On a windy Sunday afternoon, the Wisconsin men's soccer team (1-1 Big Ten, 7-4-1 overall) faced No. 20 Penn State (2-2 Big Ten, 7-5-0 overall). The Badgers prevailed over the Nittany Lions 2-1 in an exciting and physical match. Taking the brunt of that physical play used by PSU was junior midfielder David Martinez, the hero of the match who scored the game-winning goal at the 76:25 mark.
\I'm hurting bad, I'm hurting real bad. I know this is the first time I've gotten knocked down so bad,"" a limping Martinez said.
Senior co-captain forward Valentine Anozie was the heart and soul behind the Badgers' success. Anozie burned the Lions all day with his blazing speed and deft ball handling while assisting both Wisconsin scores. Anozie connected with sophomore forward Nick Van Sicklen on a brilliant cross right in front of the goal with 30:50 left to be played in the first half. This time Van Sicklen would not be denied, as the Madison native sent his shot right past goaltender Ryan Moate and made the score 1-0.
""It was actually very simple. One was work ethic, the second one was putting them on their heels the whole time. A lot of guys stuck to that game plan, and looked to be very direct every time we got the ball,"" Anozie said.
As the clock wound down on the first half, it looked as if that game plan was working and the Badgers would have great momentum coming into the second half being up a goal on Penn State. However, Nittany Lion midfielder Gabe Bernstein put a head on a free kick, which sailed into the upper left corner past the hands of junior goalkeeper Eric Hanson, making the score 1-1 as the final seconds of the first half ticked away.
""You know, right before half, you work so hard to get a goal, you're up by one and then they score and you have 10 seconds left,"" Martinez said.
Perhaps the wind had been taken out of their sails by Bernstein's tying header, as the Badgers entered the second half knotted at 1-1.
""I thought in the second [half] we dropped off a little bit for about 20 minutes where I thought Penn State had the better of the game. But then I thought as time wore on we found it within us to find that emotion, that intensity, that work-rate to get it done. It was great to see the product of all that hard work in the end result,"" Head Coach Jeff Rohrman said.
With 13 minutes remaining, Wisconsin would have to reach deep to avoid an overtime situation. They needed to reach no further than Anozie and Martinez. Collecting an Anozie pass, Martinez blasted a shot over Moate to secure a Badger victory.
""It's great to beat a team like Penn State, and I think it's been a while since we've done that. I thought we executed our game plan really well. I thought also we kept the intensity and emotion up for most of the game, which was really good to see,"" Rohrman said.
