Every season must end. Every team member imagines what it will be like when it finally does, but it never really hits him until the last whistle blows. The UW men’s soccer team began the Big Ten tournament last Thursday at 1:30 p.m. and were finished with it about two hours later. There’s no tomorrow when you lose in the postseason, just the blunt reality that the year is over.
The Badgers lost 1-0 to Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. The game became a hard-fought defensive battle to decide who would go on playing and who would go home. One of the factors in the Badgers’ loss was that the Nittany Lions did not have to travel far to play the game. Home-field advantage was a huge lift for Penn State.
Penn State went on to win the tournament and, along with Indiana, was selected to the 48-team field of the NCAA championships. Both teams will host second-round play next week.
Just as every season must end, so must the career of every Badger. The seniors were strong leaders for the team this year and will be sorely missed. The team will especially miss the prolific offense of captain Valentine Anozie and the hard-nosed defense of captain John McGrady.
This team had high hopes of making it to the NCAA tournament, and while they did not quite get there, the players worked hard this year and had their moments. They beat a team that ended up making it to the NCAA tournament (Penn State). They also played tough against one of the better teams in the country in UW-Milwaukee. The Badgers fought hard at the end of the season to finish tied for second in the Big Ten with four other teams.
The most promising thing about this season were the young players who stepped up and contributed. The experience those players gained this season will give them a good foundation to build on next year. The program is young, but it appears to be headed in the right direction under coach Jeff Rohrman.
Although the team finished below .500 for the first time in three years, the future looks bright for the Badgers. Sophomore Nick Van Sicklen was a force for the team this season and was deservedly named first team All-Big Ten. Sicklen was an integral part of the team this year and has two more years to improve. It is scary to think that he will surely get better than he is right now. Van Sicklen led the team in goals (7) and points (19) and was tied for the lead in assists (5).
Phil Doeh should also have a productive career ahead and build on this year’s experience. The freshman standout had six goals on the season and will be an important part of next year’s team. The most impressive thing about Doeh this season was his three game-winning goals. That kind of clutch performance is important to have in a scorer.
Every senior who leaves the Wisconsin soccer team has left his footprint on the program’s history whether he tried to or not. This year’s seniors are no different, and while their careers did not bring Wisconsin any championships, they should be acknowledged for what they have given to this program and this school.
It must be comforting for the departing seniors to know the players they leave behind will continue to uphold the tradition they were beginning to rebuild at Wisconsin.
