Wisconsin men’s soccer held on for long enough and finally got their first point at home with a tie against Michigan State Saturday night at McClimon Complex. The game went to extra time but was unable to reach a resolution, finishing in a scoreless tie after 110 minutes.
The tie moves the Badgers (2-8-2) to 1-1-2 in the Big Ten and keeps them tied with the Spartans (5-4-2) in the conference standings. Now 0-6-1 at home, Wisconsin gets rid of the monkey on their back from losing every match at home this year, but still chases that allusive win at McClimon.
The first half was very reflective of most of the game. Few shots were recorded and neither team truly stuck their neck out as the better team. Wisconsin came out with probably their biggest push of the game with two close headers that skimmed by the post, making it seem like the Badgers might notch an early goal.
The Spartans would produce their own opportunities midway through the half with several headers that Wisconsin goalie Adrian Remeniuk was just able to tap out of bounds. The rest of the half remained relatively slow-paced and left the Badgers with yet another half to win at home.
The second half wasn’t much different. No shots were recorded in the first 20 minutes and both teams made late substitutions to counteract the slow pace. A few opportunities appeared in the waning minutes for the Badgers, but did not result in any concrete attempts. A few missed shots by both teams in the final regulation minutes and overtime would close the defensively dominated game at 0-0.
“That was a good, tough team in Michigan State,” Wisconsin head coach John Trask said. “Neither team had the quality at the end of the day to score the game-winning goal. There was a couple of moments in overtime I thought we had a chance to score, but a draw is probably the right result.”
Trask said he was pleased with the way the team competed with some of the excellent Spartan forwards, adding any tie in the Big Ten is always hard-earned. He said the game was ultimately a true dogfight and their defense did a good job of giving their offense a chance to win throughout the long game.
Sam Brotherton was among the string of great performances on the defensive line. The New Zealand native has been a consistent force throughout the season for the Badgers and proved his methodical dominance Saturday, winning almost every header and blanketing several promising attempts by the Spartans late in the game to secure the tie. He leads a young defense that is coming into its own as the year progresses.
“It would be easy for a team where we are to say this isn’t our season,” Trask said. “I think our guys still believe there’s something definitely to play for this year.”
