First road trip of the season

Time to hit the road! The Milwaukee Panthers men’s soccer team will be on the road for the first time this season as they try to stay unbeaten against two non-conference opponents. The Panthers (2-0-1) will be traveling to Chicago, Illinois to face DePaul on Friday, and then will make the trip to Indianapolis, Indiana to face IUPUI on Sunday.

In the five previous matchups between the Panthers and the Blue Demons, Milwaukee is a perfect 5-0 and has outscored DePaul 28-3. Although the Panthers have dominated DePaul in the past, they are not a team to take lightly. The Blue Demons are 1-3, but their record could easily be reversed.

DePaul has been in two close games, where they ended up loosing late. First on Labor Day, they fell to then No. 19/22 Northwestern in the final seconds of double overtime, and then this past Sunday they held a late 2-1 lead against Wisconsin, but ended up loosing in overtime.

Over the course of the Blue Demons first four games, their offense has gotten many players involved. Pat Flynn leads DePaul with two goals and four points overall, while five other players each have a goal. Although DePaul has done a solid job offensively, this could be the game the Panthers do a better job at executing. DePaul has used only one goalie so far this season, and he has been average at best. Eric Sorby has posted a 1.91 GAA, but he has also allowed multiple game tying and winning goals late.

After the Blue Demons lost to a talented Northwestern squad they responded well, with a 3-1 victory over Illinois-Chicago, and it should be interesting to see how they come out against the Panthers Friday night. While the Panthers should be able to do a better job at executing this game, it will not be easy, and this game will come down to wire.

IUPUI on the other hand should be an easier task for Milwaukee. The Panthers beat the Jaguars last August 3-2 in there only ever meeting between each other. This season the Jaguars are on a three game loosing streak, and hold an overall record of 0-3-2. They are coming off of a disappointing 2-1 loss to Houston Baptist on Wednesday, and will play Valparaiso on Friday.

The Jaguars are a young, inexperienced team with half of their roster being freshman, and five of them, who started on Wednesday against Houston Baptist. Not only are they inexperienced, but they also have been very poor with their execution. In five games this season, including two double-overtimes, they have only scored four goals.

While IUPUI has had some close losses they have only played Butler who is near the same caliber of Milwaukee and tied them earlier in the season. No matter what happens on Friday for Milwaukee, expect the Panthers to come in against IUPUI and have a solid showing.

This will be the Milwaukee Panthers first road trip of the season, and they will try to continue to extend their perfect record against two non-conference opponents. While it is never easy to get a win on the road, especially with two teams who are desperate for a win, the Panthers have showed this season that they can win, no matter the situation. It will be a fun and competitive weekend, and lets hope the Panthers can get through this weekend untouched.