
The Wisconsin men’s soccer team needs only three wins to qualify for a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Keeping that in mind, a win against UW-Milwaukee Thursday is essential for the Badgers even though it is a nonconference game.
Although conference play is done for the Badgers, their season still rides on the outcome of their game today, since they still have a long way to go before being considered for an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
“For the season it’s huge,” senior goalkeeper Alex Horwath said. “I mean we need to win three straight right now to have a chance for the NCAA. And then, even more important than that, we need to get some momentum going for the Big Ten Tournament because we have played everybody and, you know, nobody really scares us, but we definitely want to go in with a positive attitude.”
Feeling the team is down but not out also held true for senior forward/midfielder Brandon Miller as he reiterated a sense of momentum necessary to carry the team to the NCAA Tournament.
“We have been playing pretty well lately,” Miller said. “We’ve been on the down side of a couple results unfortunately, but going into the Big Ten Tournament and looking ahead a week or so, we really could use some momentum. Obviously, the game against Milwaukee is very important both for momentum and giving us help getting into the NCAA Tournament.”
The team is currently tied for third in the Big Ten and has a 6-8-2 record heading into Wednesday’s game, but must have to a record of .500 or above to be eligible to receive a NCAA Tournament bid.
For Horwath, one of eight seniors on the team, the Badgers don’t need any reminders about what is at stake.
“I mean, I don’t really have any advice, I don’t think we need any advice,” Horwath said. “We’ve been through ups and downs, that’s what seasons are all about. There is no more motivation than ‘we need to win three games to continue our season.’ That’s the only thing that needs to be said in the locker room by the coaches or the players; that we have to win three straight games to have an opportunity to continue our season into postseason play.”
The Badgers’ players emphasized not overlooking Milwaukee’s 3-11-2 record, since the Panthers are a team that will come out ready to play regardless of the scenario.
The Panthers seek to capture their 200th win overall at Engelmann Field in Milwaukee.
“We know it is going to be an intense environment; they always have quite a crowd there,” Miller said. “So that will be pretty interesting. That’s always pretty fun though — it gets you hyped up. I think we just need to work on imposing our game on them, and not allowing them to play and making it difficult for them to play. You know, put a couple in the net, that is the biggest thing.”
Tonight’s 7 p.m. game serves as a chance for the team to prove its ability before heading into postseason play in the Big Ten Tournament.
“We really don’t need to focus on them at all, we need to focus on what we do. If we come out and perform the way we can perform and to our full potential, then we should come out with a positive result,” Horwath said.
In terms of tonight’s game, Horwath acknowledged he is optimistic about the team’s chances for winning the game after defeating the Panthers 4-0 last season but reiterated the need to remain focused throughout the entire game as well.
“I mean we definitely have some confidence,” Horwath said. “You know we have had success against Milwaukee as a team, but they are a tough team to play against. Last year the bounces just went our way and we finished our opportunities. But they fight for 90 minutes; they are definitely going to make it tough on us and it is going to be a battle.”
The Panthers boast a young group of talented defenders featuring junior Greg Rosenthal, sophomore Tony Maxey and sophomore DJ Alexander.
The Badgers lagged offensively during their game Saturday, and after that disappointing 2-1 loss against Penn State, the team is now on a two-game losing streak.
“Penn State is a good team,” Horwath said. “I mean I think they are one of better teams we’ve faced in the Big Ten. I think we really needed to get a goal in the first half and we had a strong advantage with the wind at our back, but you know, it didn’t work out. We had the advantage in the first half, but we couldn’t take advantage of it.”
After scoring just 14 goals in 16 games, the Badgers have struggled with finishing offensively, which could be a factor against a strong defensive team in UW-Milwaukee. However, creating these scoring opportunities begins with a defensive stop, and team defense is one key coach Todd Yeagley has drawn attention to the entire season.
“You know, we have to be disciplined defensively, we have to work hard, and we have to take advantage of our opportunities and put the ball in the back of net,” Horwath said.
Miller pointed out the same aspect of the team’s play as the major factor it will need to hone in on to be successful for the rest of the season.
“The biggest thing is defending better as a team and transitioning them into opportunities going the other way,” Miller said.
This game will serve as a final measure of what level the team is playing at heading into the intense Big Ten Tournament next Wednesday. In terms of adjusting the team’s game plan at this point in the season, Horwath dismissed the possibility of shifting focus with so little time remaining in the season.
“You know, coach always talks about, we improve every week,” Horwath said. “We’re improving today, we improve everyday in practice. We just have to stick with what we have been doing all year and just get a little sharper in some certain areas, but I don’t think we are really going to change the focus of our team going into the last two games.”