As the cold wind whipped off Lake Mendota, the Badgers stayed red-hot, downing Western Illinois 1-0 Wednesday night at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
Wisconsin (2-0-1 Big Ten, 7-3-2 overall) earned its third consecutive victory, extended its unbeaten streak to six games and posted its seventh shutout of the season.
Head coach Jeff Rohrman said he felt relieved after the victory.
""When you don't play well and you're able to win games, that's a good sign,"" Rohrman said. ""I told the group to certainly enjoy it, but know we're going to have to play better on Sunday.""
For the second consecutive game, senior Reid Johnson put the Badgers on the scoreboard.
Freshman Pablo Delgado sent his short corner kick to fellow Madrid native Victor Diaz. Left open just inside the Leatherneck goal box, Diaz launched a high curving shot toward the right post. WIU goalkeeper Stephen Paterson leapt and blocked the shot into the air, but as the ball dropped, Johnson headed the ball into net for a 1-0 Badger lead.
""I thought it was going in at first, and it popped up in the air, and I just figured I've got to get up for it,"" Johnson said. ""So I got up as high as I could and tried to slam it home the best I could do.""
UW would have another scoring opportunity later in the first half when freshman midfielder Jon Rzepka passed the ball across midfield to a breaking Diaz. After blowing past one WIU defender, Diaz dribbled around Paterson. Yet before Diaz could launch a shot, the Leatherneck defense recovered and Paterson dove on the ball.
The Badgers also had two chances to take a 2-0 lead on Zack Lambo corner kicks early in the second half. The sophomore defender put the ball near the WIU goal on both kicks, but no UW player could capitalize, and the score remained 1-0.
""I just think we had too many missed opportunities ... to put this team away,"" Rohrman said. ""If a team stays in long enough at 1-0, some teams are going to catch you.""
Luckily for Rohrman, the stingy Badger defense kept a leash on the Leathernecks all night long. Western Illinois had posted 13 goals in its previous three games, but they only had two shots on goal Wednesday night. Freshman sensation Martin Browne, who entered the contest with eight goals, managed just one shot on goal.
Badger goalkeeper Jake Settle said his defenders deserve the credit for his success.
""I just hang out back there. Grab a drink ... grab a lawn chair, it's not that hard,"" Settle said. ""It's not too tough to make saves when you've got really good players in front of you.""
The Badgers came into the game ranked No. 22 in the Soccer America Men's Top 25 and the SoccerTimes.com Top 25 Coaches Poll. Nevertheless, the Badgers have loftier goals in mind.
""It's exciting to be ranked, but at the same time we know ... the most important time to be ranked is at the end of the season to get a tourney bid,"" senior co-captain Aaron Hohlbein said. ""I'd say we at least need 12, 13 wins to for sure lock up a bid, but we're going for more than that. We're going for the Big Ten.""
UW can take a big step toward an NCAA tournament bid and the Big Ten title by defeating Ohio State (1-1-0, 5-5-2) Sunday in Columbus.
""Ohio State's a quality side and they're on a bit of a run with wins over Penn State and Akron in the last week or so,"" Rohrman said. ""It's going to be a bigger challenge.""
