In their final home game for the men’s soccer team, Wisconsin seniors David Caban and Jacob Brindle led the comeback and helped their team to a tie against No. 2 Indiana.

After the Badgers fell behind 2-1 in the 64th minute, the seniors stepped up to make sure Wisconsin would not lose against the highest-ranked team it had faced all season.

The equalizer came from Brindle in the 72nd minute off a cross from Adam Lauko.

“It’s not easy to score goals, and he’s scored some big ones in his career, and I’m really happy for him personally. Hopefully this is the start of him getting on a little run,” Wisconsin head coach John Trask said. “We could use a couple more out of him in the next 10 days.”

Brindle has been known as a goal-scorer in his time at Wisconsin, and he was able to connect on the cross from Lauko in a big moment.

Even while trying to enjoy his final minutes on his home field, Brindle was keeping the younger players in position to succeed and give Wisconsin more chances to score.

“He’s a great motivator. He always tells you what to do. He always knows what you should be doing and he’ll let you know,” freshman Alex Masbruch said.

Brindle’s control of the offense showed in the 44 minutes he played. Wisconsin was able to hold possession of the ball and created scoring opportunities when he was on the field.

“I thought we did pretty well [offensively], just our final pass was a little sloppy, but we converted on some of them, we missed a couple chances that I thought we should have made earlier in the game too,” Brindle said.

The chances were there, but not being able to convert did not hinder the final home experience for Brindle.

Despite it being his last home game, Brindle wanted to enjoy his time on the field, even though he knew it was limited.

“It was awesome,” Brindle said. “I was just trying to go out there and enjoy myself, and hopefully get a good result. I would have loved to find a second one in the overtime to put it away, but I’ll take it.”

It may have been his mindset that allowed him to play well, as he led the team in both shots (4) and shots on goal (2) in the match.

He had a handful of opportunities toward the end of the game to get another goal, but Brindle and the Badgers couldn’t convert on either of their two shots on goal in the overtime periods.

But Brindle was not the only senior to play well on senior night.

Not to be forgotten, Caban also played a solid game on the back line, maybe one of his best games of the season, according to Trask.

“I thought that was David’s most complete performance of the year, and I think he would agree with it,” Trask said. “I thought he was very sharp, and I know the emotions are going when you’re a senior in that moment in your last home game. He’s had a great career for us. That’s the David Caban I always want to remember.”

Caban had an expansive presence in multiple areas on the field, competing for headers along with pressuring Indiana’s attack to save Wisconsin from a few more Indiana attacking opportunities.

Indiana’s first goal came off a set piece in the final seconds of the first half, and the Hoosiers’ second goal was a strong shot curled from the side of the 18-yard box.

Caban’s work could especially be seen on Indiana’s corner kicks, which they had 12 of. Despite the high number of corners, with Caban’s presence in the back, Indiana only converted one of those into a goal, right before half.

Caban was able to shut down the left side of the defense while also pulling forward to get some crosses in for the Wisconsin offense.

“It’s going to be easy to remember that performance,” Trask said. “It was sneaky, it was clever, it was good, it was tough. It was everything David Caban is as a player.”

Although Wisconsin could not find the net in the overtime sessions, a draw against the top team in the Big Ten is a fitting way to end their home season for the seniors, especially as the Badgers move into the Big Ten Tournament.

The play of Brindle and Caban has been consistent for the Badgers this season, but on senior night, they were able to do even more. They not only led the comeback, but they gave Wisconsin a chance to pull off another upset.

As their Wisconsin careers wind down, the pair of seniors have approached their potentials with their eyes on keeping their careers going for just a little longer.