[media-credit name=’DEREK MONTGOMERY/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]For the first time in three games, the Badgers answered their scoring questions Sunday afternoon, but their efforts went unrewarded as they fell in their Big Ten opener to Ohio State, dropping a 2-1 decision in overtime.

After being shut out 1-0 in each of its previous two contests, B.J. Goodman tallied a goal for Wisconsin, but for the fourth straight game, the team was defeated by a one-goal margin.

"It's another one of those frustrating games," UW captain Aaron Hohlbein said. "We've had too many of those I think. We need to make things easier on ourselves. It was a tough game, we played well, but still, we're not winning games."

The Badgers entered the match looking to take advantage of a fatigued Buckeye team enduring a similar spell to the skid that they have encountered. Things were looking up for them when the game went into extra time, but a good job of substitution kept the Buckeyes fresh and helped them prevail.

"I thought we played pretty well, yet I still think that we can do better going forward," head coach Jeff Rohrman said. "We've got to score more than one goal. We can't let a team who's played five games in 10 days come in and get a win."

After two days of good practice following their loss to Northern Illinois, the team looked more focused Sunday than it was on Wednesday. But while the Badgers created more chances than the Buckeyes, they still had trouble finding the back of the net.

After a slow opening 20 minutes, the teams picked up the pace and Goodman gave the Badgers some early momentum with a shifty goal in the 39th minute.

Ohio State coughed up the ball to the sophomore midfielder deep in their own territory. Goodman then made a move around another defender before pocketing the unassisted goal low in the far corner for his first tally of the season.

"I thought he had a pretty good game for us," Rohrman said. "He's been striking the ball pretty well — much better than he has in the past."

Wisconsin rode that momentum into the break, but the Buckeyes tied the game in the 57th minute. OSU forward Kevin Nugent tallied the equalizer off of a low cross through the box from midfielder Ryan Kustos.

The Badgers then had their fair share of chances in regulation time.

Dirk Pearson got his head on a ball off a free kick, only to see it just miss the goal to the right in the 61st minute.

Minutes later, redshirt freshman Victor Diaz was denied point blank by OSU goalie Ray Burse, Jr. and Goodman got his best chance of the second half in the 68th minute, but the ball sailed high over the crossbar.

Then, with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation time, Christopher Ede found himself in close quarters to a goal, but Burse came up with another big save.

Ohio State's senior goalkeeper finished the game with five saves, four of them coming down the stretch in the second half.

Meanwhile, UW keeper Jake Settle saw only one shot on goal other than Nugent's strike after the half.

The Buckeyes didn't waste any time, however, capitalizing on lax Badger defense just 4:51 into the first overtime. Brent Rohrer took advantage of a turnover and two-on-one break, slipping past the defense and firing the ball out of the reach of Settle.

Rohrman and the Badgers had called this game a must-win earlier in the week, but again they came up short in heartbreaking fashion.

"We've had some really tough losses this season," Rohrman said. "We've lost two by own goals and we've lost two in overtime. Those are things that can certainly wear at you."

Wisconsin will look to bounce back from the loss on Tuesday afternoon when the team travels to take on in-state rival UW-Milwaukee.