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It is rivalry week for men's soccer in Milwaukee. This Friday we take on Marquette at our home field. The 'Milwaukee Cup' and bragging rights in the city are at stake. A year ago at their place, the Golden Eagles turned our 2-1 lead into a 3-2 defeat, scoring the winning goal as the end of game buzzer sounded. In spring, another last-gasp set piece gave them a victory of the same scoreline. The two games have played on my mind and my teammates' ever since and a chance to exact revenge has been a long time coming. This Friday we will attempt to do just that.
Our preseason preparations for the home opener have been good, finishing with two convincing wins over Lewis and Parkside at Engelmann. The aggregate scoreline of 7-1 over the two games has furthered the confidence we built last year whenever we play on our own turf. As it was for six of the seven games a season ago, we want to make Engelmann our fortress. Against Lewis, all three former Green Bay players - Stone, Goodnetter, Cranfill - now eligible after sitting last fall, scored their first goals for Milwaukee. Not bad for two defenders and a central midfielder! Two goals came from set pieces, an area we hope to be strong in this year with several tall, powerful players who can compete in the air. And if that results in more assists for myself as a corner and free kick taker, I won't complain. The final of our four goals was a crushing drive from Robbie Boyd from outside the penalty area. If he can find consistent scoring form this season it will be a huge asset for our team.
Against Parkside, it took conceding the opening goal to get us to raise our game. Once we did though, we looked strong. Kyle Neumann came on early as a substitute forward - a position he hasn't played for a while - and made a big impact. He scored a nice goal and held the ball up well all night. The other two goals were scored by me. One was a nice early touch-and-finish goal that I was proud of. The other, I will admit, was a bit of a fluke. A forty yard free kick into the top corner sounds spectacular until you are told it was meant as a cross. They all count.
Off the field we have been eating well. We've been supplied with breakfasts, lunches and dinners from Alterra, Via and other local eateries. With the end of preseason this will be stopping though and we'll be back fending for ourselves in our own kitchens - something I'm fearing for with Zach Stevenson as a roommate. Last year our home cooking resulted in the "Great Chicken Nugget Fire of Farwell Avenue", so we're keeping fingers crossed for better success this year.
This week a mention must go out to Jamie Bladen. One of our standout players as a senior last fall, he is now a member of the coaching staff. And since I blogged about the coaches last week without dropping his name, he hasn't been shy in letting me know how offended he was. So, to Jamie: a fine player, a teammate who I looked up to and made me feel welcome when I first arrived, and now a reassuring locker room presence for the current crop of Panthers. It's great to still have you around.
I will sign off with a plea to all Panther fans and soccer enthusiasts in the city to attend Friday's monumental match-up and cheer us on. See you there.
