DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team returns home on Wednesday, Sept. 20, when the Huskies host Milwaukee in the annual matchup for the LeWang Trophy. Game time between the Huskies and Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The first 75 NIU students in attendance at Wednesday's game will receive an NIU soccer scarf; Wednesday is also Campton United Night and MVP Professor Night. 

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.

The Huskies enter Wednesday's match as holders of the trophy after defeating the Panthers, 2-1, last season. Junior Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) and former Huskie Richard Hall scored as NIU reclaimed the LeWang Trophy for the first time since 2010. 

NIU enters Wednesday's match with a 3-4 overall record after recording a weekend split in Orem, Utah, at the Wolverine Invitational. The Huskies defeated 10th-ranked Omaha, 1-0, on Friday on a goal by sophomore Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Georg-Buechner Gym); the victory was NIU's first against a top-10 foe since beating No. 2 SMU on Sept. 19, 2008. NIU closed the weekend with a 4-3 setback against Sacramento State. 

Maertins, sophomore Ethan Pitre (Minneapolis, Minn./Prairie Seeds Academy) and senior Luke Read (Ilford, England/Barking Abbey School) were named to the Wolverine Invitational All-Tournament Team. 

Milwaukee comes to DeKalb with a 2-3-2 record following a 2-1 loss to Belmont this past Saturday (Sept. 16). Evan Conway leads the Panthers with two goals and two assists while Freddy Lorenzen has appeared in all seven matches in goal for Milwaukee with a 1.40 goals against average and a .643 save percentage. 

Following Wednesday's contest against the Panthers, NIU will be back on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 26, when the Huskies travel to UIC.