Nearly 1,600 fans watched Wisconsin put on its second-annual Pac the Mac Saturday afternoon. However, despite the large crowd and unusually warm weather, the Badgers (1-8-2) came up short, losing to Michigan (7-2-3) by a score of 2-3.
Striking early, the Badgers got on the board first in the 12th minute. The ball found its way to redshirt junior defender Colin Mani off a deflected cross from senior midfielder Jon Rzepka,. Mani was able to find the far post and the back of the net, tallying his first collegiate goal.
But the Wolverines found an answer. In the 18th minute, Michigan's Justin Meram beat UW keeper Ryan Vint for the equalizer.
After exchanging goals, both teams played even throughout the half, passing possession back and forth between each other. It would be Michigan who would end the deadlock on a goal by Soony Saad in the 42nd minute, giving the Wolverines the 2-1 advantage at half.
""The second goal, right before half time, I think that affected the psyche more than anything,"" head coach John Trask said. ""If we could have gotten in at 1-1, maybe it would have been a little different.""
The second half seemed as though it would be more of the same. Coming off a Badger foul, Michigan found itself with a free kick 30 yards from the goal. Able to capitalize on their opportunity, the Wolverines put the ball past Vint once again. The goal in the 59th minute gave Michigan the 3-1 lead.
""We've been pretty good on defensive set pieces, and we give them the third goal,"" said Trask. ""You can't give a good attacking team extra goals on set pieces.""
The Badgers did have something left in the tank, however. Nearing the end of the game, Wisconsin began to press more men forward and started to open up more opportunities for themselves. This extra push at the end put UW in position for a comeback. Scoring in the 82nd minute, freshman forward Chris Prince put his team back in the game.
With just over three minutes left in the game, a cross entered the Michigan box. Making a strong play on the ball, freshman midfielder Joey Tennyson directed a volley toward the net. It looked as though the Badgers would tie the game, but a highlight-reel save by Michigan keeper Tim Bergsma denied UW the goal.
""We pushed the numbers forward,"" Mani said. ""The keeper made a great save on an attempt by Joey Tennyson that most goalies wouldn't have saved.""
With the loss, the Badgers fall to 1-8-2, and 0-1-1 in Big Ten play. Wisconsin is on the road next weekend, taking on Michigan State Sunday, Oct. 17.
