UW (7-6-0, 1-1-0) will be put to the test Friday night when the Indiana Hoosiers (3-3-4, 1-0-1) come to town. The Badgers will be looking to build upon their last two wins and gain a valuable conference victory against a Hoosier squad that has played some of the better teams in the nation this season.
“We feel good about the way we’ve preformed and played the last couple games,” UW head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “We’ve earned it though our concentration and our commitment to working hard and winning the games.”
In UW’s past two matches it gained victories over UW-Milwaukee (No.8 in the Great Lakes Region), and Penn State. Indiana is currently No.2 in the Big Ten with four points.
“Obviously with Indiana it’s going to be a big test for us,” Rohrman said. “Their record is in no way indicative of the kind of team they are. It’s going to be a great game, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Indiana lost a close match to No.6 ranked Notre Dame 1-0 in double overtime and tied No.21 UAB 0-0. IU has also tied regional Big Ten leader Michigan State, and this past Sunday the Hoosiers upset Michigan 2-1. This season they have played with the best in the region and have fared well.
The Badgers match-up is headlined by the return of junior attacking midfielder Nick Van Sicklen.
“This is an important game for us. I missed Penn State with a groin injury, so I’ll be back in the lineup, so it’s exciting to get back out there,” Van Sicklen said. “I also missed last year against Indiana with a calf muscle injury, so this will be nice to play against one of the top teams in the country.”
UW’s David Martinez believes the Badgers are as ready as they can be for an always-tough Indiana squad.
“They’re a hard working team coming out with great skill; top-notch soccer team in the country,” said Martinez. “You can prepare for it, but until you play you won’t understand what you see. We’re really confident right now; we’re on a roll. Emotionally we’re pretty high as well. They say a lot of it is mental, and we have that right now. Physically we can hang with any team in country. As long as we’re there mentally we’ll be fine.”
Ned Grabavoy is IU’s biggest offensive threat. Last year, in his sophomore season, he earned second-team All-America honors from the NSCAA, and was one of only three unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selections. He finished the season ranked third on the team in scoring with 20 points on six goals and eight assists and led Big Ten Conference scoring in league games with 15 points.
This season he already has five goals and three assists in IU’s 10 matches.
“Ned is one of the best playmakers in collegiate soccer,” said IU head coach Jerry Yeagley. “He’s a game breaker and is an entertaining player to watch. We will count heavily on him to lead our attack and look to him for more scoring this season.”
UW will focus on minimizing his influence on the field.
“We just have to make sure that he’s marked and that we’re always aware of where he’s at,” Rohrman said. “He’s a big-time player and deserves special attention. We’re going to do what we can to try and take him out of his game and not let him have too much of an impact; which I think is more of minimizing his impact than taking all of it away. He’s going to have his touches, but certainly if we make him do some things that won’t hurt us with those touches, that will be good for us.”
“Emotions are high, right now we’re really excited about playing Indiana,” Van Sicklen commented. “I think this is the first time in my career that we really think we should beat Indiana, and I think this is the squad to do it, and it’s definitely shown after beating Penn State and Milwaukee last week.”
