Despite just a 6-6-2 overall record, the Wisconsin men’s soccer team sits in first place in the Big Ten. Even after starting 0-2 in the conference, the Badgers have won their last three Big Ten games and lead the league with nine points.
Wisconsin got an important three points by beating No. 25 Ohio State 2-0 at home Sunday. The Buckeyes’ previous conference game was against second place Penn State, where OSU came away with a 2-1 victory.
The Badgers’ early season goals of contending for a conference title and making the NCAA tournament seemed a long shot after starting 3-6-2. However, starting with a 2-1 overtime victory over Michigan State, Wisconsin is 4-1 in its last five games.
“First off, just want to say that we’re very proud of the group right now and how we’ve bounced back from some adversity the early part of the season with some tough losses against some quality opposition,” Wisconsin head coach Todd Yeagley said. “But we really challenged this group these last eight games to raise every standard that we asked of them, and they have really responded, and it’s shown obviously in the results and the performance.”
Wisconsin still has a likely must-win game against Penn State Saturday if it wants to win the conference. Penn State and Northwestern are tied for second place with seven points and two games to play. If either the Nittany Lions or Wildcats win their last two Big Ten Games, they would leapfrog the Badgers for the conference title.
For now, Yeagley is trying to stay focused on what his own team has to do down the stretch.
“That said, we have three very difficult matches left. We’re at the top of the Big Ten, which again we’re very proud of, and we need to continue to push forward,” he said. “But again, I’m just very pleased with the growth and the leadership that this group with quite a few seniors has provided our team.”
Big Ten Parity
While UW currently holds a two point lead in the Big Ten standings, five other teams are just one win away from tying the Badgers for first place.
Michigan is the only team completely eliminated from winning the conference, while reigning champ Michigan State would need a lot of help from other teams. Interestingly, the Spartans and Wolverines finished first and second in the Big Ten in 2008. Indiana, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State still have two games to play and could all tie or take the lead from Wisconsin depending on how the season played out.
Yeagley admitted a little surprise as to how even the Big Ten has been this year, but said the parity wasn’t shocking.
“I think, amongst the coaching peers, I think we all felt it was going to be a tight year. Indiana, player for player, has the most talent in the league. However, they’ve stumbled as of late,” Yeagley said. “And the other results week to week, it’s really up for grabs.”
Already Wisconsin has improved on its 1-4-1 conference record from 2008, when it finished last in the Big Ten. Yeagley is cautiously optimistic about UW’s chances to claim its first Big Ten regular season title in over a decade.
“And you know, from the beginning, some of the folks that follow our sport well … said that the winner of the conference very well could be 4-2. And we’re sitting in a situation where we’re one result away from a 4-2 record,” Yeagley said. “And whatever that gives us in the Big Ten we’ll certainly be proud of. But with some help, we never know what, where things can end up here a week from now.”
