The No. 22 Wisconsin men's soccer team (7-3-2, 2-0-1 Big Ten) looks to tally its fourth victory in a row this Sunday when it travels to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, to take on a spirited Ohio State squad (5-5-2, 1-1-0).

Following a 1-0 victory over Akron and a 2-1 win over Penn State this past week, Ohio State will be anxious to continue its fine play and please its fans in its Big Ten home opener.

"I know [Ohio State] is going to be excited for the match," Rohrman said. "They're coming off a couple of great wins with beating Akron and also Penn State at Penn State, so they're a team that's on a bit of a roll and they're playing well right now … it's certainly going to take a great effort on our part to get a win there."

Wisconsin beat Michigan 2-1 in its Big Ten season opener Sept. 17. Since then, the Badgers have not lost, earning draws with both UW-Milwaukee and Michigan State, and defeating Northwestern, No. 7 Illinois-Chicago and Western Illinois.

As a result of this impressive stretch of matches, Wisconsin received its first national ranking since 2002.

Leading the Badger defense in those matches has been senior goalkeeper Jake Settle, who has not allowed a goal in more than 436 minutes, posting shutouts in the last four contests. Settle also leads the Big Ten in goals against average with 0.61 per game. Settle was honored this past week for those accomplishments by being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Also being honored for his defensive contributions was senior Hamid Afsari, who was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.

Settle and Afsari will have to put forth their A-game Sunday to shut down the most dangerous player in the Big Ten, Buckeye striker Xavier Balc.

Balc leads the conference in seven categories — most notably in points with 17, goals with six, and assists with five.

"Xavier's got a very polished left foot," Rohrman said. "If you give him time and space, he's going to be able to hurt you and certainly we're going to have to pay close attention to him and all the things that he can bring. He's just a guy who you've got to know where he's at all times, and we've got to be aware of him so he can't make things happen for his team."

Although Rohrman is aware of Balc's potential for brilliance, he has faith in his defense's strong record of marking and containing skilled strikers.

"I know that our [defensive] backs have faced some very, very good forwards this year," Rohrman said. "So as long as they play like they've been playing, we should be alright against Xavier."

Providing the offense for Wisconsin lately has been senior Reid Johnson, who scored the game-winning goal for the Badgers in the Badgers' last two matches. Also providing the spark up front has been sophomore Victor Diaz, who has recorded two assists in the last two games upon his return from a shoulder injury.

With Big Ten bragging rights on the line and only three conference games remaining for the Badgers, Rohrman's squad will be fired up to continue it's six-match unbeaten streak and maintain its top position in the Big Ten.