The University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team was scheduled to play against UIC under the lights of Camp Randall, but for logistical reasons the match was moved to the McClimon Complex.
Although the result will not count towards the regular season in the fall, the team is still looking forward to the game.
“It’ll be a great experience … but it doesn’t add any pressure,” senior goaltender Alex Horwath said.
Wisconsin’s original spring schedule initially included a Camp Randall game against UW-Milwaukee in addition to the UIC matchup. The Badgers will also play against the Panthers at McClimon.
The team was looking forward to not only playing in the open air at the football stadium, but to getting out of the McClimon facility, where the field is not regulation size. Among those looking forward to the change of scenery will be senior forward Scott Lorenz, who led the team in goals last season.
“It’s nice getting to be outside again,” Lorenz said. “We’ve kind of been clamped in the McClain a little bit, so it’ll be real nice to be out here.”
Head coach Todd Yeagley, who was an offseason acquisition for the Badgers from Indiana, will be facing off against two other Indiana grads, UIC coaches John Trask and Sean Phillips. In fact, when Yeagley and Phillips were seniors in 1994, the Hoosiers were the national title runners-up.
If the Badgers hope to keep up with the Flames, they will have to play solid defense, an area in which they struggled in last year. The team was ranked 58th in the country and gave up over a goal per game. Facing a team that averaged 1.44 goals per game last year, the Badgers will have their hands full.
“The players are excited, we have a tough opponent Friday,” Yeagley said.
In fact, the Flames swept Wisconsin’s three in-state rivals last season, all teams the Badgers faced. UIC, which advanced to the Sweet 16 in last year’s NCAA Tournament, also played the Big Ten competitively as well last season, losing only one of their four matches.
Despite the tough competition, the Badgers feel they are ready for the challenge.
“We’ve definitely taken steps in a positive direction the whole time,” Lorenz said. “The rest of the coaching staff has done a great job in getting us in shape.”
The exhibition game is part of a five-game spring schedule the Badgers will undertake before the regular season starts in the fall. With a new coach and a successful season, the Badgers are hoping to ride the momentum into a successful Big Ten season.
“We have a lot of our scorers coming back,” Lorenz said. “I think we’re going to be an all-around threat this fall.”
In their first spring game against Loyola, Erik Conklin’s penalty-kick goal was the decisive factor in Wisconsin’s 1-0 victory. Conklin, who was a second-team All-Big Ten selection, will be crucial in filling the void left by 2008 captains Victor Diaz and Andy Miller. With Lorenz, Conklin and Horwath all coming back for their senior seasons, the team should find more success than last season’s 1-5-1 Big Ten record. Although the Badgers emerged victorious over Loyola, Friday’s game should be the first real test of their offseason improvement.
Despite the limited ground to play in, the Badgers are still excited about facing tough competition.
“We want to continue the tradition of winning here and come out on Friday,” Lorenz said.
