The Wisconsin men’s soccer team (9-9-0 overall, 2-4-0 in Big Ten) fell to Northwestern (12-4-2 overall, 3-2-1 in Big Ten) Sunday in its final match of the regular season. The game was the final home fixture for seniors Eric Hanson, Noah Goerlitz, David Martinez, Jed Hohlbein and Nick Van Sicklen.

“We had too many guys that either didn’t bring their concentration for the full 90 minutes, or weren’t able to execute when we needed them to,” head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “We can maybe get by when one or two of them have an off day, but we had too many today. Northwestern’s a good team, and they’re going to punish you for that.”

Northwestern took the lead less than 11 minutes into the contest off a Wisconsin defensive miscue. Badger goalkeeper Hanson tried to clear the ball after receiving a back pass, but Wildcat early substitute Brad North blocked the attempt with his chest, controlled, and finished for his fifth goal of the season. Throughout the game, Northwestern had several chances during scrambles in the Wisconsin box.

“I thought it was a fairly scrappy game,” Rohrman said.

Wisconsin answered in the 19th minute on a penalty kick score from Martinez. Hohlbein sent a through ball into the 18-yard box for Martinez. A pair of Wildcat defenders slid to block the shot, but touched the ball with their hands, giving the Badgers the penalty shot. Martinez stepped up and beat Northwestern goalkeeper Justin Pines low and left for the equalizer.

In the first half, Wisconsin had several chances but failed to muster quality shots and test Pines. The Badgers totaled 10 shots, but only four were placed on goal.

“I didn’t think in the first half that we were getting as many of the second balls,” Rohrman said. “In the second half, I thought we did a little bit better job there. We had a few chances, but I think our forwards had three shots on the goalie, and that’s not enough.”

“Either we’re not giving them the balls that they can use, or they’re not finding enough,” he added. “So, we’ve got to do a little bit better there to create some very good chances. I thought today we just created maybe some half chances.”

In the second stanza, the Badgers once again failed to take advantage of their limited chances. In the 57th minute, sophomore midfielder Aaron Witchger sent in a cross from the right flank to the far post. Fellow second-year player William Bagayoko centered the ball with a volley, but Hohlbein was unable to finish the play.

Northwestern won the game in the 84th minute on junior Kevin Earnest’s goal on consecutive crosses from Brad North and David Roth. For the five Badger seniors, it was a heartbreaking end to their final home match.

“I feel bad for them that we couldn’t get the victory for them today,” Rohrman said.

With the loss, Wisconsin sealed its fate as the fourth seed in the upcoming Big Ten conference tournament, where they will face the fifth-place Michigan State Spartans this Thursday. The Badgers will need to rebound if they hope to advance deep into the tournament.

“Well, I think the guys just need to come out the next two days and pay attention to the little details, bring their full concentration, their full work ethic and have two good days of practice and get ourselves going in the right direction again,” Rohrman said. “We’ve had a good month here so far, or I should say since October 1st we’ve played quite well, and there’s no reason we can’t get on a good run here this week.”