On a windy night at the McClimon Soccer Complex the men's soccer team saw their three game winning streak come to an end. The Badgers fell to Drake 3-1 after giving up three consecutive goals in the 2nd half. It was the third non-conference loss for the Badgers all year and the first loss by more than one goal.
The Badgers played very defensive minded in the first half as Drake had the wind at their backs. The game was similar to when they battled Penn State in high winds where they were able to make in into the second half within striking distance and then scored four goals. Junior goalkeeper Alex Horwath had an excellent first half saving three shots on goal and surviving seven total shots by the Bulldogs. Going into half deadlocked at zero the Badgers were in the driver's seat.
It looked like Wisconsin would be able pull out the victory when junior forward Scott Lorenz, who has be a weapon for the Badgers all year, scored his 10th goal of the season, heading the ball in off a cross by senior midfielder Victor Diaz.
Victor served in an unbelievable ball,"" Lorenz said. ""I just made the run and he found my head really. I didn't have to change my run or anything it was just right there.""
After the goal, with the wind at their backs, the Badgers just needed to out possess Drake and take the clock down to zero, but a little over ten minutes later, the Bulldogs tied it up. Sophomore forward Kenan Malicevic volleyed a well placed ball past Horwath and then less than two minutes later junior midfielder Kevin Shrout scored off a free kick from 35 yards out.
The goals deflated the Badgers who were struggling with their touches all night, and the Bulldogs were able to sneak in a late goal in the 84th minute. Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rorhman saw that his team was a step behind Drake.
""Everything seemed to be a split second late or a little bit off,"" Rorhman said. ""It just wasn't clicking, it was just one of those days. The timing of things were off, the touches were off. It's a little bit challenging right now with the field being a little hard, but at the same time they're playing on the same field we are. I certainly feel that we're a better team than we showed tonight.""
The Badgers need to put this game behind them and get ready for the Big Ten Tournament, which is next week at the McClimon Soccer Complex. The Badgers are the seventh seed, but they are capable of making some noise with the home field advantage.
Depending on the results of games later this week Wisconsin will be playing either Northwestern or Michigan. The Badgers lost to Northwestern 2-1 in a highly competitive game and tied Michigan 1-1 after giving up a late goal; both games were played in Madison. Wisconsin will be looking for it's first Big Ten Tournament win since 2003 against Ohio State.
