DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team will host Milwaukee on Monday night, Sept. 5, in its home opener at the NIU Soccer Complex. Kickoff in the annual clash for the Lewang Cup is slated for 7 p.m. Admission to all NIU Soccer games is free of charge. 

NIU comes home for the first time this season after opening with three straight on the road to open the campaign. The Huskies bounced back from a setback at San Francisco to earn a victory at Saint Mary's on opening weekend before settling for a 2-2 draw at Bradley on Thursday night (Sept. 1), despite outshooting the Braves 19-5, including 10-0 in the second half. 

Six different Huskies have scored goals this season, including Taisei Arima (Machia, Japan/Fort Hays State) and Patrick Coleman (Antioch, Ill./Notre Dame) who found the net on Thursday at Bradley. Arima also had an assist against the Braves and leads NIU with three points this season. 

Named in honor of former Milwaukee assistant and NIU head coach John Lewang, the Huskies and Panthers meet annually for the Lewang Cup. 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.

Milwaukee comes to DeKalb with a 1-2 overall record after defeating Wisconsin, 2-1, on Thursday night (Sept. 1). The Panthers opened with a pair of setbacks against Elon and Duke. Abdu Regassa and Logan Farrington both found the net in the victory against the Badgers. 

Monday's contest will be the first of three consecutive home games for the Huskies. NIU will host Lindenwood on Thursday, Sept. 8 and UIC on Monday, Sept. 12.