It was a long weekend for the UW men’s soccer team as it dropped games Friday night against Dartmouth College 2-0 and Sunday against Big Ten rival Michigan 3-2.

This weekend stood as a chance to reverse unlucky results in previous weeks against highly ranked opponents. Two home games against struggling competition seemed to be just what the Badgers needed.

Friday night, the Badgers’ (2-2 Big Ten, 7-8 overall) recent goal-scoring woes continued, as they were shut out for the second consecutive game. Dartmouth controlled the better part of the play and was more tenacious defensively in all parts of the field. The defensive play of their forwards and midfielders limited Badger counterattacks and prevented UW from getting into an offensive flow.

Dartmouth’s hard work and hustle paid off, with goals by Seth Eaton and Rob Daly. Both goals were in the second half and were results of loose balls finding the back of the net. They were ugly goals that were in tune with the way the Dartmouth team played the game: scrappy, yet effective.

“I don’t think we were really ready for that game,” UW head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “We played so well and fought so hard on Wednesday night against UW-Milwaukee. They’re a rival of ours, and to lose in overtime after playing the way that we did, it was just a heartbreaker. Against Dartmouth, we still hadn’t recovered; we were still shell-shocked.”

To make matters worse, with only minutes left in the game, sophomore central defender Joe Anderson made a professional foul on a Dartmouth attacker, pulling down the player before he had a chance for a one-on-one opportunity versus goalkeeper Eric Hansen. The referee gave Anderson a red card, expelling the one-time Big Ten defender of the week from the game and, thus, suspending him for Sunday’s game.

The Badgers hosted the University of Michigan Sunday and reopened Big Ten play for the first time since losing to national power Indiana University. After falling behind 2-0, the Badgers clawed their way back into the game. Badger freshman Pat Cronan was introduced into the game midway through the second half; his grit and energy gave the Badgers a much-needed lift. The team got back to the level of intensity and emotion that had eluded them since Wednesday night’s loss.

Defensive back Ryan Nord, who looked dangerous all day coming forward, finally had his efforts rewarded as he assisted a Cronan goal. With momentum shifting in the Badgers’ favor, the team starting making good counterattacks and playing very aggressively, putting the Wolverines on edge.

Then, senior co-captain Valentine Anozie scored the game-tying goal only minutes after Cronan’s goal. Running at full speed with the ball moving away from Anozie and across the face of the goal, Anozie unleashed a rocket from 25 yards away from the goal, leaving the goal helpless and the score knotted at 2-2.

Michigan refocused and took control of the game once again as it finished off the game 3-2 minutes later.

“We were just unlucky today,” Rohrman said. “We played hard, we fought with emotion and intensity, we competed, but the ball just didn’t fall the right way for us today. It happened to us on Wednesday; sometimes luck is all the difference. And who knows, maybe we used all of ours up in the beginning of the season.”