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MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin men's soccer team will take on Purdue-Fort Wayne in its 2023 season opener this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Madison's McClimon Soccer Complex. Following the opener, the Badgers return to pitch for a 1 p.m. tilt on Sunday against Drake.

Here are five things to know as the 2023 season gets underway.

1 - New Season, New Faces – 14 of the 27 roster spots for Wisconsin this season are all new to the team. Ryan Quintos, Markie Hrvojevic, Jack Roach, Trip Fleming, Roman Eisa, Will Smith, Cristian Torres-Gale, and Andrew Chavez are the freshman on the team. While the remaining students are all transfers, Kevin Andrews (UCF), Noah Glorioso (Coastal Carolina), Bigir Baldvinsson (Iceland), Nate Crockford, Charlie Crockford, and Thomas Raimbault (UCLA).

2 - Second Year of Coach Jones – Head coach Neil Jones will begin his second season as a Badger. Jones led the UW last year to a 6-6-4 (3-4-1 Big Ten) record after nine seasons as head coach for Loyola-Chicago (81-54-23). Joining him from last year are assistant coaches Andrew Bordelon and Chris Tadley, as well as new hire Ryan Osborne, who was head coach at Mercyhurst and led the Laker to a 19-1-1 mark.

3 - On the Lookout – Three Badger players made the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch list: senior midfielders Maxwell Keenan and Tim Bielic, as well as junior goalkeeper Nate Crockford. Bielic and Keenan both made the All-Big Ten Second Team during the 2022 season, while transfer Crockford joins the team having previously serving as starting keeper for the 12-7-1 UCLA Bruins. Crockford made the Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention squad.

4 - Against the Mastodons/Bulldogs – Wisconsin will take on Purdue-Fort Wayne for the first time since 2013, and just the third time in program history. Wisconsin owns a 2-0-0 record against the Mastodons, only conceding one goal in those games while scoring 12. Purdue-Fort Wayne owned a record of 2-10-3 (1-6-2) last season.

UW owns a 9-2-1 mark all-time against Drake, including a 1-1 draw against the Bulldogs on Oct. 22, 2022 at McClimon.

5 - How to Follow – The Badgers will be playing against Purdue-Fort Wayne at their home at McClimon Soccer Complex, with kickoff at 7 pm. Sunday's game against Drake takes place at 1 p.m. Admission is free to all. The game will be live streamed on the B1G+ app, with updates given on the @BadgerMSoccer X (formerly twitter) page, and @badgermsoccer on Instagram.

Extra Time - All fans are invited to bring their favorite Badger gear to be autographed after Sunday's game! The autograph session will occur at the northwest corner of the field.

It's also Sunday Kid's Day! Stop by the inflatable on the track during pregame to test your skills!

Up Next - Wisconsin plays host to No. 3 Kentucky next Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.