The Wisconsin men's soccer team (1-3-1 Big Ten, 6-7-4 overall) played its last home game of the season Sunday, tying Northwestern (3-1-1 Big Ten, 10-4-3 overall) 0-0 (2OT). While the Badgers only sit ahead of Ohio State in Big Ten conference standings, they are 3-1-1 in their last five games. Wisconsin will travel to play the Buckeyes in the regular season finale Sunday, Nov. 4.
The Wildcats now sit one point behind first place Penn State with one more conference game to play. If Northwestern wins against the No. 16 Hoosiers, it will be crowned Big Ten regular season champions.
The game Sunday started with what would look like a long day for the home team on senior day, but the Badgers would turn things around.
After being held to no shots in the first half, Wisconsin improved its possession and creativity while maintaining its trademark stout defense. While the Badger offense only had four shots in the game, holding the Wildcats to 10 shots in 110 minutes was the result of relentless defensive effort.
"It's Big Ten soccer," said head coach John Trask. "It's tight and there are not a lot of chances. Both teams are disciplined and defend big, strong, and tough. You have to do something special to get a goal."
"We all thought we had the better of the play, especially in the second half," said junior midfielder Nick Janus. "It was definitely a bit frustrating because we couldn't get that goal, but we are putting the pieces together. Hopefully today showed, that even if our record may not show it, we are going to put up a fight in the tournament. We are ready."
Both teams have strong recruitment from Illinois, so many players are familiar with each other. Northwestern has seven players from Illinois, while the Badgers have nine.
"These guys all know each other," said Trask. "It was a tight game last year, too. We lost 1-0 at their park. It's been a while since we have had a positive result against them. Right now they are the benchmark. That's a good program you are seeing."
The two seniors who played their final game at McClimon were defender and captain Kyle McCrudden and forward Jerry Maddi.
"The atmosphere was great, it was nice to have my family here," said Maddi. "I try not to think of it like that, because this is not going to be our last game. So I went out there with the same mentality I always do. I just want to play and do what I can for the team."
"The thing I was most proud of, was that it was a complete performance," said Trask. "It wasn't bits and pieces, we saw every bit of their game. That's what we strive for here, is that over a kid's career, we want to see them become the best they can be."
"McCrudden and Maddi have been a big part of this team. Without them, I don't know where we would be right now," said junior defender Paul Yonga. "It's sad to see them getting to their last few games but hopefully we can finish strong and do it for them. We are going out there to win the Big Ten tournament."
