The University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team has struggled to win games so far this season and Saturday it suffered another extra-time defeat, this time a 2-1 loss to Michigan.

The game ended when the Wolverines’ Rylee Woods scored in the 99th minute off a free kick from 30 yards out to hand Wisconsin (1-7-1 overall, 0-3-0 Big Ten) another tough loss. His shot curled around the wall and through traffic, which made it difficult for freshman goalkeeper Adrian Remeniuk to make a play.

Remeniuk had taken the place of the injured Casey Beyers, who had made four starts in a row before sustaining his injury.

Both teams remained scoreless until the 80th minute when senior Jacob Brindle scored off a cross to put the Badgers ahead for the time being.

However, Michigan (2-5-2, 1-1-2) scored the equalizer just three minutes later when James Murphy stole the ball from the Badgers and bounced his shot off the post and behind Remeniuk for the goal.

In the final six minutes of regulation, Wisconsin had several opportunities to score, but could not find the back of the net.

“As soon as it went 1-1, we started creating chances again and could have easily won it in the last five or six minutes of the game once they tied it,” Wisconsin head coach John Trask said. “I thought our response to their goal was good, but soccer can be a cruel game sometimes, and our guys are living it right now.”

In their past seven games, Wisconsin has scored only six goals, which has been difficult to overcome. Defensively, the Badgers have given up 18 goals in that same time frame.

The opportunities were there for Wisconsin, but they were unable to convert. The Badgers had 19 total shots Saturday night, but only three were on target. Twelve of Wisconsin’s attempts came in the second half, but put only one of those shots on frame.

Wisconsin also lost the corner kick battle 6-4, with all of their corner kicks coming in the second half.

In order to get back in the win column, Brindle said the Badgers will need to find ways in which they can get high-quality chances.

“We had some good chances. I know I should have put a couple more [shots] away, but we’ve been working on that in practice,” Brindle said. “Just getting into places where you can be dangerous in front of goal, they’re going to fall eventually.”

Trask sees the opportunities that Wisconsin gets and knows they are close to putting more shots in the back of the net.

“We had some good attacks that, with a little bit finer pass, or a little bit more clinical on the finish, and we probably get a couple more goals,” Trask said.

Trask also knows this is the learning curve that comes with a young team that includes three freshmen on the attacking end.

“I just felt that final third (of the field), that last pass, that last decision, that’s part of having a lot of young players, that’s the nature of the beast,” Trask said. “A year from now, the decision is better, the moment is better, and we have to continue to mature this group.”

Before giving up the two late goals, the Badgers’ defense had been strong for a majority of the game. But after Wisconsin scored to go ahead, Michigan ramped up its attack to try to battle for the equalizer, and the Badgers couldn’t hold them back.

“We knew they were going to come out strong after that first goal,” senior Carl Schneider said.

Wisconsin has not played a full game of complete team defense yet, Trask said, but he will continue to work on it with his players.

Michigan tallied seven shots on goal out of their 10 total shots on the game.

“At the end of the day, we don’t seem to be able to stop the opposition from scoring goals,” Trask said.

Despite the goals they have given up, the Badgers have played close games on their home turf, with this being the third straight Wisconsin home game to go to extra time.

Remeniuk saved five shots on the night, but it was not enough to give the Badgers a win. It is unknown if Casey Beyers will be healthy enough to return to the starting 11 by their next game.

The Badgers will play that next game at home at the McClimon Complex at 7 p.m. Tuesday against Green Bay.