Men’s soccer scores first win of the season
By Joanna Salmen
The UW men’s soccer team (1-1-0) captured its first win of the season at home Sunday in the 15th annual Rocky Rococo Classic.
Junior transfer Jed Hohlbein scored the only Badger goal of the tournament in the 10th minute of Sunday’s game against Northern Illinois University. Hohlbein scored after a shot by freshman Aaron Witchger was deflected by NIU’s goalkeeper toward his foot as he stepped in and put the ball in the back of the net. Witchger was credited with the assist.
“It was actually a pretty lucky goal,” Hohlbein said of his first goal in a Badger uniform.
Hohlbein, who transferred from Southwest Missouri State, also racked up half of UW’s shots on goal as they out-shot NIU 17-11. He leads the team with 13 shots on goal in 2003.
In the second half, strong defensive performances by both teams resulted in a combined 16 shots but no goals by either squad. Goalie and captain Eric Hanson made five saves over the course of the Badger victory.
Also playing strongly in the team’s win were freshman defender Aaron Hohlbein and junior midfielder Noah Goerlitz, who were both named to the all-tournament team.
The 1-0 win over Northern Illinois University (0-2-0) came after the Badgers lost to No. 20 University of New Mexico (1-1-0) Friday night. Despite out-shooting the Lobos, the Badgers were unable to capitalize.
“We were really hoping to tie (against NM),” head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “It was a real battle of endurance for both teams.”
It was New Mexico’s first appearance in the Classic.
In its 15th year of existence, the Rocky Rococo Classic still remains a bright spot on the Badger schedule, as it is the team’s only home tournament.
“We love hosting the tournament,” said coach Rohrman. “We have no preseason games so it is a good way to start out the season. It’s always a good weekend of college soccer.”
Over the two-day competition, almost 2,000 fans took in the games at the McClimon Soccer Complex, which featured both UW and UW-Milwaukee in competition.
No. 11 UW-Milwaukee walked away with the championship after defeating both Northern Illinois and New Mexico. The Badgers have won the tournament eight times, including the past three consecutive seasons.
After a 9-10 record and a tie for second place in the Big Ten a year ago, UW is looking to improve in the standings this season. Both the coaches and players are optimistic that this season will be a success.
“I think we are set up for a good year,” Jed Hohlbein said.
Coach Rohrman agreed, saying, “I feel really good about the team this year. We have a lot of depth so we are going to be able to rotate like we did in [Sunday’s] game and still come away with the win.”
Next weekend the Badgers will travel to their first away games in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they will participate in the UNLV Tournament on Sept. 5th and 7th. The team will play their host, UNLV, Friday night at 9:30 p.m. and then take on Mount St. Mary’s Sunday at noon.
