The Wisconsin Badgers men’s soccer team picked up a pair of wins this week against Ohio State and Milwaukee, snapping a four game losing streak and picking up their first conference win of the season.
Ohio State
With pressure to get their season on track, the Badgers started the game off hot. In the 7th minute, Ohio State defender Donovan Williams failed to clear the ball, and it bounced off Wisconsin’s Ginaluca Del Priore. Midfielder Matthew Zachemsky managed to retrieve the ball and play it through to Del Priore, who found himself in a two-on-one advantage. Del Priore dribbled the ball up to Ohio State’s box and passed it back to Zachemsky on the edge of the box, who oriented himself with a touch and delivered a screamer from his left foot that crashed on the bar before going in. It was Zachemsky’s third goal this season and looks to go down as one of the most memorable goals of Wisconsin's season.
But while Wisconsin led early, they were challenged to conserve their lead for the next 83 minutes
Ohio State came close to scoring in the 70th minute when Buckeye defender Thomas Gilej hit a powerful volley from right outside of the box that landed on target but was saved by Wisconsin goalie Matisse Hébert.
The key to Wisconsin winning this game was their great defense. The Badgers conceded many shots (24 in total) and corners (11), but they hung in tight. This shows Wisconsin can be resilient through the adversity they have faced this season.
Hébert’s six saves were key to Wisconsin’s defense . Ohio State was looking to tie the game and kept being aggressive, landing a total of 24 shots. Hébert’s colossal performance was rewarded when he was named Big Ten Goalkeeper of the week on Tuesday.
UW-Milwaukee
Coming off a feel-good win, Wisconsin then took on in-state rival Milwaukee at home, where the Badgers were looking to win back-to-back games for the first time since August.
Wisconsin came looking to score, and in the 7th minute, the Badgers delivered. Wisconsin obtained a corner and decided to play it short, as Ola Arntsen received the ball 30 yards out of the opposing goal and then delivered a screamer that landed in the top right corner.
Arnsten scored a similar long shot against Bradley a few weeks prior, showcasing his long shot ability. The goal marked back-to-back games in which the Badgers scored early. Both goals resulted from their midfielders aggressively taking chances outside of the box.
Wisconsin looked to double their lead early in the 19th minute when Arnsten received the ball in the same area where he scored earlier. This time, however, he decided to cross the ball in the back post where an open Markie Hrvojevic struck the ball with a header that went straight past the goalie. This was Hrvojevic’s first goal of the season. The score held at 2-0 heading into the half.
The Panthers looked to come back 13 minutes into the second. Milwaukee goalkeeper Nic Diana played a long ball forward that went over the head of Wisconsin defenders and landed at the feet of Milwaukee’s Jack Bretzmann. Bretzmann was able to beat his defender and keep advancing on the left flank before finishing past Hébert.
Wisconsin was able to limit the damage there and won 2-1.
The biggest takeaway from these two games was how Wisconsin has improved their early play. In both games, the Badgers immediately looked aggressive, which paid off in early goals.
Next, the Badgers will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on October 10th.
