The Badgers dropped a pair of matches on their Florida expedition last weekend to fall to 1-3 on the season. Wisconsin lost to Florida International 2-1 in double overtime on Friday night and to Florida Atlantic 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Wisconsin and FIU were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie before a goal by FIU's Nicolas Rodriguez in the 110th minute gave the Golden Panthers the win. Senior defender Aaron Nichols recorded his second goal of the season, but the Badgers could still not overcome FIU's offensive attack, which posted 10 shots to the Badgers' seven.
The Golden Panthers gained an early lead when Mike Muhseler converted a penalty kick in the 14th minute. But Wisconsin countered with a goal of their own just five minutes later, as Nichols scored the equalizer from inside the box in the 19th minute.
It wasn't until an hour and a half later that the match was decided. In the 110th minute, FIU's Diego Tamburus found Rodriguez, who finished his chance and ensured FIU claimed their second win of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Badgers.
The Badgers didn't fare much better on Sunday against FAU.
Wisconsin didn't allow the early goal like they did against FIU, but the result was still the same — a 2-1 defeat. The first half provided no scoring, as the Badgers went into halftime tied with the Owls 0-0 and posted six shots to FAU's seven. It wasn't until the 56th minute that somebody finally got on the scoreboard. The Owls' Darnell King scored his second goal of the season on a breakaway after he got behind the Wisconsin defense and slipped the ball past senior goalkeeper Ryan Vint to make the game 1-0.
The Badgers tied the match 1-1 when sophomore Kyle McCrudden tallied the first collegiate goal of his career in the 73rd minute. FAU goalkeeper James McCormick mishandled a cross from freshman Chris Prince, who recorded his first career college assist on the play, and McCrudden positioned himself to finish the rebound.
It didn't stay tied for long.
Vint fell to the same fate that McCormick did: a bobbled cross that led to a goal. This time though, Lukas Simons' goal for the Owls in the 86th minute proved to be the game-winner.
The two losses over the weekend leave the Badgers with a 1-3 overall record on the season. Wisconsin heads home to Madison after a four-game road trip to play in the Wisconsin Soccer Classic next weekend at the McClimon Complex.
-UWbadgers.com contributed to this report
