This Sunday, Oct. 16, at 2:00 pm at McClimon Field, the UW Badgers (2-0-0 Big Ten, 6-4-2 overall) will face off against the Michigan State Spartans (1-1-1, 4-6-2). The Badgers will be playing their third conference game, and look to continue their winning ways and extend their record to 3-0-0 in the Big Ten.
The Badgers are currently in first place in the Big Ten sitting at 2-0-0 and playing with more confidence now than ever. Their last conference game was against then No. 6 Indiana and the Badgers would come away triumphant in a big way. UW will be the team to beat in the Big Ten now, and with everyone looking up at them it could be a lot of pressure.
Head Coach John Trask is not concerned with where they are now but more where they need to get.
""It's pretty early you know, we're not four games into the Big Ten,"" Trask said. ""I don't remember the last time someone went even 5-1-0 in the Big Ten to win the league.""
The Badgers are working hard and Coach Trask refuses to let them give that up.
""As I just told these guys there is a lot of work left to be done,"" Trask said.
Michigan State is no walk in the park. They have kept every game they have played close, with all of their losses coming by only one goal. They have some good wins including formerly ranked Penn State. They are riding a two game win streak as well and look to knock the Badgers off the top.
Something UW will have to worry about is the fact that Michigan State does not have just one person getting all their points and goals. In fact, the Spartans have nine players with at least two points, which is just as many as the Badgers have. Much like MSU's in-state rival, the Wolverines, they have taken a substantial number of shots and score at an extraordinarily low percentage. The Spartans are shooting just 7.7 percent which, at least before UW's meeting with Michigan in which the Wolverines scored one goal on 23 shots, is even lower than Michigan's.
Wisconsin has a weapon of its own. Playing in mid season form right now is junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro. Zadro is the only Badger with double digits in points and leads the team in both goals and assists.
""We do a good job of capitalizing on our chances,"" Zadro said. ""We don't need more chances than we have.""
Nearly every team has had match up problems with the much taller Zadro, and now that he is playing at top level, he will be an even tougher player to guard.
Look for the Badgers to pull this one out too as they haven't had many problems with teams that take many shots and expect no different in this game. However, watch for the Spartans to make it a close one. One thing is for certain, you will be seeing a good game if you come out to McClimon Field on Sunday at 2 p.m.
