In a matchup of two struggling offenses, the University of Illinois-Chicago used two penalty kicks to defeat the Wisconsin men's soccer team, 3-0, in Chicago, Ill., on Wednesday night.
The Badgers, who suffered their second consecutive shutout loss, did not register a shot in the first half, and only managed five shots, and only two on target, the entire game.
The Flames (2-2-4), opened up the scoring in the 25th minute after Wisconsin (2-4-2) was called for a penalty in front of its own goal. Junior forward Matt Spiess put the ensuing penalty kick past Wisconsin's senior goalkeeper Alex Horwath to give the Flames a 1-0 lead.
In the 34th minute, Illinois-Chicago tallied another goal, which again came via a penalty kick. The Flames attempted a third penalty kick before the first half ended, but Horwath stopped an attempt from UIC junior midfielder Charlie Trout.
UIC capped the scoring for the night in the sixty-ninth minute, with a goal by senior defender Paul Kopec. The score came off a corner kick.
Including the three attempts tonight, the Badgers have been haunted by penalty kicks this season. Of the Badgers' four losses thus far, three have featured penalty kicks as game winners, including Wednesday night. Wisconsin has not had a PK attempt of its own this season.
The Badgers' offensive struggles continued on this night, as they faced a UIC defense that had allowed just eight goals in its seven matches. Wisconsin has tallied just five goals in eight matches, and has been shut out four times.
For the most part, the team has been able to stay competitive because of excellent team defense and goaltending. No team can expect a shutout every night, however, and the Badgers have yet to win a game in which they give up a goal this year. Their two victories, at home against Western Illinois and on the road against Oakland, were 1-0 decisions.
Generating goal scoring opportunities have not necessarily been the issue for the Badgers, but rather capitalizing on those chances. The offense has given itself chances on runs and set pieces, but has not done a good job of finishing plays off.
The schedule does not do Wisconsin any favors in the coming days, as the Badgers will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face Michigan (7-2-1), on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Following that match, the Badgers will have a week off before taking on the Michigan State Spartans at the McClimon Complex in Madison. That match is slated for a 3 p.m. kickoff and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
