In 1995, head coach Jim Launder led the Wisconsin men’s soccer team to a 20-4-1 record and the NCAA Championship. After guiding the Badgers to a second-place finish in the Big Ten one year later, he was fired and replaced by Kalekeni Banda. A two-time NSCCA National Coach of the Year, Banda was never able to duplicate the success he enjoyed at the University of Massachusetts and Amherst College during his time in Madison. Following a 10-8-1 campaign in 2001, Banda resigned his post, citing the need to spend more time with his children.
It was then that the athletic department turned to former UW-Milwaukee player and Maryland assistant coach Jeff Rohrman to revitalize its struggling soccer program.
“There were a few things that had to be established and done,” Rohrman said. “I think one of the things we’ve successfully done is really reconnect with the Wisconsin soccer community: locally, for sure in Milwaukee and across the state. Then, I’d extend that even regionally. I think we’ve done a good job of doing that. We’ve done our job, I think, in terms of bringing people back and recognizing this as a real viable place to send the top kids in the state and in the region.”
In his first year on the job, Rohrman inherited a team of Banda-era holdovers, led by senior co-captains John McGrady and Valentine Anozie. Also on that 2002 squad were several current lineup fixtures: goalkeeper Eric Hanson, forward Nick Van Sicklen and midfielders David Martinez and Noah Goerlitz.
“I was lucky; I thought we had some good kids in the program,” Rohrman said. “They were certainly motivated and inspired to get back on track to where this program was 10 years ago and I think that is still in the forefront of our minds, so that group used that as a motivation that first year and a lot of the younger kids that we appealed to come in this past year remember when that program was there. They also came here with that purpose: to get this program back on track to where it should be as soon as possible.”
After a 9-10-0 debut season that saw UW garner its first national ranking since 1997, Rohrman and Wisconsin ushered in a large and talented recruiting class, giving the Badgers an influx of ability, as well as inexperience. In 2003, newcomers like Aaron Hohlbein, Aaron Witchger, John Scripp and Reid Johnson helped form the new nucleus of Wisconsin soccer. The young Badgers experienced their fair share of ups and downs, knocking off UW-Milwaukee and Penn State on the road, but dropping some heartbreaking contests like a 1-0 decision to UW-Green Bay at home Sept. 10.
“As you can imagine, it tests you between your patience and your drive to get there right away,” Rohrman said. “With young players, sure you’ve got to challenge them and push them, but at the same time you have to nurture them, develop them and get them along their path. Certainly it does test your patience as you can imagine. But again, it’s a process and we keep that in the forefront of our minds and our hope is over time it will pay big dividends.”
The 2003 season served as a building block for the future of Wisconsin soccer. UW finished above .500 with an 11-10-1 record, giving Rohrman a two-year mark of 20-20-1. The talented corps of freshmen also cut their teeth in Big Ten competition, as eight first-year players made starts and a grand total of 11 saw their first action in a Badger uniform. New defenders Aaron Hohlbein and Andrew Cardona started all 21 games, forming the backbone of a strong back row for years to come.
“I think the next step for us is from a competitive standpoint,” Rohrman said. “I look last year at some of the things we did — we had some great wins. To beat UW-M at their place, to beat Penn State on the road, two great victories yet at the same time — we showed some signs of an immature and youthful team in some of the losses we had. I think we have to start putting those things together and learning those lessons and putting together over the long haul a season where we’re much more consistent in our approach and also within every game we play. I think then we’re going to start seeing, at least in terms of the quantitative stuff, we’re going to start seeing some of that.”
With the program’s foundation in place, Rohrman will add five new Badgers in the fall: midfielders Erik Ortega and Dirk Pearson and midfielder/forwards B.J. Goodman, Sho Fujita and Nick Caronna.
“This year’s class should give us a lot more options, a lot more depth in the attack,” Rohrman said. “This year we were shut out maybe eight times, and that is a little bit of a concern to me. I think we’re going to add some pretty dynamic, athletic kids. I’m pretty excited about what should be out there this fall.”
In addition to enthusiasm and coaching ability, the recruiting of Rohrman and assistants Jon Szczepanski and Nick Pasquarello has given the Wisconsin program a shot in the arm. Rohrman is quick to note that the University of Wisconsin is hardly a tough sell.
“For a kid from Michigan or Ohio, the first thing they think of when they think of Wisconsin is the Packers, cheese and cows,” he said. “When they get here, they realize, ‘Holy smokes, it’s nothing like I thought.’ For us, we basically said, ‘Hey, if we can get kids on campus and show them what this place is about, the city, where the program’s going and our mission, it should be a no-brainer.’ We should be able to attract some of the best kids, and I think we’ve done that.”
One of those kids the Badger staff lured to Madison was Aaron Hohlbein. After a standout rookie season, the young defender has trained with the United States U-20 national team, helping put Wisconsin back on the soccer map.
“What it really does in terms of the local community and the state, they realize ‘Holy smokes, Wisconsin’s got a kid who’s in the national pool,'” Rohrman said. “I don’t think I can remember the last time — it might have been ’94 or ’95 when this school had a soccer player who was in the national pool. Maybe some people take a look and realize, ‘Hey, maybe they are doing something over there.’ In that regard, hopefully people do notice, and if that helps them come out and see us play or whatever else, that’s great. Support our program. That’s a huge benefit and a huge positive.”
Following two full years at the Wisconsin helm, Rohrman believes the sky is the limit for the Badger soccer program.
“We certainly set our goals to go all the way,” he said. “That’s where I think we’re capable of going. Certainly we’re driven and motivated to push our guys to excel at the highest level. That’s something we appeal to all of our recruits, and the guys that want to meet that challenge are the kind of kids we’re going after.”
