DEKALB, Ill. -- Following a 10-day break, the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team returns to the field on Wednesday, Sept. 21, as it travels north to take on Milwaukee in the annual LeWang Trophy match. Game time against the Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m., in Milwaukee and will be available on ESPN3.

Named in honor of former Milwaukee assistant and NIU head coach John LeWang, the Huskies and Panthers meet annually for the LeWang Trophy. LeWang came to NIU as head coach in 1980 following his time as an assistant at Milwaukee and died in a car accident after his first season leading the Huskies. Since 1981, the two teams have played for a trophy named in his honor.

"In college soccer you don't have many opportunities to play for a trophy," said NIU head coach Eric Luzzi. "You have a conference championship, conference tournament and NCAA Tournament. So when you have these rivalries that result in the winner being able to keep a trophy for a year, it tends to add some spice to a non-conference game.

"Credit to Milwaukee, they have had the trophy for a number of years, and they have earned that, but I am fully expecting our guys to be up for the game and hopefully we will come back to DeKalb with the trophy."

NIU comes into the LeWang Trophy matchup with a 0-4-2 record; the Huskies were beaten 3-0 by 12th-ranked Utah Valley last time out in the NIU/adidas Invitational (Sept. 11).  

Luke Read (Ilford, England/Barking Abbey School) opened the scoring in the 10th minute of last season's matchup with Milwaukee before the Panthers scored twice in the final 15 minutes to take the victory.

The Panthers have claimed the LeWang Trophy for the last five seasons, beginning with three consecutive 1-0 wins from 2011-13. Milwaukee retained the trophy following a 2-2 draw in 2014 and won last season's matchup in DeKalb. NIU had held the LeWang Trophy for the five seasons prior to his current run (2006-10).

Milwaukee enters Wednesday's contest with a 2-3-1 record after downing Northern Kentucky, 3-2, this past Saturday (Sept. 17). Evan Conway has three goals to pace the Panthers while Francesco Saporito has a team-high eight points (two goals, four assists). Sam Glass and Oliver Haslund have split matches in goal for Milwaukee; Glass has a 1-1-1 record with a 1.86 goals against average and eight saves while Haslund has a 1-2-0 mark with a 2.00 goals against average and nine stops.

Wednesday's trip to Milwaukee will be followed by another road match next Wednesday, Sept. 28, when the Huskies travel to IUPUI before NIU returns to DeKalb on Tuesday, Oct. 4, when the host UIC.