Forgive Todd Yeagley, the University of Wisconsin’s men’s soccer head coach, for being the new guy. The first-year coach never heard of UW football’s “1-0” mentality. But he likes the idea.
“That’s a good one,” Yeagley said. “All we ask is everyday excellence in how [the team] approaches things.”
Yeagley’s philosophy might not be as catchy as Bret Bielema’s “1-0,” but he also expects his team to take the season game by game. He hopes this approach will erase memories of a 2008 campaign that had its shares of ups and downs, which included a shootout loss in the Big Ten tournament that ended UW’s season.
Yeagley and his coaching staff inherit a team loaded with veterans that went 9-7-3 last year and was likely one win away from making the NCAA tournament. With eight returning seniors, the players agree that expectations are high this season.
“Absolutely. Last year we had pretty high expectations and didn’t quite live up to [them], and this year with returning so many players, they’re even higher,” senior captain Scott Lorenz said.
Lorenz had a breakout year in 2008, leading the team with 10 goals and ranking fifth in the conference in points. The team returns nine of its top 12 scorers from a year ago and Lorenz said he expects the new system the coaching staff implemented should provide plenty of offense.
“We’re looking to get a lot of goals. We have a lot of our scoring back, so if I play my role, I’ll get my chances,” Lorenz said.
While the Badgers’ offense remains largely intact from 2008, the defense lost two starters in then-seniors Zack Lambo and Andy Miller. Senior captain Alex Horwath will return in goal for Wisconsin after posting a 1.02 goals against average in 2008 and said the back four will be solid with Brian Bultman, Cale Cooper, Aaron Nichols and fellow captain Taylor Waspi.
“Obviously Lambo and Miller did a great job for us the four years they were here,” Horwath said. “Brian Bultman has stepped up huge this past spring, and so far in the fall he’s been great. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about him.”
If the defense can hold steady and the offense can get timely goals, the Badgers could reach their goal of making it deep into the NCAA tournament.
“Even without a new coaching staff, that was always the team’s expectation, especially with a huge group of seniors and all the experience, we all want to go out with at least one tournament berth,” Horwath said. “And then these guys come in, the coaches — all of them, they played in the tournament, so they wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Yeagley and fellow assistant Ernie Yarborough made it to the NCAA final as both players and coaches with Indiana. Lorenz agreed the new coaches have brought a new outlook to the program.
“[Expectations are] pretty big, with the new coaching staff coming in,” Lorenz said. “We have a completely different mentality and we’re expecting big things you know. We definitely want to challenge for a Big Ten title and I think we can.”
The road to the Big Ten title will not be easy for UW. They face a six-game stretch against Oakland, Santa Barbara, Indiana, Illinois-Chicago, Michigan and Michigan State, all NCAA tournament teams last year. The Badgers will also have to take on Virginia Tech and UW-Green Bay if they want to match their 8-3-2 non-conference record from 2008.
An important factor for UW will be to improve on its 1-4-1 record in the Big Ten from a year ago. Wisconsin was unable to close out games, losing or tying all but two conference games in the last 20 minutes of play, including two games where they gave up penalty kicks within the last 10 minutes of the game.
“At times we played well last year and things just didn’t go our way. Like giving up a PK with like 34 seconds or something like that to Michigan and Michigan State we gave up a PK with like six minutes, Indiana we lost in overtime,” Horwath said. “All these big games, we were literally 34 seconds away from getting in the tournament last year essentially, because if we beat Michigan, we’re in.”
Yeagley said the Badgers have the talent and determination to reach their goals in his first season. However, it might be the eight seniors on the team that prove to be the difference makers if UW is to make the NCAA tournament.
“It’s a hungry group. Anytime it’s your senior year, it’s the last chance. As a young freshman or sophomore, you don’t realize how quickly it goes,” Yeagley said. “That is something that’s more unique for seniors. They know it’s their last opportunity. So that extra motivation for them will hopefully pay dividends for us.”
