Tournaments Provide Measuring Stick Prior to Conference Season

Horizon League Men's Soccer Schedule (with game links)

Horizon League men's soccer teams are in the final weekend of preparation for the conference season, and with it comes some measuring-stick matches around the League. Four teams - Green Bay, UIC, Milwaukee and Loyola - will participate in weekend-long tournaments, while Butler takes stock of its place against a nationally ranked opponent on Saturday.

Both Green Bay and UIC are hosting four-team tournaments, with matches played on Friday and Sunday. For the Phoenix, Friday marks the home debut for head coach Kris Kelderman; after four games on the road, Green Bay holds a 2-1-1 mark entering its match with Niagara at 8 p.m. ET. The Green Bay Classic will continue on Sunday, when the Phoenix take on Dayton in Sunday's match.

UIC brings SIU-Edwardsville, Drake and Wisconsin to Flames Field for the inaugural Chicago South Loop Hotel UIC Soccer Classic. All three opponents have already faced Horizon League competition, allowing UIC to gauge itself in a similar manner. Head coach Sean Phillips is excited for the event, telling UICFlames.com, "We're looking forward to hosting what should be a great soccer event in a soccer city this weekend. All four teams participating recruit regularly in Chicago, and are very good teams both historically and recently. This event will showcase that, and it should be great for college soccer in this region. We're grateful to both the Chicago South Loop Hotel and our athletic department for organizing this tournament."

Just two weekends ago, UIC put 15 of its 24 shots on goal in a 1-1 draw at UAB; this weekend, it is Milwaukee's turn to head to Birmingham, Ala., where they will play in the UAB Soccer for a Cure Classic. The Panthers meet Gardner-Webb on Friday before taking on the host Blazers on Sunday. The trip is the first of the year for UWM, who went 3-2-0 in its five matches at Engelmann Stadium. Freshman Gerardo Saavedra will look to continue his quick start to the year, as he has eight points (three goals, two assists) in five matches.

Loyola will head down I-55 for the Hotels and Grand Prairie Classic, hosted by Bradley University. Like the three other teams in tournaments, the Ramblers will be facing opponents who have already taken on Horizon League teams. Evansville, whom the Ramblers will meet on Friday night, met Wright State in its first match of the year, with the Raiders collecting a 2-0 victory. No. 18 Bradley sits at 4-0-2 on the year; one of those draws came against Green Bay, who knotted up the Braves, 1-1. The Braves opened the year with a 4-1 win at Butler.

In non-tournament play, Butler will take a measure of its progress since that season-opening loss as it heads to Cardinal Soccer Park for a Saturday night match with No. 7 Louisville. The Bulldogs, who opened the year ranked 19th in the country, have rebounded to post a 3-0-1 mark since their defeat to Bradley, finishing second at the Michigan Invitational and capturing the Dayton Marriott Classic. The results have seen Butler climb back into the regional rankings, where Butler sits at No. 10 in the Great Lakes.

Around the League:
- Western Michigan will be a popular opponent this weekend. Wright State visits the Broncos on Friday, while Valparaiso heads to Kalamazoo on Sunday.

- Wright State (4-1-1) continued to climb in the polls, moving up to No. 7 in the NSCAA Great Lakes poll. In this week's rankings, nine Raider opponents cracked the top 10 or received votes. Northeastern, whom Wright State tied last week, is No. 9 in the South Atlantic, while, Ohio State (No. 6 - Great Lakes), Bowling Green (No. 9 - Great Lakes) and Butler (No. 10 - Great Lakes) are all top 10 regional teams. Detroit and UIC both collected votes in the regiona as well. Kentucky (No. 3 - Midwest), Evansville (No. 10 - Midwest) and Xavier (No. 4 - Mid-Atlantic) are all represented as well.

- After playing two programs with national championship trophies in the last two matches in Santa Clara and Wake Forest, Cleveland State returns to Krenzler Field for its home opener on Sunday. The opener starts a quick three-match homestand for the Vikings, who will host St. Bonaventure on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. before starting league play at home the following Saturday.