BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Wisconsin senior Valentine Anozie put the Badgers on the scoreboard with a penalty shot, but the Wisconsin men’s soccer team could not hold off No. 4 Indiana in a 5-1 loss on the road. Wisconsin’s record is now 7-5-0 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. Indiana sophomore Ned Grabavoy scored two goals to lead the Hoosiers, while Wisconsin keeper Eric Hanson pulled in eight saves for the Badgers.
“This was a great learning experience for us,” Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “We certainly learned what it takes to compete at the highest level.
“We had moments where we played with the confidence and composure that wins games, but we need to work on making those moments last longer and building confidence. But we’ve shown in the past that we can bounce back from tough losses, and we’ll be looking to learn and improve from this loss as we start a challenging week ahead.”
In front of 2,585 at IU’s Armstrong Stadium, Indiana came out strong in the first period as John Swann scored an early Indiana goal off of a header at 2:13. David Prall and Mike Ambersley tallied assists on the Hoosier goal.
Ten minutes later, Wisconsin earned a penalty shot after Indiana picked up a handball foul inside the Hoosier box. UW’s Ryan Nord threw in an out-of-bounds ball, but Indiana’s John Swann hit the ball with his hand to collect the foul for the Hoosiers. Looking for the equalizer, Anozie converted on the penalty kick and beat IU keeper Jay Nolly to tie the game at 1-1. The score improved Anozie’s record to three goals on the season and 11 career goals overall.
The tie score lasted only four minutes, as Prall received the ball from Ambersley to recapture and keep the Hoosier lead. Grabavoy, a sophomore, scored twice on Hanson at the 19th and 36th minutes to make it a 4-1 game heading into overtime.
The Wisconsin defense came back in the second period attempting to halt the Indiana attack and build a Badger rally. Wisconsin held the Hoosiers scoreless in the second period through the first 15 minutes, but All-American Pat Noonan scored the final Indiana goal on a header to the bottom left of the Badger net.
In goal, Hanson recorded eight saves for Wisconsin, while Indiana keepers Nolly and Matt Reiswerg collected two saves and one save respectively.
The Badgers return home this week for a three-game home stretch at the McClimon Soccer Complex. Wisconsin faces No. 17 UW-Milwaukee Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. UW-M defeated Akron 3-1 Friday night and improved their record to 8-1-1 overall with an eight-game winning streak.
Following their match against UW-Milwaukee, the Badgers play Ivy League opponent Dartmouth Friday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and continue their Big Ten play against Michigan (4-5-1, 0-2) Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m. Wisconsin lost to Michigan twice last year, including a 1-0 loss to the Wolverines that knocked the Badgers out of the Big Ten Championship. The Badgers will be looking to improve their Big Ten record with a win over the Wolverines (4-5-1, 0-2 Big Ten).
–compiled from staff reports
