The goal for the Wisconsin men’s soccer team this season has been to make the NCAA tournament, a feat only achieved once by a Wisconsin squad in 1995 when the Wisconsin Badgers won the NCAA Championship. After a year of poll climbing, the Badgers are in a position to repeat history and make the NCAA tournament once again.
“For this group of guys, I don’t think it is unrealistic to expect us to make the NCAA tournament,” head coach John Trask said at the beginning of the season.
After being projected to finish fifth in the seven-team Big Ten this season, the Badgers have exceeded many experts’ expectations as they enter their last regular season game against Ohio State with a 12-3-2 and a 3-2-0 record in Big Ten play.
This year the Badgers have two options for making the NCAA tournament. They could win the Big Ten Tournament, set to take place Nov. 13-17. The Badgers could also make the tournament by claiming an at-large bid.
The Badgers chances in the Big Ten tournament seem to be mildly favorable. Their three Big Ten wins put them in the running for the second seed in the tournament, depending on their result against Ohio State Friday. The second seed would pit the Badgers against whatever team finished last in the conference, which would mean a matchup against Ohio State, Northwestern or Indiana depending on the results of the final games of the year.
The Badgers’ chances in the tournament also improve because of how they have been playing. In their last two Big Ten games Wisconsin has taken down 25th ranked Northwestern and 14th ranked Michigan State, both in shutouts.
Much of that can be credited to Trask’s decision to start senior Max Jentsch in goal after redshirt freshman Casey Beyers let in two goals against Michigan on Oct. 20. Since taking the starting role, Jentsch has let in only two goals over his four starts. With Jentsch in the lineup, scoring on Wisconsin has become a challenge.
“We’re confident in whoever we have back there,” junior Jacob Brindle said. “But Jentsch is really good off his line, and his kicks allow us to attack much quicker.”
If the Badgers are able to win the Big Ten tournament they will clinch an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. However, it is also possible Wisconsin will slide into the tournament on an at-large bid.
The at-large bids for the NCAA tournament are selected by a committee of experts who select the participants based on various statistics, the most important being RPI.
Despite being ranked 16th in the country, the Badgers’ RPI put them at 29th in the country, just north of the cut off for an at-large bid this season, barring anything strange happening in conference tournaments.
However, Wisconsin will most likely get the call even if their RPI is not up to par with the rest of the field. Traditionally the Big Ten has a weak RPI due to the inconsistent nature of Big Ten weather, and that is often factored into the committee’s decision.
“When the wind starts to blow, you have to play on rainy days,” Trask said. “The game can go either way, all it takes is one play to turn the whole game around.”
If you don’t believe Trask, just ask Penn State, who dropped five spots in the RPI this week after suffering their first conference loss to usual Big Ten bottom-dweller Ohio State. The loss may have sent Penn State’s ranking down, even below fellow Big Ten team Michigan State, but the program is still sitting atop the Big Ten with wins against every other Big Ten squad.
Despite questions about Wisconsin’s RPI, the Badgers should still be able to make a solid case for a tournament bid. A win against Ohio State Friday would solidify Wisconsin’s incredible home unbeaten streak and put the Badgers in a position to win at least one game in the Big Ten Tournament. If that happens, Wisconsin will almost undoubtedly snag a tournament bid.
More than likely when the final whistle blows Friday at the end of Wisconsin’s matchup with Ohio State, the Badgers will not return to play at the McClimon Complex again this year.
Wisconsin has struggled a bit on the road this season, with a very average record of 3-2-2. However, the Badgers seem to be picking up steam toward the end of the season on the road. After losing road games to Michigan and Penn State, the Badgers tied UWM in Milwaukee 1-1 and last weekend beat a solid Northwestern squad 1-0 on the road.
“It was great to finally get a road win in conference,” Trask said. “It is going to boost our confidence going forward and improve our rankings as well.”
