The Wisconsin men's soccer team (6-2 overall) rebounded quickly Friday night, following up a tough loss to UW-Green Bay (1-5 overall) last Wednesday with a 1-0 victory against Eastern Illinois University (2-3 overall). Even though it was a one-goal game, the soggy, muddy conditions made for some exciting play. The Badgers created many opportunities, out-shooting the Panthers 14-8.
UW's only goal came from Illinois native sophomore midfielder Ryan Nord, assisted by senior midfielder Valentine Anozie and sophomore forward Nick Van Sicklen midway through the first half.
\It feels great. It's nice that it's a game winner and not in a blowout,"" Nord said. ""I've never really thought of Eastern as a soccer powerhouse, but it's nice to score against an Illinois team.""
The defense played with the intensity and determination that they showed through the first seven games. Senior co-captain defender John McGrady and sophomore defender Joe Anderson led the charge, holding the Panthers to only three shots on goal, all of which came in the first half. They also kept the Panthers' standout junior forward Jason Thompson from getting a shot on net.
""I thought our pressure and intensity was tremendous in the first half, and I thought we started out the second half a little sluggish, but we stopped everything that they threw at us,"" Head Coach Jeff Rohrman said.
For sophomore goalie Eric Hanson, it was his fourth shutout of the season, but his first since Sept. 6 against Gonzaga. In the net, he made only three saves, but they were a tough three to get. On a well-placed free kick, Hanson came out and lept through the air on his way to catching the ball and pulling it to the ground with him.
""I took a break from the shutout for a couple games, but it feels nice to get [a shutout] again. That's what you go out for every game,"" Hanson said. ""All the guys really pitched in and I really didn't have to do very much and I like that, so the guys did a wonderful job in front of me.""
Things got interesting late in the second half, as Eastern Illinois picked up two costly red cards, to sophomore defender Ryan Luckett and to an Eastern Illinois assistant coach, in the final 15 minutes. Consequently, the Panthers were down one goal and short one man on the field, killing any chance they had of coming back.
It was a victory nonetheless, but UW entered the game with hopes of capitalizing on their many chances and finishing off all of their opportunities. While they did create many scoring opportunities, less than half of their shots were on the net.
""I thought we did OK, but we still have to make the goal keeper make saves. I thought we should've come away with more shots on goal,"" Rohrman said. ""We need a rest. ... We're going to shift our attention to Ohio State. It's our first Big Ten game. The guys will be pretty excited next Friday.""
The Badger women's soccer team (0-1-1 Big Ten, 3-4-2 overall) opened its Big Ten season Friday against Indiana (1-0-1 Big Ten, 5-2-2 overall) with a 2-2 tie. Sophomore midfielders Sarah Capel and Amy Vermeulen netted goals for Wisconsin.
Sunday, the Badgers dropped a close 1-0 match to Purdue (2-0 Big Ten, 6-1 overall). The Boilermakers' only goal came from sophomore forward Lauren Sesselman 62 minutes into the game.
