[media-credit name=’GREGORY DIXON/Herald Photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Constantly pressured and seemingly on the verge of collapse, the Wisconsin men's soccer team avoided the upset and walked away from the McClimon Soccer Complex with the 1-0 victory over Western Illinois Wednesday.

Wisconsin didn't look like a top-25 team, but they managed to come out with the "W" to extend their unbeaten streak to six.

"I'm relieved," Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rohrman said of the victory. "When you don't play well, and you're able to win games, [it's] a good sign. We're going to enjoy it, but know that we have to play better Sunday [against Ohio State] for sure."

"We didn't play all that well, but we played well enough to get the result so I can't complain about that," senior defenseman Aaron Hohlbein said.

In years past, a sloppy game like this one, where the Badgers struggled mightily to take the hide off of the Leathernecks, would typically result in a loss. Finishing off games and holding onto leads is the difference between this year's team and past teams.

"The past couple years usually we have those games where we find a way to lose them, and this year we're finding ways to win them," Hohlbein said. "We're gutting it out and we're getting it done."

One of Wisconsin's first scoring opportunities proved to be the difference. Late in the 17th minute the Badgers were awarded a corner kick. Pablo Delgado took it and dumped a short pass to Victor Diaz just inside the goalie box. Diaz hooked a rocket to the far side of the net, and the Leathernecks keeper Stephen Paterson got a hand on it but could not corral it. The deflection went to senior striker Reid Johnson who leapt high in the air and headed it in for the game-winning goal.

"I thought it was going in at first," Johnson said of Diaz's shot. "You know it pops up in the air and I figured I got to get up for it, so I got as high as I could and tried to slam it home as best I could do."

It appeared as though Wisconsin would take a commanding 2-0 lead midway through the first half when Diaz dribbled past the Leathernecks net minder. There was another defender between him and the net, but instead of pulling the string with a shot, he continued to dribble toward the end line before losing possession when the keeper pounced on the ball.

Twice more the Badgers had good looks on a run by midfielder William Bagayoko, and a set-play off of a free kick, and twice more they were unable to take the belly out of the opposition.

"I think we've missed opportunities tonight especially to put the team away and you know, if a team stays in long enough at 1-0, some teams are going to catch you," Rohrman said.

Thankfully for Wisconsin, it wasn't Western Illinois' night. Though the Leathernecks controlled possession for most of the second half when the level of play went south, they never did get the look they needed to knot up the score.

"We defended pretty solid and they didn't create any real good chances — it was kind of half chances — but we definitely have to do better keeping the ball and limiting those chances," Hohlbein said.

"I thought we did a good job of, this past weekend as well, just clogging things up in there," Rohrman said. "We just want to play direct on the center. We have a couple of guys who are very good in the air, and the guys around them did a good job of getting in positions where they could win some of those second balls, and we were very alert and awake and ready to block shots and run with people … We have a very solid back-line, and it showed tonight."

Behind the strength of the backline, Wisconsin goalkeeper Jake Settle recorded his fourth-straight shutout having now gone 436-39 without giving up a goal. Settle and Wisconsin seek to keep their respective streaks alive when they play Big Ten rival Ohio State Sunday.