten thousand seventeen out of eighteen thousand eight hundred twenty-nine minutes played (53.2 percent).”

Coach Kelderman commented on his tenure regarding openers: “Head coach Kris Kelderman now has fifteen season openers on his resume at the NCAA Division I collegiate level, going ten-three-two.”

Milwaukee’s defense continues to be strong; last year they allowed zero or one goal in nearly three-fourths of their matches while leading their conference defensively.

This season’s roster features student-athletes from eight countries or territories besides eighteen from the United States—including Colombia, France, Germany, Japan, Scotland, Serbia, Spain and Wales—demonstrating continued international recruitment efforts.

Looking ahead to October, Milwaukee will begin next month with an away match against Virginia scheduled for October first.