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[/media-credit]With the Big Ten Tournament quickly approaching, the University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team understands the importance of a win to close out the regular season. However, the Badgers (6-6-5 overall, 0-3-2 Big Ten) will have their hands full Sunday when they try to defend their home turf against conference rival Indiana University. This weekend’s grueling matchup against the ninth-ranked Hoosiers (12-4-2 overall, 4-0-1 Big Ten) will be one of the toughest challenges the Badgers have faced all season.
Both teams are in very different positions heading into the Big Ten tournament. So far this season, the Hoosiers have defended their reputation as one of the most dominant teams in the country and are intent on capturing a berth in the NCAA championships. The Badgers, on the other hand, have struggled to close games out at home and are hoping for some much-needed momentum before traveling to East Lansing, Mich., for the tournament.
“It’s a must win obviously for us,” forward Brian Bultman said. “At this point we are look at it as a buildup going into the Big Ten tournament. We really need this win to get our momentum and our confidence going.”
The Hoosiers have established themselves as perennial powerhouse in the college soccer world in recent years and are strong at every position on the field. The IU offensive assault is fueled by the play of juniors Kevin Noschang and Brad Ring, who have combined for 24 points on the season. The Hoosiers’ defensive backfield is held together by seniors Charley Traylor and Greg Stevning, whose defensive prowess have allowed junior goalkeeper Chay Cain to make more than 60 saves in the season.
“Indiana has always been the team to beat in the Big Ten. They are nationally recognized as one of the best teams in the country,” Bultman said. “Against Indiana, we know how they play and that they are going to be confident coming in. We just have to bring it and take them down.”
“They are very good in a lot of different places,” UW head coach Jeff Rohrman said. “They have switched things up this year from their traditional 3-5-2. Now they use a four-back system, and they are very good at getting players the ball in the attack.”
Sunday’s game carries added significance to the seniors on the Wisconsin squad, who will step on the turf of the McClimon Soccer Complex for the last time in their careers. The home finale will be the last chance before the tournament for Badger fans to see seniors Nick Caronna, Erik Ortega, B.J. Goodman, Sho Fujita and Dirk Pearson in action.
Against Indiana, Rohrman must rely on the play of his seniors if the Badgers hope to make their last home game one worth celebrating.
“They are extremely talented and very athletic at a few different areas. We are going to have to be very good in a lot of different places,” he said. “We are going to have to be very good defensively.”
It will be vital for UW goalkeeper Alex Horwath to make big saves and call out defensive assignments if the Badgers stand any chance of bottling up the Hoosier offense. Horwath will be counting on the play of Caronna, who cements the defense with his vocal presence and ferocious play.
Over the course of the season, the Wisconsin offense hasn’t shown a killer instinct and has had problems with chemistry and coordination. This weekend will be the last chance for the maligned offense to gather their bearings before next week’s tournament.
“There are some things we can do to exploit them on the offensive side,” Rohrman said. “With Brandon [Miller] and Victor [Diaz] up top, I think we have got some guys who can create some problems for their defense.”
Although many bounces have not gone the Badgers’ way in 2007, it will be critical for the young squad to put past games, both wins and losses, behind them if they want to be crowned Big Ten champions. If the Badgers manage to defeat an extremely tough Indiana team Sunday, their chances of success in the Big Ten tournament are sure to improve.
