Close games have been a recurring theme for Big Ten soccer.
After a 1-1 tie against UW-Milwaukee, the Wisconsin men’s soccer team (1-2 Big Ten, 9-3-2) is coming home to play Big Ten foe No. 17 Michigan State (1-1-1, 8-2-3) Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Spartans are coming off two very close games, neither of which resulted in three points.
They most recently tied 0-0 at No. 18 Akron Wednesday night. They also lost to Big Ten leaders No. 8 Penn State, via a late goal in the second overtime, 2-1.
All three of Michigan State’s conference games have also gone into two overtime periods. They beat Northwestern 3-2 Oct. 6 and tied Ohio State 1-1 Oct. 13.
The Badgers only conference win came against Indiana, when they came back twice from two goals down to win at home 4-3.
Both Big Ten losses for Wisconsin came on the road. They lost to Penn State 3-1 and to the Wolverines 2-1 Sunday. Both games required late goals to decide them.
After Penn State, the Big Ten is wide open. Currently, the Badgers sit fifth. However they are only one conference win behind second place Michigan, who boasts a 2-2-0 record.
With all of the close games, when the Badgers are in need of a goal, look for senior forward Nick Janus. He leads the team with seven goals and two assists. He also has taken 33 shots, 11 more than the next highest player.
Sophomore midfielder Drew Conner also has a knack for creating goals. He has six assists this year.
Redshirt senior Tomislav Zadro has taken some vital free kicks for Wisconsin. He whizzed a strike over the bar Wednesday that almost let the Badgers leave Milwaukee with a win.
Defensively, senior Paul Yonga and the other Badger defenders will work to keep the Spartan offense in check. Michigan State redshirt junior forward Tim Kreutz has seven goals and three assists this year.
Wisconsin’s perfect (6-0-0) home record will clash with the Spartans undefeated (3-0-2) away record Sunday.
With all the teams still jockeying for position, the winner of this game would have a strong leg up in seeding for the Big Ten tournament. Hosted by Ohio State, the tournament begins Nov. 13.
