The Wisconsin men's soccer team (5-4-2) got back to their winning ways, letting all their frustration out on UW-Milwaukee (3-5-4), beating them 4-0 Wednesday evening. The Badgers have struggled to score since the start of October and accumulated only three goals in their previous five games. The offense caught the Panthers off guard scoring three goals in the first 16 minutes and adding a fourth in the 35th minute.
We've been playing this well for two weeks, its just tonight we finished the chances that we created,"" Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rorhman said.
The exciting first half began when a brilliant cross by Wisconsin senior midfielder Kenny Dix was volleyed sharply into the goal by freshmen midfielder Colin Monasterio in the fourth minute. This was Monasterio's first goal of the season, and the quick start energized Wisconsin enough to jump all over a sluggish Milwaukee team. Sophomore defender Cale Cooper also added a goal for Wisconsin.
The star of the night was junior forward Scott Lorenz who found the back of the net twice. His first goal came off a direct kick 22 yards out that sailed past the Panthers' senior goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum and put the Badgers up 2-0. Later, as the first half was coming to an end, Lorenz added his second on a header assisted by senior midfielder Kenny Dix.
Wisconsin out shot the Panthers 13-2 in the first half. After the recent slow starts by the Badgers, it was important for them not to waste anytime getting on the board.
""Having not scored in the past two games we wanted to come out tonight and put at least a couple in the back of the net and really make a statement early, saying that we're getting back on the right track after the slump we had,"" Lorenz said.
The second half got a little more physical as the Panthers stepped up their game. There were four yellow cards in the game, three of them coming in the second half, and a few shoves occurred between the teams before the referees regained control.
The Badgers needs to be fired up as No. 3 Northwestern travels to Madison Sunday. The Wildcats have yet to lose this season, and have scored an impressive 28 goals so far.
If Wisconsin hopes to keep up with the talented Wildcats they will need to continue playing as they did against UW-Milwaukee and falling back into the slump that left them winless for almost a month.
""I think we're combining better, looking to score, being more aggressive around the net which is always a key,"" Lorenz said. ""We've been a little too passive, settling for shots from about 25 out rather than trying to get into the box and putting those on target.""
The Badgers have been solid at home this year and they will look to use that advantage to stop the Wildcats from leaving Madison with a win.
""I think home field advantage is a big thing for us, and aside from the one loss midweek against Western we haven't dropped a game here,"" Lorenz said.
""We owe them for last year, twice actually, they beat us 3-0 regular season and then put away three again in the tournament. There's a little bit of revenge factor,"" he said.
An upset over Northwestern this weekend would send a statement to the rest of the Big Ten as the conference tournament is just a month away.
