New UW head soccer coach Jeff Rohrman couldn’t have imagined a better start to his career in Madison.
After defeating Gonzaga and Oregon State to win the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Classic last weekend, Rohrman’s squad jumped into the NCAA/Adidas rankings at No. 22, the first time UW has been ranked since Sept. 16, 1997.
The victories pushed UW’s record to 4-0, with three of the wins coming in shutout fashion. Against Gonzaga, midfielder Valentine Anozie and forward Nick Van Sicklen each tallied goals in a 2-0 victory.
A tie seemed to be in the works after Oregon State tied Sunday’s game at 1-1 with a penalty kick in the 79th minute, but midfielder Watson Vaughn Prather scored on a corner kick with only six minutes remaining in the game to give UW a 2-1 victory.
Rohrman was thankful for the victory for more reasons than one.
“After we beat Gonzaga, we really wanted to make a commitment to play well Sunday,” Rohrman said. “We came out a little bit flat in the first 25 minutes, but against the flow of play, we found a way to score. In the second half, I think we played with a lot more emotion and a lot more intensity.
“It was a great game, an unbelievably emotional game. Our team really showed their true character and heart and scored on a corner kick with just under six minutes to go. That was great and also worked out well because they changed our flights, so we had to get to the airport and pretty much leave right away. Had we gone into overtime, it would have been trouble.”
With three shutouts in their four victories, the threat of overtime has rarely been present for UW, who has played exceptional defense and has gotten extremely solid goalkeeping from 6-foot-3 sophomore Eric Hanson.
Hanson, who has established himself as UW’s top keeper, has made 13 saves and allowed only one goal in the young season. Despite Hanson’s rock-solid play, Rohrman insists Hanson’s defenders have been just as important as the keeper himself.
“All of our backs have played really well, and they all deserve the credit,” Rohrman said. “Eric really blossomed this spring. I continually talked about how he took his game from this level to the next level. But really, there is just a collective will with those guys in the back to never give up a goal. They understand their job is to defend and not give up goals, and they have done a great job so far.”
The Big Ten conference has also taken notice of UW’s defensive stars. After Hanson was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 2, defender Joe Anderson received the same honor for the week of Sept. 9, giving UW a monopoly on the award thus far this season.
Rohrman praised the play of Anderson and John McGrady, Anderson’s mate in the defensive backfield
“Joe Anderson was voted Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and he was also the Defensive MVP of this weekend’s tournament. But it’s not just Joe,” said Rohrman. “It’s senior John McGrady who plays right next to him. Those two guys have been together all spring and all through preseason, so they have been able to work the kinks out for some time now, and it has really paid off.”
Rohrman says he couldn’t be more pleased with the early success his team has enjoyed and credits senior leadership and total team dedication for helping make the start of his inaugural season go smoothly.
“I really didn’t have any expectations as to where [the season] would go,” Rohrman said. “I wasn’t sure how long it would take to start seeing us perform well, given the fact we had some new bodies coming in. But after the spring, I really had a good chance to see the strength and the character of the people that are on this team.
“We have six seniors, a couple of whom are fifth-year seniors. They are very committed, that makes my job a little easier when you’ve got that kind of senior leadership and that kind of commitment to performing well every single time we take the field.”
