The University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team hosted Penn State on Sunday in their final match of the regular season, finishing with a 1–1 tie.
This game had enormous implications for UW. With a win, they could’ve finished as high as fourth in the Big Ten while a loss or draw would’ve resulted in a drop, possibly as low as eighth place. The match was just as crucial for Penn State, who would clinch their ninth Big Ten title with a win or even a tie, depending on how other games played out.
The game nearly started in disaster for the Badgers. Nittany Lions’ forward Caden Grabfelder stole the ball in a promising position following some sloppy dribbling by Badgers’ midfielder Trip Fleming. But, Atem Kato’s ensuing effort drifted harmlessly into the arms of UW goalkeeper Nate Crockford.
Wisconsin broke the deadlock in the 14th minute. Defender Birgir Baldvinsson whipped in a stellar cross on a corner kick. Somehow, the ball missed every player in the box and bounced directly into the far corner of the net, also known as an Olympic goal.
The Badgers continued to pile on the pressure for the rest of the half, but failed to create any clear-cut chances. Nevertheless, it was a dominant first 45 minutes for Wisconsin, who outshot Penn State 5–2 and controlled play throughout.
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In the second half, UW started to sit deeper, aiming to defend their lead rather than push for a second goal. This tactical change proved to be a questionable decision by head coach Neil Jones, as Penn State quickly seized control of the match.
Alex Stevenson had the first close call, but his half-volley from short range fizzed wide of Crockford’s net. Crockford made a couple of solid saves in the following minutes, stopping shots from Samson Kpardeh and Peter Mangione.
The Nittany Lions finally clawed back to even in the 67th minute. Mangione split the two Badger center backs with a slick through ball and Van Danielson fired home his third goal of the season.
With Northwestern University down three to the University of Michigan, Penn State knew a tie would be enough to share the conference regular season title, but they wanted to win it outright and threw the kitchen sink at the Badgers.
A long ball from the back found Danielson through on a breakaway, but Crockford smothered his effort for a second goal. In the last minute, the ball bounced to Kato at the top of the six-yard box — but once again — Crockford made himself big and just managed to block the shot.
Crockford’s heroics were enough for UW to hold on to the 1–1 tie despite being outshot 9–2 in the second half. Unfortunately for the Badgers, they still dropped to eighth in the Big Ten while Penn State shared the conference title with Indiana University.
Wisconsin’s season will continue Nov. 3 when they battle against the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals.
