All season long, the talk around the Wisconsin men’s soccer team has centered on the fact that it is an experienced squad with a 13-man senior class as its backbone.
With the Ohio State Buckeyes in town on Friday at 7 p.m. at the McClimon Complex, this Badger team will deal with the possibility that this could be the last time the senior class takes the field in front of the McClimon faithful.
“It started to hit me over the last few days,” senior co-captain Chris Prince said of his time coming to an end at Wisconsin. “My first game here feels like it was just yesterday.”
The emotion surrounding any last home game for a senior class is always high, and Friday night should be no different. The key for the Badgers is to use that emotion to their advantage and not let it get the best of them.
“We have to use some of the emotion to our advantage,” Prince said. “I think that because it’s such a senior oriented group and we’ve played in so many games, I know that we’re going to come out with the right mentality.”
The only way that senior co-captain Blake Succa sees the emotion of the moment effecting the play on the field is if the Badgers find themselves down a goal, and then realize that losing the final game of their careers on their home turf is not an option.
There hasn’t been much losing at home this season for the Badgers. In fact, the Badgers are currently a perfect 8-0-0 at McClimon and hold the longest home-unbeaten streak in the nation at 12.
The protection of home turf is a belief head coach John Trask has instilled in his players since their arrival. Specifically, Prince said that Trask has, “left us with the idea that no matter what team is coming into Madison, we have to protect our home turf; it’s our advantage and we have to use it as such.”
Ohio State poses an interesting threat to Wisconsin as the Buckeyes are dead last in the Big Ten for scoring average (.81 goals per game), but find themselves atop the conference in goals against average (.69 goals per game). Ohio State hasn’t conceded a goal in more than 400 minutes, so the potent Wisconsin offense — which averages a Big Ten leading 2.06 goals per game — will certainly be put to the test.
Prince knows how important this matchup is to his team and the direction moving forward so he used some of his own resources to self-scout the Buckeyes.
“From talking to my friends on other Big Ten teams, I’ve gathered that they have a very good goalie [Alex Ivanov] and a solid defensive line as well,” Prince said. “I’m actually really excited because one of our strong suits is offense so it is going to be interesting to see how all of that works out.”
Over the past three seasons, the matchup hasn’t worked out in the Badgers’ favor as Ohio State is 2-0-1 against Wisconsin since 2010. In all three regular season matchups, the Badgers have been held scoreless.
“Twenty years from now when the guys look back on their careers, they are going to want to say that they had success against this Ohio State team,” Trask said. “I think they’re ready for this challenge. It’s nice when your players can get themselves motivated like this group can.”
To get a victory, the Badgers need to get on the scoreboard. To get on the scoreboard, they will have to do so against the Big Ten’s leader in goals against average (.69), save percentage (.869) and shutouts (8).
With that in mind and little scoring expected Friday night, the Wisconsin defense is preparing itself for a match that will certainly put them to the test.
“Our goal is to keep them at zero,” Succa said. “We trust that if that happens, our offense will put one in the net for us.”
Last Saturday night, the Buckeyes recorded their first Big Ten win of the season with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over the then-No. 9 ranked team in the country, Penn State. It was evidence of what Prince described as the nature of the Big Ten.
“On any given day, any team can win,” Prince said. “It’s all about who brings the right mentality.”
The mentality the Badgers, and specifically the seniors, are bringing into their final regular season game at McClimon is that it won’t be the final game at home of their careers.
Winning on Friday night and advancing through at least the first round of the Big Ten Tournament could ensure that the Badgers earn a top 16 ranking — meaning that they would host at least one NCAA Tournament game.
“We’re confident that this won’t be the last home game of the season for us,” Trask said. “It’s unique to our team that we are playing for something more than just pride on the last night of the regular season. I think our guys like that.”
