Men's Soccer Schedule
Through the first two weekends of the men's soccer season, the depth of the Horizon League has been showing. After finishing in the middle (or bottom) of the League standings last year, Wright State, UIC and Milwaukee have all turned heads with strong starts to the year. The triumvirate has a chance to continue its strong play entering the third weekend of the season.
In 2010, Wright State struggled, winning just four matches in a 4-12-1 season. This year, though, head coach Bryan Davis has gotten the Raiders out of the gate at 3-1 clip. Coaches are taking notice, as the Raiders collected the lone vote for a Horizon League team in the week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll; in the Great Lakes Region, Wright State is ranked eigth.
Davis told WSURaiders.com earlier in the week:
"It's always an honor to receive recognition for work done and it is great to see some evidence of others taking notice of the growth of this program that we see everyday in training and in the buzz around our campus. The only rankings my players and my staff are interested in at this time, though, is the one where we were chosen for last place in the Horizon League Preseason Poll. Our focus now is squarely on a difficult opponent in Northeastern that we face on Friday."
The Raiders head to Wisconsin for two matches this weekend, meeting Northeastern on Friday at Engelmann Stadium in Milwaukee, before taking on Marquette across town on Sunday.
Directly behind Wright State in the Great Lakes rankings sits UIC, who are off to a 2-0-1 mark. The start is the best for the Flames since the 2003 campaign. The 2008 League regular season champion, UIC is no stranger to success in the Horizon League, but after missing the League Tournament a year ago, it appears that the 11 will be one of the teams to watch entering conference play.
UIC meets two ranked opponents this weekend - Memphis, whom the Flames play in Madison, Wis., on Friday, is the 10th-ranked team in the Midwest Region; UC-Irvine, who visits Flames Field on Sunday, comes into the match ranked 10th in the country. UIC head coach Sean Phillips knows his team will be challenged, telling UICFlames.com:
"We've got another challenging weekend ahead of us as we continue with non-conference play. We'll be playing two very organized and disciplined teams in Memphis and UC-Irvine. To come out with positive results, we're certainly going to have our best individual and collective performances of the season up to this point."
UIC will be looking to take down its second straight ranked opponent at Flames Field; then-No. 14 Ohio State visited Chicago on Oct. 13, 2010, leaving with a 1-0 loss.
With a 2-1 mark, Milwaukee appears to be on the brink of cracking the Great Lakes Region poll. The Panthers were impressive in capturing their first Panther Invitational since 2004, outscoring their opponents, 6-0, in two matches. Now, Milwaukee turns its attention to retaining the Milwaukee Cup after recapturing it with a 4-2 victory over the Golden Eagles last year. Marquette opened the year at UIC, where the Flames downed their Big East foes, 2-1.
Since the close of the 2010 season, the Panthers have been rolling, playing 11 games in the spring and exhibition play this fall. Their record in those 11 games was an impressive 8-0-3, outscoring their opponents by a total of 24-to-8. With a 2-1 start to the regular season, Milwaukee has a chance to continue its hot start against Marquette and Northeastern.
Around the League:
- Butler heads to the Dayton Invitational, where the Bulldogs take on Western Illinois and Houston Baptist; last weekend, Butler took second place at the Michigan Invitational, going 1-0-1 with a win over head coach Paul Snape's former employer, Michigan.
- Cleveland State ventures west, participating in the San Jose State-Santa Clara Tournament. The Vikings are in a stretch where two of their next three opponents have won national championships. Santa Clara split the crown with Virginia in 1989 after the title game was called due to darkness. The Broncos also played for the title and finished as a runner-up in both 1991 and 1999. Wake Forest won the national championship in 2007 after beating Ohio State, 2-1.
- Detroit heads to the Adidas Invitational, hosted by Davidson. At 2-1, with a win over then-No. 14 Michigan State in its pocket, the Titans will play the host Wildcats on Friday prior to facing Appalachian State on Sunday. The Mountaineers are playing with heavy hearts this weekend, as head coach Shaun Pendleton was found dead in his home on Tuesday.
- Green Bay welcomed former standout JC Banks back into the fold as a student-assistant coach this week. Banks was taken in the MLS Supplemental Draft by FC Toronto, and spent six weeks in Sweden trying out for professional teams followed by a trip to Toronto for two weeks before signing a contract with the Rochester Rhinos which is part of the USL Pro League.
- Loyola hosts Western Michigan on Sunday in its lone match of the week. The Ramblers are coming off a 1-1 performance in the Nike Portland Invitational, dropping a 1-0 decision in overtime to Washington before handing the host Pilots a 3-0 shutout.
- Valparaiso has a chance for two big-name victories this weekend at the NIU Adidas Invitational. The Crusaders square off with No. 20 Northern Illinois in their first match of the tournament; NIU captured the Michigan Invitational last week to enter the national rankings. Valpo wraps up the tournament by meeting Northwestern on Sunday.
