With the Big Ten tournament getting underway in less than two weeks, the University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team is trying to do what every team is trying to do at this time of year — get hot at the right time. The Badgers could take a huge step in that direction this weekend as they go on the road to face Northern Illinois Friday and host Michigan State Sunday afternoon.
“We need to start to get ready for the championship season,” coach Kalekeni Banda said. “We need to play to our strengths the next few games and try to play in situations that we are comfortable in.”
That comfort level could definitely occur today as the Badgers play at Northern Illinois in DeKalb, Ill., for a 3:00 p.m. contest. The Huskies are just 3-10-1 overall and have only scored 10 goals all season, or two less than the Badgers’ leading scorer, senior forward Dominic DaPra.
However, this is an important game for Wisconsin. Last season, NIU came to the McClimon Track and Soccer Complex and took a 3-2 victory in contest in which they were a heavy underdog. Northern Illinois has won its last four contests with Wisconsin, although UW holds a 15-8-1 advantage all-time.
“This is definitely a payback game,” Banda said. “We thought we had the game last year, but they stole one. We want to do the same thing to them this year and come home with a win.”
DaPra, who scored one of the two goals in last season’s match, is not looking past this game.
“We need to play well on defense and not get too eager on offense,” DaPra said. “It is the same situation as last year.”
After today’s match, Wisconsin will travel home to play Michigan State at 1:00 p.m. Sunday. The fact that the football Badgers are playing the Spartans for Homecoming Saturday has not gone past Banda.
“The guys can relax, go to the game and hopefully gain some momentum,” Banda said. “Maybe it will give us a lift for Sunday.”
UW may need that lift. The Spartans are 9-3-1 this season and their only road loss was at the No. 7 Indiana Hoosiers, who beat the Badgers 4-0 earlier this season. MSU is led by a potent offense, which features four players who have 12 or more points on the season. They average two and a half goals a game while giving up a little more than one.
“They are not very flashy, but very solid, especially on defense,” DaPra said. “We want to make it more of an ugly game.”
Freshman David Martinez, who has become a bigger part of the offense in recent games, is confident but understands the importance of this match.
“I think player for player we are better than they are,” Martinez said. “But they play hard and really physical. This is a huge game.”
While Michigan State is 3-2 in the Big Ten, Wisconsin (0-3) is still looking for their first conference win. A victory on Sunday would not only give the Badgers their first conference victory of the season and momentum, it would also give them their biggest win of the season.
