Ah, November!
The birds are going south, the leaves are more likely to be found on garbage bags than on trees, and Badgers are preparing to defend their home against Wildcats, Wolverines, Nittany Lions and Buckeyes (whatever those are).
The cool thing is that this beautiful cycle of nature will occur over four days in Madison as the men's soccer team hosts the Big Ten Tournament this weekend at the McClimon Track/Soccer Complex. Seven teams are competing, with the first three matches getting underway today.
The Badgers finished off their regular season at 10-7-1, and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Like last year, the season has been as rollercoaster ride from hell.
After going 6-1-1 in September (that one loss being to nationally top-ranked Southern Methodist), Wisconsin went 1-6 during its first seven games in October. However, the team did finish very strong, winning its last three games, including an upset over 14th-ranked Ohio State.
\The team is starting to come together,"" said senior defender Brian Feyrer. ""I think we're peaking at the right time, and I think we have a real good chance of winning it.""
Earlier in the year, UW senior forward Dominic DaPra was the main force in the Badger offense. DaPra finished off his year with 34 points, including 15 goals, leading the Big Ten.
However, some of the other Badgers have stepped it up in the last few games. Senior forward Aaron Lauber has scored five out of the team's last seven goals. Freshman midfielder David Martinez had a two-goal game against Michigan State and is tied with Lauber with the second-most points on the team with 12.
Freshmen forwards Nick Van Sicklen, Nicolas Aguilar and Noah Goerlitz have made solid contributions in the last few games and senior backs Scott Repa and Mike Congiu are holding it down defensively. One thing that will go against them is the injury to three-year starting goalie Moriba Atiba Baker. Baker hurt his quadriceps, and unless he improves, junior Phil Ayoub will take over goalie responsibilities.
First up for UW is Michigan at 11 a.m. today. During their only match this year, the Wolverines won 2-1 in Ann Arbor, Mich. However, with the Badgers' new confidence and the match in Madison, the team members are confident about their chances.
""Our players are more motivated to play against Michigan than if we had played Ohio State,"" Head Coach Kalekeni Banda said, ""and so I am happy about that.""
Indiana is the clear-cut favorite to win the National Title. Last year, it lost the National Championship game to Creighton in triple overtime. Led by junior forward Pat Noonan and senior goalie Colin Rogers, the Hoosiers went undefeated in the Big Ten this year.
While scoring a low number of goals, IU's defense was key, allowing only 0.42 goals per game, including 11 shutouts in 15 games by Rogers. If Wisconsin wins its first match against Michigan, it plays Indiana, and the last time that happened, it wasn't pretty. Indiana creamed Wisconsin 4-0 in Madison Oct. 12.
Other teams in the Tournament are Michigan State (with a deceiving 3-3 conference record, 9-6-1 overall), Ohio State (last year's Big Ten Champs, 1-4-1, 10-5-2), and Penn State (12th in the nation and the No. 2 in the Tournament, 4-1-1, 12-3-1). However, the Badgers are not overlooking any team in the tournament.
""When you get into Big Ten Tournament time, anybody can knock off anybody,"" Feyerer said.
