After finishing the regular season with a pair of shutout wins, the Wisconsin men's soccer team (1-4-1 Big Ten, 4-12-2 overall) travel to University Park, Penn. to participate in the Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers will take on rival Ohio State in the first round of the tournament.
The Badgers and Buckeyes met in the regular season when Wisconsin traveled to Columbus, with Ohio State taking the 1-0 win. In a close game that was decided by the first half goal, freshman keeper Max Jentsch made six saves, playing an impressive game despite allowing the goal.
Jentsch has really stepped up his game as the regular season came to an end. The young keeper started the last six games for the Badgers, where he went for a 3-3-0 record over that span. Even with a .500 record in those last six games, his impact has been tremendous, with the three losses coming in games decided by one goal.
Finding his rhythm, Jentsch won three of his last four starts, with all three wins in a shutout fashion. He closed the Badgers' regular season with two shutout wins. That effort earned him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.
The Badgers face an Ohio State (4-2-0, 10-5-2) team that earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Buckeyes look to earn a second straight Big Ten Tournament championship after capturing the title last year.
Ohio State keeper Matt Lampson posted a goals-against-average of 0.68 during the regular season, giving up only 12 goals. Lampson tops the Big Ten in goals-against and save percentage, and sits second in saves. The Buckeyes have outscored opponents by a margin or 18-12 over the regular season. In contrast, the Badgers have given up 27 goals and only netted 18 of their own.
Leading the Buckeyes in scoring is forward Konrad Warzycha with seven goals on the season. Ohio State also puts a handful of other impact players on the field. Forward Chris Hegngi and midfielder Austin McAnena have each scored three times and have three assists. Finally, midfielder Sam Scales has two goals and four assists.
Wisconsin is led by freshman forward Chris Prince, who finished the regular season with seven goals. Also contributing to the Badger offense are senior defender Aaron Nichols with three goals and two assists, and freshman midfielder Joey Tennyson (three goals, one assist).
