The margin of error for the Wisconsin men's soccer team is not very big. That was painfully clear Wednesday, as the Badgers fell 1-0 to Northern Illinois at the McClimmon Soccer Complex.
Despite controlling the majority of possession and creating nearly twice as many shots, the Badgers (4-5-0 overall) still could not find a way to break through a stout NIU defense'?-who, to its credit, handled Wisconsin's relentless attack superbly.
NIU (6-2-1) took the lead in the 17th minute of play when sophomore midfield Chris Rufu's long distance effort deflected off UW junior defender Hamid Afsari's head and sailed past junior goalkeeper Jake Settle. After the lucky fortunate strike, the Huskies seemed content to sit back in defense. With Wisconsin spraying its shots high and wide of the target, the plan worked to perfection.
\They [NIU] weren't going to create anything on their own, coming out of the back,"" UW head coach Jeff Rohrman said. ""They were good at capitalizing on our mistakes and trying to get forward from there, but other than that they didn't create a whole lot. I just think we need to get better in the attacking third of the field and we'll score some goals.""
That attacking third of the field was where the Badgers had the hardest go of it. Aside from the one unlucky goal, the UW backline held the Huskies attackers at bay. This juxtaposition of fortunes was hard for junior defender Aaron Holbein to swallow.
""It's pretty frustrating (for the defense),"" the team's captain said. ""We need to start creating and putting some in the back of the net. At the same time, we can't be giving up goals. We didn't get a shut out tonight and obviously that would have been a big help.""
But a defense cannot be expected to shutout its opponent every night, so the lack of goals is worrying for Rohrman and company, especially with a Big Ten play opening Sunday against Ohio State.
""I said early in the year I wasn't sure where goals were going to come from,"" Rohrman said. ""I thought we had players who were capable of [scoring], yet nine games into the season, we're still searching for those answers. We have to start finding those things very quickly.""
Adding to the frustration was UW's inability to competently handle set pieces. The Badgers had 11 corner kicks (compared to zero for the Huskies) and numerous free kicks from just outside the penalty area, yet nothing came of them. In one particularly bad three minute spell, Wisconsin had two free kicks and one corner, but did not test NIU's senior keeper Steve Goletz once.
""We had our fair share of opportunities (from set plays) and I thought we squandered the large majority of them,"" Rohrman said. ""For sure, we have to clear the wall or get the shot on goal and make things happen when you get those opportunities.""
With league play just days away, Wednesday's poor performance was not exactly a confidence builder, but Rohrman is sure his team can put it behind them.
""In the next 36 hours, we rest, we rehab, we reenergize and kind of refocus ... and come in Sunday knowing we have to win that game. We're capable of it. There's no question about it,"" he said.
