The Wisconsin men's soccer team (5-10-0, 0-4-0 Big Ten) will be looking to tally its first Big Ten victory of the season Sunday when it takes on a potent Michigan State squad (6-4-5, 2-2-1) at the McClimon Soccer Complex at 2:30 p.m.

While Wisconsin defeated Michigan State 2-1 last year in the regular season, the Badgers were eliminated from last year's Big Ten tournament by the Spartans when they suffered a 1-0 loss in the two teams' last meeting.

Despite being knocked out of the tournament last year by Michigan State, head coach Jeff Rohrman says his team is focused on the match at hand, and believes his squad needs no added incentive of revenge for Sunday's contest.

"I think our guys are just taking each game as it comes," Rohrman said. "I don't know if they need a whole lot of added incentive against Michigan State. [Michigan State] won the Big Ten tournament last year; I think all of our guys know that and remember that. So they are a very worthy opponent who we need to take seriously, and we certainly need to come out and perform our best against them."

Statistically, Wisconsin has maintained an edge over Michigan State throughout the past 20 years, posting an 18-6-3 all-time record and outscoring the Spartans 55 to 25. This season, however, the Badgers have found themselves scratching their heads looking for ways to seal victories against Big Ten opponents.

Losing by only one goal to both Ohio State and Penn State, allowing three second-half goals to Indiana and blowing a first-half lead against Michigan, Wisconsin has simply been unable to finish strongly against their Big Ten foes in 2005.

Against Michigan State, the Wisconsin defense will need to shut down the offensive threat of senior Ryan McMahen. McMahen has already posted 19 points on seven goals and five assists for the Spartans this season. The midfield maestro is a free-kick specialist who has scored nearly half of the teams' goals in 2005.

"If I'm not mistaken, six of his seven goals have been on free kicks," Rohrman said of McMahen. "He's a very, very dangerous weapon when he gets an opportunity around the box. So, we're going to have to be smart and disciplined in terms of our defending. A lot of teams have man-marked him — going into Sunday's game, I'm not sure if that's the answer for us, but, he's certainly a guy that we need to keep our eye on."

While the Badgers have been unfortunate with close matches — losing seven games by only one goal — so far this season, the Spartans have managed to acquire draws in the majority of their close matches, while also scoring important 2-0 victories over Ohio State and Michigan.

"They tied Indiana, they tied Notre Dame and they've had some strong wins," Rohrman said. "They're a quality side — definitely a quality opponent — and we're going to need to come out and play a good game on Sunday to beat them."

As Michigan State head coach Joe Baum's squad arrives in Madison for Halloween weekend, the trip also marks the teams' first road match since Oct. 2, when they lost 2-0 to Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

After concluding a six-match homestand with a 2-0 victory over Western Michigan University this past Wednesday, the Spartans will finally venture from Old College Field in East Lansing, Mich. With a 1-2-3 record on the road, Michigan State has been struggling away from home this season, prompting an optimistic outlook for Rohrman's squad Sunday.

"Hopefully it affects them," Rohrman said of the Spartans' home stretch. "I don't know if it will or not, but hopefully it has some kind of effect on them on Sunday."