As the soccer season heads down the home stretch, every game played inches closer and closer to potentially being the last one. On Sunday, the UW men's soccer team fell 1-0 to Northern Illinois in an overtime match.
The Huskies (12-4-1) entered the home match ranked No. 19 in the country, though they were coming off a tough 1-0 loss to Buffalo Friday evening. The Badgers (3-1-1 Big Ten, 9-5-2 overall) entered Dekalb, Ill. well rested, winners of five of its last six games, and posting shutouts in six of its last seven.
The two teams remained scoreless throughout the first half, though each team forced the keepers to make saves. At halftime, Badger keeper and captain, Jake Settle, had made three saves on seven NIU shots. For the Huskies, Joe Zimka handled the Badger attack, saving the two scoring opportunities the Badgers had.
It was the same story in the second half as the two teams jockeyed for position, neither willing to make a mistake that could cost them the win. From the onset, it was clear this game was going to be decided by a close margin and each keeper remained on task. In the second half, the Huskies peppered Settle with shot attempts from everywhere, forcing him to make three saves on eight attempts.
At the end of regulation, things remained deadlocked, but wouldn't remain that way for long. The best scoring opportunity either side had came early in the first overtime, when Badger forward Victor Diaz found himself in the right place to rebound a corner kick. Diaz's attempt lacked the accuracy needed to clinch the victory and Zimka was able to make a fantastic save on the potential game winner.
Minutes later, the Huskies found themselves with a scoring opportunity and did not waste the chance. As players from both teams skirmished in front of the net, possession of the ball bounced back and forth. With UW unable to clear, Huskie forward Marcus McCarty found the bouncing ball at his foot. McCarty made the most of the chance as he blasted a ball from 15 yards into the back of the net, sending the Badgers home losers.
""We did some good things, but we just weren't sharp enough in some areas to be completely dangerous,"" UW head coach Dean Duerst said. ""Our possession was good, but we weren't quite good enough in the final third.""
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
