Let the battle for the Lewang Cup begin.

NIU and UW-Milwaukee clash today at 3 p.m. for the right to hold the rivalry trophy.
In 35 meetings, the Panthers have an 18-13-4 advantage over the Huskies even though NIU has clutched the cup since 2006.

“To be fair, it’s a pretty big deal,” NIU head coach Eric Luzzi said. “There are not a lot of things like that in college soccer. It’s something that we’ve held for the last three years, and I think before that, they had held it for four or five years in a row. It’s definitely something that we want to retain.”

The Huskies (6-6-1, 1-2-0 MAC) have lost three out of their last four games and are looking at this week’s match with some payback lining.

“I think our game against them last year, our guys came out pretty flat, and Milwaukee was not having a great season last year. And 30 minutes into the game, we find ourselves down 2-0,” Luzzi said. “We kind of battled and scrapped our way back to get a tie in the second half.”
In 13 matches, the Panthers (3-8-2, 2-2-2 Horizon League) have been out scored by their opponents 17-11 while being out wshot 197-160.

“They’re a team that is much better than their record indicates,” Luzzi said. “UIC is a top 25 team and they only beat [UW-Milwaukee] 1-0 in the last 20 seconds of the game Saturday.”

Players from all over the field have led UW-Milwaukee. Junior defender Greg Rosenthal, sophomore midfielder Ross Van Osdol and freshman forward Cody Banks all direct the attack, having scored two goals a piece this year.

Energy has been the focal point of the team’s philosophy this season, and the timing of these matches might not bode well for them.

“Those mid-week afternoon games are always a challenge,” Luzzi said. “When we bring energy, we’re fine, but when we don’t bring energy, there’s a potential to shrivel. Sometimes it’s hard to find the energy when it’s three o’clock on a Tuesday.”

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