In true spurned-lover form, the Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team has spent the last nine months trying to get over the sudden breakup of its 10-year relationship with one Louis Bennett.
The coaches and players now say they hold no hard feelings toward Bennett, who took his head coaching abilities to cross-town rival Marquette last December.
But just as it is a tad gut-wrenching to see your ex with a new special someone for the first time, so too must the Panthers feel a little uneasy about facing the Golden Eagles, and thus their old coach, Wednesday night at Engelmann Field.
Denial, it seems, is one of the stages of recovery for a team on the rebound.
"A win's a win," UWM assistant coach Chris Dadaian said when asked if a victory over Marquette would mean a little more facing Bennett. "The boys are just excited to play. It doesn't really matter who they're playing against."
It did not seem that way last spring.
During an exhibition game April 25, UWM forward Adam Skalecki scored to give the Panthers the lead. He then proceeded to pull a dollar bill out of his sock and motioned Bennett to follow him back to UWM's bench.
"As far as in-state rivalries go, it's a little bit different now that (Bennett and assistant coach Stan Anderson) are over there," UWM defender and co-captain Steve Bode said. "But at the end of the season, it's not a huge difference."
Under Bennett's guidance, the Panthers amassed a 136-63-17 record and earned berths in five straight NCAA tournaments. UWM has compiled a 41-4-2 mark in Horizon League play since 2001 and has won the league title every year during that span.
When first informed of the news that Bennett would be leaving the program, the Panthers were both shocked and hurt, according to Bode.
But, as it does with most things, time has healed most of the wounds, and now Bode said the team is trying to use the lessons Bennett taught while moving forward at the same time.
"He always stressed a resilience to win," Bode said. "He taught us to be resilient no matter if we were down or up (in a match)."
The moving forward part started with the hiring of long-time assistant coach Jon Coleman to take over the helm.
Under Coleman, the Panthers have changed their style of play to focus more on possession than on quick strikes. The team enters Wednesday's game at 2-4.
For the immediate future, the most relevant record concerning UWM and Marquette is 7-24-2. That would be the Golden Eagles' series record versus the Panthers.
Despite his team's sustained success versus Marquette, Bode said he and his teammates would carry no extra baggage into Wednesday night's affair.
"Our focus is not any different than it would be for any other game we play," Bode said. "The psyche of the team is really strong. We're moving forward and growing stronger."
It seems the Panthers are as resilient off the field in stating their emotional stability as they are on the field, whether they are winning or losing.
Just like Bennett taught them.
