A column of minivans converged on Madison Sunday as the Badger men’s soccer team hosted an indoor exhibition gala at the McClain Center. The event pitted the Badgers against UW-Milwaukee, Milwaukee Wave United and the Minnesota Thunder in a round-robin tourney lasting more than eight grueling hours.

The afternoon closed with a hard-fought bout between the Badgers and UW-Milwaukee. The Panthers were propelled to victory in the final match by the play of midfielder Trent Furtsch and striker Cliff Ellsworth. Wisconsin junior striker Jed Hohlbein secured a goal in the closing minutes, reducing the Panthers lead to 2-1, but the Badgers could not complete the comeback. Earlier in the tournament, the Badgers twice claimed wins against the UWM Gold squad and tied both the A-League Thunder and Wave United squads.

For UW head coach Jeff Rohrman and the Badgers, the event proved largely successful.

“It’s great for us,” Rohrman said. “Obviously UWM is a great competitor and a great program. When you can bring them and the likes of Wave United and the Thunder here, it’s good exposure for the program.”

The indoor tournament allowed Wisconsin’s younger players to get on the field against quality competition. Freshman midfielder William Bagayoko stepped up to fill in for the missing seniors. The Baton Rouge, La., native displayed some of the prowess that won him acclaim down on the bayou while helping the UW White crew achieve a late victory against the UWM Gold squad.

Freshman goalkeeper Mike Hood covered the net following the injury to veteran team captain Eric Hanson. In an impressive performance, Hood held the Panthers’ elite scorers in check.

“I think it’s good for [Hood] because he’s getting a ton of games and plenty of opportunities to test himself,” Rohrman said. “With all of the younger guys, what we’re going to see is just steady improvement over the course of spring exhibition, but clearly some of these guys have made some pretty big jumps so far.”

With so many senior players not competing, the tournament allowed coaches to test players at a variety of positions. Rohrman says establishing chemistry among the younger players continues to be the team’s main challenge.

“It gives us a chance to look at several guys in different places and also look at some players who maybe didn’t log as many minutes in the fall,” Rohrman said. “We just need to be technically more consistent and we need to play a little faster. Some of the balls we were giving people were difficult to play. As some of the guys get accustomed to different positions and to playing with different people, we’re going to get better.”

Rohrman looks forward to the remainder of the spring exhibition season and more opportunities to test his team against solid competition.

“We made some big strides today,” he said. “I expect we’ll be better next week and even better the week after that. We’ve taken some lumps but I think we’re maturing as individuals and as a team.”

More than anything, the tournament provided a Sunday afternoon of soccer to the families who came to cheer on their hometown players. As the last game came to an end, some loaded up the kids into the suburban assault vehicle and headed home. Others stayed long enough to talk to a couple of the players. For everyone in attendance, the event proved a fruitful endeavor: a full day of free soccer.