With a victory against Penn State Sunday, Wisconsin (3-1-1 Big Ten, 9-4-2 overall) now sits only a half game behind the first place Indiana Hoosiers. After dropping their second Big Ten contest, the Nittany Lions (2-2, 4-8-2) will not repeat as regular season conference champions.
The Badgers tamed the Penn State Nittany Lions 2-0 Sunday at the McClimon Soccer Complex and moved one step closer to replacing the defending champs atop the Big Ten throne.
""It's a good win,"" Badger head coach Jeff Rohrman said. ""My hope is that there's more quality wins like this one ahead of us.""
The Badgers grabbed the lead in the 61st minute when freshman forward Scott Lorenz booted the first goal of his UW career.
The score began with sophomore defender Zack Lambo's pass to sophomore Victor Diaz. As the PSU defense converged around him, Diaz ducked under the pass, which bounced to a waiting Brandon Miller. The true freshman dribbled into the right side of the Nittany Lion goal box before crossing the ball to Lorenz, who sent his shot past goalie Conrad Taylor.
The goal was especially sweet for Lorenz since it came in his first career start. He was also named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Monday.
""[Coach Rohrman] told me yesterday I was starting, so I've been pretty excited all of yesterday and then this morning,"" Lorenz said. ""I just wanted to come out and just play my game.""
Less than three minutes after Lorenz gave UW the lead, Victor Diaz put the game out of reach with his fourth goal of the season.
Receiving a pass from senior co-captain Aaron Hohlbein, Diaz cut to the middle of the field and charged through the heart of the Penn State defense. When Taylor ran out to stop him, Diaz kicked the ball into the right side of the Nittany Lion net.
""I was just feeling it,"" Diaz said. ""I knew I was ... going to score.""
Penn State had an opportunity to cut into the Badger lead when senior midfielder Jeff Chambers found forward Simon Omekanda in front of the UW goal. Yet Omekanda's shot from point-blank range hit off the cross bar, and the Badgers maintained their 2-0 advantage.
Wisconsin goalkeeper Jake Settle earned his eighth shutout of the season, moving into fifth place all-time for single-season shutouts by a Badger. And for the third time this season, Settle was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
The victory sets up a showdown for the Big Ten regular season crown Oct. 27, when the Badgers take on the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind.
""We're going to Indiana with a chance to win it,"" Rohrman said. ""We posed that to our boys before the game, and certainly they responded.""
UW's most recent first place finish came in 1995, the year they also won the NCAA Championship. The Hoosiers (3-0-1, 10-3-2) won nine straight Big Ten titles from 1996-2004, posting a 47-1-2 conference record during that span.
Before the Badgers travel to IU, they will face the Northern Illinois Huskies and the UW-Green Bay Phoenix.
""We've got to focus on these next two games and really get out there and play hard and win those two and then we'll focus on Indiana,"" Settle said.
Wisconsin will take on the Huskies Sunday afternoon in DeKalb, Ill. NIU has won six straight games and currently holds a record of 11-3-1.
