The UW men’s soccer team ended their season Sunday with a 3-0 loss to Marquette University in Milwaukee. Fresh off their Conference USA regular-season-championship campaign, the Golden Hawks handed the Badgers one of their worst losses of the season in the shutout.

For the Badgers, who fell to 9-9-0 in overall play, the loss marks the end of a two-game winning streak. The next game for the Badgers is their first-round Big Ten-tournament matchup with Penn State. The two teams played earlier this year in Madison. The Badgers outplayed the Nittany Lions and came away with a 2-1 win.

The tournament is being held in University Park, PA, the home of the Nittany Lions, so it stands as a great chance for them to get even with the Badgers. Home-field advantage worked well for the Badgers last year in the Big Ten tournament, as it was held in Madison, and UW made a run to the semifinals.

Things won’t get any easier for these teams, as the winner must play a game the very next day against the top-seeded and well-rested Indiana Hoosiers.

Although the odds seem to be stacked up against the Badgers, they are riding a two-game Big Ten winning streak. UW has been competitive with all of their conference opponents with the exception of Indiana. And after their worst loss of the year, 5-1 to Indiana, they bounced back to fight and give the UW-Milwaukee team, also a national-title contender, a serious scare as they barely lost 1-0 in overtime.

This weekend, the Badgers lost a similarly one-sided affair, and although they don’t have to face a top opponent like UW-Milwaukee, the Badgers are still playing an away game in the Big Ten tournament.

Big Ten tourney outlook: Ohio State University played Northwestern for the final game in the men’s soccer Big Ten regular season. The Buckeyes beat the Wildcats 2-0 in Evanston to finish the season 3-3 in Big Ten play, while the Wildcats dropped to 0-6, finishing in the cellar for yet another year. The win for the Buckeyes puts them in a five-way tie for second place.

The top-seeded team in the tournament is the dominant Indiana Hoosiers, who finished the season 6-0 in league play to win their ninth Big Ten regular-season title in 11 years. The Hoosiers were the only Big Ten team this year to consistently hold down a spot in the National Soccer Coaches Association’s top-25 poll, and once again, they also have a legitimate shot to win the NCAA championship that takes place in December.

The seedings for the seven-team tournament were determined by the number of goals each of the second place teams had scored through the regular season against Big Ten opponents. Michigan was given the No. 2 seed, Ohio State the three seed, Penn State the four seed, Wisconsin the five seed, and Michigan State was given the six seed. There are three rounds of play, but Indiana must only play twice, as they get a bye in the first round.