The Panthers find themselves in a strange place entering 2024. A two-time conference champion coach and some veteran talent with a dearth of activity in the win column recently.
In the 19 seasons between 2002 and 2020, the Panthers won a league-high six conference championships. Since that 2020 championship, they’ve won just one conference tournament match – a quarterfinal victory over Robert Morris in 2021.
Only two players – David Cox and Raul Medina – remain from their 2020 conference championship roster. The pair is expected to guide a veteran team lacking in postseason experience back to the NCAA Tournament.
“I want to be able to give back,” said Cox, who enters his sixth season in the Panther program. “Now that this is my last year, it’s incredibly important for me to, not only leave on a high note, but leave it better than I found it. I’ve been trying to pay attention to young guys, talk to them, make sure that they’re okay, because I know the transition is difficult.”
The past two seasons have been especially difficult for the black-and-gold, winning just five of their 34 contests. But the Panthers were far from uncompetitive – they tied 12 matches across those two seasons, including eight draws in 2022, a UWM all-time high.
The record may indicate that a massive overhaul is needed, but perhaps the reversal of a few small trends could turn the club from subpar to a conference contender. The reversal, though, begins not in the final minute of a tie game but in preseason practice and early-season non-conference matchups. Have more than a few things go their way and Cox and Medina could find their careers going full circle – beginning and ending with a conference championship.
“Hopefully making it past the first round of the national tournament – I think that’s an achievable goal,” said Cox. “We’ve done it before. We know how difficult it is, and it’s going to be really important that we push hard enough now so we can get those three or four moments to go our way when we need to.”
This year’s roster, while littered with newcomers, boasts nine seniors and eight juniors – last year’s team had just three impending graduates. The club had 11 players record at least 1000 minutes on the pitch last year – eight returned.
“Experience always should benefit you,” said head coach Kris Kelderman. “They’ve gotten off to a good start… The leadership is much better than it was last year.”
Cox and Medina are sure to play huge roles both on and off the pitch, but the true X-factor could lie not in the upperclassmen but in the talent entering their first year on the east side of Milwaukee. Kelderman recruited 11 players to supplement their experienced roster.
“The coaches have done a really good job of piecing [the team] together,” said Cox. “Implementing some of the new guys and mixing them with some of the older guys – we’re gelling really, really well.”
The collection of freshmen could play more of a role than the typical Division I squad.
“We feel good about some of the freshmen coming in and playing a role,” said Kelderman, who played just one freshman over 400 minutes last year. “[It’s asking] can we speed up that developmental process? Can they help us sooner than later? In some cases, you’ve got to give them a shot and throw them in the mix right off the bat and see if they can handle it.”
The transfers are expected to contribute even sooner, boasting experience at the collegiate level. Among the transfers is Alejandro Martinez, who joined the program after an All-American season at UW-Parkside.
“Very dangerous,” said Kelderman, “I think he’ll be a nice addition to our attack.”
A team with just five wins in two seasons is far from a favorite in the Horizon League, but they could find more success in the coming year. Perhaps the tables could turn ever-so-slightly in the 90th minute a few times and the Panthers could find themselves playing for a conference championship come November.
“We can win the tournament again this year,” said Medina. “We have really good players, we have depth – I’m excited. I can see the team going far this year.”
Even with the additional depth, the black-and-gold may only advance as far as Cox and Medina can lead them.
“We need those guys to step up [both] on and off the field,” said Kelderman. “There’s a little pressure on those guys to step up and do even better than they did last year.”
The Panthers kick off their season at home on Thursday, August 22, at 4 p.m. against Lindenwood.