Nick Van Sicklen had the second two-goal game of his career as he led the Wisconsin men’s soccer team to a 2-1 victory against in-state rival UW-Milwaukee. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and pushed the Badgers’ record to 4-6-0, while the Panthers fell to 3-3-3. The win was doubly important as it came against one of Wisconsin’s biggest rivals, not only on the field but in recruiting.

“It was a huge game,” assistant coach Jon Szczepanski said. “It’s always big to beat the in-state guys. There’s a lot of mutual respect here, but there’s also a lot of mutual competition.”

Szczepanski was acting head coach for the Badgers due to head coach Jeff Rohrman’s absence from the team due to the death of his mother.

Another missing piece for Wisconsin was Jed Hohlbein, who was sidelined for his third game due to an ankle injury. During his absence, the Badgers had struggled to find the net.

“When you lose a guy of Jed’s caliber, that guy who scored 12 to 13 goals a year, that’s a tough loss,” Szczepanski said. “You need to get those goals from somewhere.”

On this night, Wisconsin, and Van Sicklen in particular, found those goals as they finally capitalized on the chances they created.

“I felt all season it hasn’t bounced our way, and it definitely hasn’t bounced my way,” Van Sicklen said. “So I was due for a couple of sitters.”

Call them lucky bounces or hard work; the Badgers were just thrilled to finally finish off their chances.

The first goal of the game came during in the 15th minute when B.J. Goodman picked up a loose ball around mid-field and slotted it through to Dirk Pearson along the left side of the field. Pearson bore down on goal but had his shot ricochet off the post. Van Sicklen, who followed the play into the box, had the ball land at his feet and then moved past the goalie, tapping the ball into the goal.

“I thought I could strike it the first time, but the goalie was coming out kind of fast, so I just touched it around him and slotted it in,” said Van Sicklen of his first goal of the game.

Aaron Witchger started the Badgers’ second charge with an incredible lob pass from just outside the 18-yard box. He was able to stop the ball and then lift it over the defender almost in a single motion, setting David Martinez up with a scoring chance.

Martinez was able to get a shot toward goals, but a defender and the goaltender were able slightly deflect the ball as it left Martinez’s foot. Van Sicklen was again hanging around the play and was able to get to the ball near the mouth of the goal and make sure that no Panther defender was able to clear it off of the line.

“Aaron Witchger has grown up quite a bit in a year,” said Szczepanski of his midfielder who set in motion the play that netted the second goal of the game for Wisconsin. “To stop the ball and lift it over a defender — he’s a special kid.”

The goal, Van Sicklen’s fourth of the season, came at 57:19 of the second period and turned out to be the game winner.

UWM clawed back eight minutes later as Trent Furtsch got his second goal of the season, making the score 2-1. He was able to rifle a ball from the left side, 25 yards out into the upper right corner of the goal. UW keeper Eric Hanson dove and nearly made the save, but the ball just had too much power on it.

“Trent had a good goal, but if you ask Shaggy [Hanson], I’m sure he thinks he should have had it,” said Szczepanski.

Still, Van Sicklen proved the star of the night. The senior attacking midfielder was easily the player of the game, not just scoring goals but hustling all over the field creating plays for the Badgers. Yet Van Sicklen was quick to credit his teammates for creating the scoring opportunities he enjoyed.

“The guys around me set me up,” Van Sicklen said of his big game. “I didn’t do anything special.”

While Rohrman was unable to be with the team during the emotional victory against his alma mater, he was able to congratulate the players and acting coach Szczepanski via cell phone after the game.

“He is in a difficult situation right now; he’s dealing with a lot of family stuff,” Szczepanski said of Rohrman. “He just wanted to let the guys know how proud he was.”

For Szczepanski, also a former Panther soccer player, the game was a great way to start his head-coaching career, and he joked after the game that he planned to retire with his perfect 1-0 record intact.

The win will give Wisconsin some more confidence as the team prepares to take on a top-10 squad in Penn State.