The Wisconsin men’s soccer team has struggled at times this year, often looking hurried and impatient on the ball. Too frequently good scoring chances would go by the wayside as the young Badgers misplayed the ball, oftentimes not showing the patience and confidence necessary to complete the play. That type of play has led to UW’s inconsistent start and a 4-6-0 record thus far. However, if a 1-0 loss to Ohio State and last night’s 2-1 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee proves to be the turning point for Wisconsin, the reason will be the team’s newfound confidence.

“I think we definitely gained confidence from the Ohio State game, I thought we should have come away with the win,” senior skipper Nick Van Sicklen said. “Then tonight it was a great victory against a very solid team.”

The confidence showed as he found the scorer’s touch, putting in both of UW’s goals in the victory over UWM.

“It all comes down to us having more confidence individually and as a team,” assistant coach Jon Szczepanski said. “We got together and said ‘let’s worry about what we can do to get better.’ They did that tonight.”

What stood out the most about Wisconsin’s confidence was how it translated into patience. UW oftentimes held up play and controlled the ball instead of just sending a long ball down the field. In controlling the play, especially throughout the midfield, the Badgers were able to build up their offense and capitalize on chances that earlier in the year wouldn’t have been there. A lot of that has to do with the continued development of the young attackers.

“Our younger guys, Dirk Pearson, B.J. Goodman and Aaron Witchger, and Erik Ortega, they have started to shoulder that load,” Szczepanski said of the young players stepping up and contributing to the offense.

The improved confidence showed throughout the match with UWM, as UW looked the better of the two sides on the pitch and fully deserved the victory.

Witchger in particular showed his quality with a cheeky move to set up Wisconsin’s second goal with an incredible lob over an oncoming defender. It was the type of play that was absent from many of the Badgers’ earlier games and was desperately needed with leading goal-scorer Jed Hohlbein sidelined by an ankle injury.

The confidence also showed throughout the defense, where Wisconsin played one of its best games of the season.

“I thought our guys played one of our better games defensively just from the pure fact of the organization and the communication,” Szczepanski said.