The Wisconsin men's soccer team (0-4-1 Big Ten 3-12-2 overall) will take to the field for the last time this regular season at home Saturday night. The Badgers will host the No. 22 Nittany Lions of Penn State (2-2-1 Big Ten 11-5-1 overall) looking for their second straight win.
Coming off a mid week win, the Badgers hope to keep up the momentum against Penn State. Picking up their first overtime win, the team's confidence was boosted, helping them to prepare for this weekend's showdown.
""This [win] is going to help us with confidence going into Penn State,"" head coach John Trask said.
However, it is going to take more than a little boost in confidence to help Wisconsin against an impressive Penn State team. The Nittany Lions lead all Big Ten teams in goals with 35, scoring an average of 2.06 per game. On the other side of the ball, Penn State has allowed 21 goals, good enough to put them in a tie for second in that category, and a goals-against-average of 1.19.
Leading the Nittany Lions in goals in points, forward Cody Hertzog has found the back of the net 14 times this season, a number that puts him second in the Big Ten. Adding 4 assists to the mix gives the junior forward 32 points. Leading the team in assists is midfielder Matheus Braga with 12. Braga also has 5 goals of his own. As a whole, the Nittany Lions have eleven players who have scored a goal on the season, with seven who have netted two or more.
In preparation for Saturday's matchup, the Badgers look to practice light in order just to keep the team fresh. Also hoping to have players return from injury for the regular season finale, the coaching staff plans on easy workouts.
""We're going to take it easy these next couple of days,"" Trask said. ""We need these guys to have their legs on Saturday.""
In combination with a light workout, the Badgers are going to rely on their freshman players yet again to help lead the team. 3 of the top 5 point scorers on the team are freshman, with the top two coming from that class.
Looking for players like freshman forward Chris Prince, who has 7 goals, and freshman midfielder Joey Tennyson, who has scored 3 times, to continue to improve on recent success, Trask depends on the team's freshman. Also in the mix of freshman who are breaking through are midfielder Nick Janus, who has scored once and has 3 assists, and defender Paul Yonga, who has tallied 2 assists and is a great midfield presence.
""They're [the freshman] going to do a lot of great things,"" Trask said. ""And they do.""
The Badgers are going to honor the 2010 seniors Saturday night before the start of the game. The team is hoping to end the season well for their seniors, feeling that they deserve to get the win.
""The seniors have been the heart of the team,"" Yonga said. ""It's been a difficult year for them so we are going to go out there and try to win it for them.""
