The Wisconsin men's soccer team (0-3-1 Big Ten, 1-11-2 overall) dropped another heartbreaker Saturday night, falling to Northwestern (2-1-1 Big Ten. 7-5-2) 4-3 in overtime.
The Badgers began the scoring early, getting on the board first in the 16th minute. Freshman forward Chris Prince received the long ball from fellow freshman defender Paul Yonga, and after beating a defender, found the back of the net.
The Wildcats would get the equalizer in the 24th minute on a goal by freshman midfielder Lepe Seetane. Pressuring the Badger defense, Northwestern found themselves with the ball at the top of the UW penalty box. Seetane ripped a hard shot that was deflected by a Badger defender and past UW freshman keeper Max Jentsch.
""Lepe turned us well, he smacked it and it had some pace,"" head coach John Trask said. ""It took that deflection, [Jentsch] was not going to be able to do anything on that.""
The Badgers would take the 1-1 tie into halftime, looking to get the lead back in the second half.
However, it would be the Wildcats taking the lead though. On a brilliant play by Northwestern forward Oliver Kupe, the junior put the ball on the net to score, but only after hitting the crossbar did the ball bounce back into the goal, giving the Wildcats the 2-1 lead in the 51st minute.
After a period where it looked as though Northwestern would put the game beyond the reach, Wisconsin finally found an answer in the 84th minute. Receiving a well played ball down the line, senior defender Aaron Nichols sent a cross into the Northwestern box. Controlling the cross, Prince directed the ball to the back of the net to tie the score.
Not even a minute later, Wisconsin was back on the attack. Fighting his way into the box, freshman defender Paul Yonga created just enough space to send the ball across the front of the goal. Continuing his spectacular night, Prince made an excellent play on the ball to fool Northwestern's keeper and once again scores for the Badgers.
""I rarely get into the box,"" Yonga said. ""So when I did, I knew I had to fight my hardest to keep going and get a cross in.""
""I was on the front post and I think the goalie thought that I was going to let the ball go back post,"" Prince said. ""I just let it go through my legs and put it right back at him, and he wasn't expecting it.""
With just over a minute left, Northwestern earned a penalty kick on a UW handball. Taken by Matt Eliason, Eliason kept the ball on the ground, putting it to the right of Jentsch and past the UW keeper.
The game would end just over four minutes into the first overtime period, when Northwestern senior midfielder Jack Hillgard played the ball from nearly 70 yards out. Jentsch came out to make a play on the balll, but misjudged the bounce. The ball went clear over Jentsch's head and into the goal, giving Northwestern the win.
When asked what the team will take away from Saturday's tough loss, Yonga responded, ""Really, I don't know. There's got to be a reason we're losing right now. Hopefully, we'll learn how to fight through these loses.""
