As standouts in the club leagues of their hometown, Chicago, Janus played for Sockers Football Club while Prince suited up for the Chicago Fire Academy. The two teams comprised one of the biggest rivalries in Chicago youth soccer circles.

Through a strange course of events one could only explain as fate, the now-seniors never played on the same field until they arrived in Madison.

“We knew of one another, but we never actually played against each other,” Janus, a Deer Park, Ill. native said. “When he was on the U-16 team, I was on the U-18 team and then when he got to the U-18 we were scheduled to play each other twice but he was injured the first game, and I was injured the second.”

Their knowledge of each other’s background proved to be vital in their arrival and success at Wisconsin.

Former Badger head coach, and current Indiana head coach, Todd Yeagley, recruited both players but left the university prior to their arrival, leaving new head coach John Trask with the responsibility of making sure both Janus and Prince stayed committed to becoming Badgers.

“As I was going through the interview process it was made clear that I would be getting the job within a week of signing day,” Trask said. “The assistant coaches were giving me a pretty big vibe as to how important it was that I keep Chris  and Nick committed.”

Prince, a Naperville, Ill. native, had some reservations about remaining committed to the Badgers because he was familiar with Yeagley and his coaching philosophy, but after meeting with Trask he soon realized that it was “an even better situation” with him at the helm.

For Janus, Wisconsin was a virtual no-brainer because it “fit every criteria outside of soccer” in terms of academics and proximity to home. A new coach and a perceived rebuilding year did not give the 6-foot-2 forward any second thoughts.

“[Those two factors] actually made me more excited to come because I wanted to be a part of something special,” Janus said.

Upon their arrival, they continued the FC rivalry in order to compete for playing time.

“He got recruited as a forward; I got recruited as a forward,” Janus said. “The problem was that the system we were recruited into only called for one forward so naturally he wanted that spot, and I wanted that spot.”

The two held no punchers from either corner, however, and both were willing to do whatever it took to make sure they saw the field more.

“It definitely set off a little competition between us where we always wanted to do better than the other,” Prince said. “But our relationship has grown to the point where we’ve played forward and excelled at it together. I’m definitely very close with him, still very competitive and I think having that competitiveness between the two of us over the first few years has let us have the great relationship that we have today.”

Fortunately for Janus, Prince and the rest of the team, Janus was moved to center midfield and both players were in the starting lineup and both were named to the 2010 all-Big Ten Freshman team. When asked about the importance of starting both Janus and Prince, Trask said, “When you’ve got players like Chris and Nick, the last thing you want to do is take them off the field.”

Both players have been given numerous awards over their collegiate and high school careers in addition to the all-Big Ten Freshman team, including Big Ten all-Tournament teams (both), Second-Team all-Big Ten teams (Prince: 2010 and 2011) and the UIC Classic all-Tournament team (Janus: 2013).

Janus is most proud of being named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week in 2011.

Prince, who stands at 5-foot-11, takes solace in the fact that he set four school records at Naperville Central High School (single-season goals (27), single-season points (64), career goals (38) and career points (102)). Prince also won four regional championships in four seasons of varsity at Naperville Central.

While it may seem like the two Badger stars are similar in every facet of the game, they take pride in the fact that they have different leadership styles. In Trask’s eyes, Prince is more of an outspoken leader while Janus prefers to lead by the strong example he sets on the field.

“I’m not a very vocal leader; I prefer to show it,” Janus described. “I want to be the guy that you can go to in order to slow the game down, go on the attack, whatever the team needs. I try to lead by example, and Chris does that too but he’s also a vocal, emotional leader.

“He’s the type of guy who when you’re in a tough game and need a pick-me-up, he’s going to make the tough tackle to lift the team up emotionally.”

With both players in their final season, Trask is already well aware of the changes their departure will mean for his team moving forward. Prince is now playing midfield and Janus is upfront on the attack, and some have thought about possibly moving Prince to help shore up the Badgers’ backline, all signs that these are two extremely versatile players who can play wherever and whenever on the field.

“These guys physically – Nick is as big as a horse and Chris is a great athlete – help you out especially as the season goes on,” Trask said. “People get beat up, get injured, but these guys are tough; they are Chicago tough. No matter what, you’re going to be hard-pressed to tell them they’re not playing today.”

As for the off-the-field impact the two men have had on the program — that’s something they will not even know until the future.

Speaking as if he were a father giving a speech to his son after graduation, Trask gave insight into how special Nick Jones and Chris Prince are and how much they mean to Wisconsin soccer.

“I feel like it will only be down the line for both of them to realize how much they affected UW men’s soccer,” Trask said. “I hope that they get to relish every moment of their final season because they’ve sacrificed so much physically and emotionally and discipline-wise in their life to help move the culture of this team in the right direction.

“Three to four years from now when they walk back and see whoever the players are that are representing UW, I think that’s when they’ll start to say to themselves, ‘Wow, I was a big part of this and if it wasn’t for us and our class starting this turn, the program wouldn’t be where it is today.’ I just hope it comes good to them because there’s no one who deserves it more than these two young men.”