Coming off the high of being ranked No. 17 going into the fourth and fifth game of the season, Wisconsin men’s soccer defeated Marquette 3-1 on Monday, Aug. 31 at home and Portland 2-1 in Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 5.
This is the highest the Badgers have been ranked in the United Soccer Coaches national poll since the 2024 season when they were the No. 8 team in the country. Both of these wins brought the Badgers’ record to a perfect 5-0 start to the season, and gave the team further momentum before opening Big 10 conference play on Friday.
Fired up at home
The Badgers opened the game on Monday with an early goal against the Golden Eagles in the 14th minute, when senior defender Joaqin Torres assisted junior forward Emile Kisse’s second goal of the season. Kisse overtook multiple midfielders and proceeded to split between two defenders before his shot deflected off Marquette goalkeeper Cameron Simpson’s leg and into the net.
Less than 15 minutes later, senior forward Markie Hrvojevic scored his third goal of the season in the 27th minute on an assist by junior midfielder Matthew Zachemski. Off a corner kick that was cleared to the top of the box, what looked like a shot from Zachemski made its way to Hrvojevic, who passed it in just a few feet from the goal to extend the Badgers’ lead to 2-0.
Minutes later, the Golden Knights cut the Badger’s lead in half when sophomore midfielder Joey Buchanan headed in a corner kick assisted by graduate senior midfielder Mateo Stoka. At the end of the first half, Wisconsin held their 2-1 lead.
The Badgers shut down any momentum Marquette may have had less than a minute into the second half when they pulled out to a 3-1 lead after redshirt junior forward Cristobal Porter buried a penalty kick into the top left net of the goal.
Wisconsin dominated on offense, putting up 21 shots with 10 on target, compared to Marquette’s four shots with only two on target.
Extending the win streak
On Saturday, the Badgers pulled off a last second win against the Portland Pilots and beat them 2-1.
Despite Portland controlling momentum on the offensive side with six shots in the first 20 minutes, Wisconsin broke through first in the 26th minute off a corner kick that initially took a deflection off a header and found its way to Hrvojevic, who punched it in. This marked Hrvojevic’s fourth goal of the season.
Portland answered early in the second half when senior midfielder Efetobo Aror scored his first goal of the season in the 55th minute off a corner kick.
Ultimately, it was Kisse who was the hero and kept the Badgers’ win streak alive. In the 90th minute, with what seemed like a game that was headed for a draw, Kisse scored his third goal of the season and second in two games.
With just ten seconds left in the game, Kisse gained possession of a deflected loose ball, took a few touches forward, and fired a shot in the top left corner of the goal from outside the penalty box.
The Badgers’ offense showed promise with 20 shots and 10 on target, where they held the Pilot’s to only 6 shots and 3 on target.
The last time Wisconsin was ranked this high, it only lasted for a two-week span. After not being ranked last season, head coach Neil Jones will try to keep the Badgers in the ranking for a longer period of time. Wisconsin will begin Big Ten conference play against Ohio State on Sept. 11 at McClimon Soccer Complex.
