By Tim Prahl
Ok, so that title has probably been used 1,000 times before me, but what else do you expect me to come up with when the Men’s soccer team heads east for their first conference matches of the season?
Not to mention, it’s my little way of plugging the Horizon League, a conference that doesn’t exactly resonate with anyone outside of the Midwest.
“It [the Horizon League] doesn’t get the respect it deserves,” UWM head coach Jon Coleman said. “It is a very strong conference simply because there is so much parity. When you have this much parity it makes everyone better every year and after every game.”
After this weekend’s tough go of things at their own invitational, the Panthers have to be welcoming conference play with welcome arms. That’s not to say Milwaukee should be embarrassed by their “pre-season” play. On the contrary, they played arguably their best thus far, but I don’t think 1-6-0 record is exactly where they were hoping to be seven games into the season.
“This weekend showed that we can play with any team, but for us to get wins we need to perform better and limit the margin of error,” Coleman said. “We need to learn from our mistakes and build on the positives. Both games were exciting to watch from a fans stand point, but we need to get our fans some victories.”
While the Panthers will be much more familiar with their next two opponents, victories will not be coming any easier as they travel to Butler & Wright State’s home fields.
Butler is gaining some national recognition, being ranked 10th in the Great Lakes region, one slot behind UW-Green Bay, after the Bulldogs posted a 4-1-0 non-conference record.
“It is going to be two difficult games,” Coleman said. “We need to take one game at a time and have top level performances from individuals and collectively as a team.”
