Since 1994, the Wisconsin men's soccer team has compiled a 0-3-3 record against Marquette University.
The upbeat 6-1 Badgers, straight off a shutout victory over Texas Christian Universtiy, came in confident that this year would be a different story.
One hundred and twenty minutes later, the Badgers' record against the Golden Eagles went to 0-3-4. Last night, they tied Marquette 2-2 after 90 minutes and two overtimes of play.
The scoring started early in the first half, with UW senior Aaron Lauber heading senior captain Scott Repa's free kick over Marquette goalie Adam Ubert at 13:15.
'I saw Aaron isolated,' Repa said. 'He gets a good head on the ball, so I thought I'd try and hit that seam.'
Marquette quickly responded with a Chris Lee lob over UW senior Moriba Baker 16 minutes later.
Less than 10 minutes later, Marquette senior forward Sean Reti slipped past Wisconsin defenders and crossed the ball to junior Jeff Gerlesits, who quickly headed it past Baker to put Marquette up 2-1.
The Badgers, however, swiftly started the second half with a controversial goal by the Big Ten's leading scorer, Dominic DaPra.
Eight minutes into the half, DaPra and Ubert went up for the ball, with DaPra knocking the ball away from the goalie in midair.
Quickly recovering, DaPra turned around and knocked the ball into the goal, incensing the Marquette fans and bench who wanted a foul on DaPra.
Wisconsin Head Coach Kalekeni Banda argued that it was a clean play and that DaPra's athleticism was the main factor.
'He does it all the time. He can out-jump all goalkeepers in the country,' Banda said of DaPra. 'If a goalkeeper goes up there, he better have good hands and hold on to the ball.'
After the score was tied, emotions ran high on the field. The two teams duked it out like a couple of prizefighters through the second half. This is how interstate rivalries go though.
Even Gov. Scott McCallum was on hand to watch the tense competition between the two Wisconsin schools. McCallum's son, Zach, is a starter for Marquette and tallied an assist on the goal by Lee.
Tempers flared, with Marquette players earning three yellow cards in the second half and two overtime periods. Lauber and the Badgers expected nothing less than a heated game.
'You know half the guys on the other team,' Lauber said. 'Everyone wants to win so bad, and when people get tired, if you can't beat them with the ball, then you just push them a little bit.'
'That's the game. If you want to win, you got to be physical,' Baker said.
Next up is No. 10 Ohio State. This game will be a measuring stick for the Badgers as they face the team that beat them in the Big Ten Championships last year.
