Even with a new coach at the helm of the men’s soccer program the team was able to adjust fairly quickly to his system and to go 3-3 in the Big Ten and qualify for the Big Ten tournament. Much of this success was due to the offensive firepower of forward Nick Van Sicklen.
The UW sophomore was named first team All-Big Ten last Thursday night at the men’s soccer Big Ten Championship awards banquet.
Van Sicklen, a forward/midfielder for the Badgers scored seven goals and added five assists for a total of nineteen points. His mark for goals and total points led the team, and his five assists ties him for the lead on the team with fellow teammate Erol Goknur.
A native of Madison and graduate of Madison West High School, Van Sicklen has been a potent force offensively for the Badgers in his two years on the team. In that time he has scored a total of ten goals and notched ten assists for a total of thirty offensive points.
Van Sicklen played in 16 of the team’s 18 games this year, sitting out a pair of games due to leg injuries. He was instrumental to the team’s success this year as UW finished the year 9-9-0 overall and 3-3-0 in Big Ten play.
This honor is Van Sicklen’s first selection to an All-Big Ten team and it comes as his second individual honor this year, after being named Offensive MVP of the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Classic. Van Sicklen led the Badgers to two wins over Gonzaga and Oregon State and tallied one goal and one assist.
Like the men’s team, the women’s soccer team was also able to adjust to a difficult situation. After last year’s disappointing 5-11-3 season, the team found a way to turn the 2002 season around, going 13-9-3 in the Big Ten and coming close to earning a Big Ten Tournament Championship. Badger forward Jenny Kundert had a large part in this success and was rewarded with her second Big Ten honor.
At this year’s 2002 Big-Ten Tournament banquet in East Lansing the UW junior was named first team All-Big Ten.
After a tough 2001 season, that was mainly spent re-cooperating from an injury that sidelined her for most of the 2001 season, Kundert came back strong to lead the Badgers in goals, points and assists.
Leading the Badgers in these three statistics makes Kundert the team’s first outright “triple crown” team leader in nine years. Not since Erica Handelman on the 1993 Wisconsin squad has a player achieved such a feat. With the team’s miraculous turn-around from a year ago, and Kundert leading the team on all offensive fronts, it was hard for the Big Ten to ignore her as a first team selection.
With a total of 8 goals, 15 assists and 31 points, Kundert was among the top players in the Big-Ten statistic rankings. Placing third in points, and first in assists in the Big Ten, Kundert utilized her teammates all season to help the Badgers fall just short of winning the Big Ten tournament. A tournament that just a year ago the team wasn’t even invited to due to their sub-par record.
