The Wisconsin men’s soccer team will return home to continue spring play this Sunday, March 28. The Badgers will host a round-robin tournament at the McClain Center including professional and college teams. The competition lasts all day and admission is free to the public.
“We certainly are going to be challenged with the competition, which is great for us,” Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “I’m sure we’ll have some moments where we can learn some things as we go through the day. We hope to see improvement in all areas and to see a high level of consistency through the course of the four games that each team will be playing.”
The tournament will feature nine-on-a-side matches with UW-Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Wave United and Minnesota Thunder of the A-League.
Wisconsin defeated UW-Milwaukee 1-0 in Milwaukee this past season, thanks to a goal from David Martinez and a shutout from keeper Eric Hanson.
UW last met the Wave United in last year’s spring season. The Badgers came out on top, by the score of 2-1. Martinez cracked the scoring column first for Wisconsin, and Jed Hohlbein came through with the game-winner.
UW previously hosted a round-robin event for club teams March 7, including the Chicago Sockers, Michigan Wolves, FC Milwaukee and a pair of Olympic Development Programs from Minnesota.
“Overall, we did very well in the first round robin,” Rohrman said. “We had great results, and we scored quite a few goals. It was especially nice for us to be able to play somebody else.”
“It was also a good chance for us to see some of the better players in the region, and for them to come and get a look at the campus,” Rohrman said. “All in all, it was a great event. Everybody enjoyed themselves; it was a good day of competition.”
The spring exhibition season will continue for the Badgers Saturday, April 3, when they travel to St. Louis University.
-compiled from staff reports