With the Big Ten season rapidly approaching, the Wisconsin men’s soccer team took a break from practice this week to recharge its batteries after an impressive nonconference run.
Going into their first Big Ten matchup against Penn State next weekend, Wisconsin’s season prospects look bright. Despite finishing on a 2-0 loss to Gonzaga on Saturday, Wisconsin finished its nonconference lineup 5-1-1 including huge wins over Florida Gulf Coast and South Florida.
The Badgers started off this last weekend with an offense-driven 5-1 victory over IPFW. The game saw 21 different Wisconsin players, nine of which tallied a goal or an assist in the game. However, the emotional high of that game wore off as Gonzaga shut out the Badgers for the first time since Michigan did the same last year on Nov. 7.
“We played well Friday night with our one win over Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne,” head coach John Trask said. “We played what I thought was a very good game against a very good team in Gonzaga. They are experienced and pulled ahead early in the match.”
In the 21st minute of play, Gonzaga pulled ahead 1-0 after being awarded a penalty kick. But Wisconsin still fought, especially in the early minutes of the second half.
“We really started pushing the game in the early part of the second half and they countered that,” Trask said. “I am still pleased with the overall performance, even though the result didn’t go our way.”
Despite the disappointing loss, Wisconsin is still optimistic about their season and is excited to move onto Big Ten play.
“If someone would have told us that we would be 5-1-1 heading into our first Big Ten game, I think we would have taken that,” Trask said. “We are still in some of the top-25 polls. I think our body of work and being 5-1-1 bodes well for us and really expresses where we are at right now.”
The Badgers kick off their Big Ten season with a match against Penn State this weekend. The Nittany Lions are 4-2-1 this year and are making a push to be relevant in the Big Ten race this year.
The clear front runner in the Big Ten this season is Indiana University. Always a powerhouse when it comes to soccer, Indiana is coming off of another National Championship and will be looking for the Big Ten’s automatic bid once again this year. However, Indiana has struggled early in its season with a tough nonconference schedule. The Hoosiers sit at 3-3-1 after losing to West Virginia, UAB and UCLA so far. A tired Indiana team could very well allow the Big Ten Title to be up for grabs this year.
Right at Indiana’s heals are Wisconsin and Northwestern. Northwestern has the best record so far in nonconference play, going 6-1-0 in their seven games. The Wildcats have played domineering offense this year led by sophomore forward Joey Calistri, who has already put away seven goals on the season. If Northwestern is able to translate that success into the Big Ten season, the Wildcats will cause problems for the other six schools.
Michigan State has only sustained a single loss so far while Michigan has maintained a .500 record through its difficult schedule. In addition, even as Ohio State sits at the bottom of the Big Ten standings at the moment, the Buckeyes have been known to make huge runs including their 2007 run that landed them in the National Championship game.
“It is always a very competitive league,” Trask said. “Northwestern has been playing extremely well. Indiana is the defending national champions and has played a very hard schedule. They are 3-3-1 now. It is going to come down to very tight games. It is usually decided by a goal, and I think our experience in the nonconference schedule is going to prepare us nicely to do well in the grind of Big Ten play. There will be no easy games; every game will be very difficult, starting with Penn State on Sunday.”
