The Badgers dropped their first Big Ten road game against the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins 1-0 on Sep. 18, following a memorable tie against No. 12 Ohio State last week.
However, they proceeded to bounce back and show their resilience by earning a 1-1 tie against the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers on Sept. 22.
Maryland game
The match against the Terrapins featured a packed crowd with over 5,100 fans in attendance and both teams searching for their first conference win. Wisconsin goalkeeper Judewellin Michel was tested early after he had to punch away a free kick shot from just outside the penalty box in the first minute.
The game was relatively evenly matched, Head Coach Neil Jones said at the post game conference. Wisconsin had 13 shots and six on target against Maryland’s 12 shots and four on target.
However, Jones said the offense could have created better offensive chances and that set pieces were ultimately what hurt them, as they gave up an early second half goal off a free kick that was headed in by freshman forward Said El Eyssami.
Maryland had five yellow cards in the final 30 minutes of the game, allowing the Badgers to push up the field aggressively. Though it was Maryland goalkeeper Laurin Mack’s six saves that prevented the Badgers from making another late comeback.
Sophomore defender Isaac Brown-Samper at the post game press conference said Maryland’s fast wingers made it hard to defend through balls behind the back line. The Badgers had a corner kick with under a minute left to try to level the score, but a shot by redshirt junior defender Will Smith to the bottom left side was saved by goalkeeper Laurin Mack.
Following this game, Maryland improved to 11-4-2 all time and earned their third straight victory against the Badgers.
Indiana game
Coming off the loss to Maryland and with a quick turnaround, Jones said the team knew that Tuesday’s game would be another battle.
“Indiana is a great, great team. Obviously, they have a good ranking and a good record so far this season, and we knew that was going to be a challenge,” Jones told The Daily Cardinal. “But we're playing at home. We love playing at home, and we wanted to be better defensively.”
Jones said the Hoosiers were more on the front foot and in control in the first half, and added the halftime message was centered around playing faster in transition moments and continuing to defend at a high level.
“We made a couple of tactical changes because they built in a different shape than we expected in the first half,” Jones said. So we had to fix a couple of things defensively at halftime in terms of our defensive shape, and that was able to allow us to turn the ball over a little bit higher up the field and get a few more chances.”
Despite these adjustments, it was Indiana who drew first blow with a goal in the 57th minute by junior defender Noah Kinsella. Despite conceding a goal, Brown-Samper said the team’s mentality and season goal of not losing two games in a row fueled their comeback efforts.
“Coming into this game, I think we just all had that mentality that whether we were up a goal, whether we were down a goal, we just weren't going to lose,” Brown-Samper told the Cardinal. “So I think that mentality drove us together.”
Jones praised the team’s leadership and mentality — something he has noticed all season — as the reasons for what allowed them to take back momentum and control of possession.
“That's the character of this group. That's why we have a great group this year, and we're excited to coach them every day because we have a great mentality and leadership from within,” Jones said.
The Badgers continued to fight back and create chances in the attacking third, finally breaking through in the 68th minute off a corner kick that was headed to Brown-Samper. He hit the ball with the inside of his foot before it took a deflection off an Indiana defender and into the net.
“It's great to get my first collegiate goal. Great game to do it as well against number two Indiana. So I'm just super pumped about that for sure,” Brown-Samper said.
The last 20 minutes were highly competitive and intense with both teams constantly streaking up and down the field, making threatening off-ball runs. Both teams created multiple scoring opportunities and combined for 27 total shots throughout the game.
A leaping save in the final seconds by sophomore goalkeeper Judewellin Michel sealed the tie and a second conference point for the Badgers.
Brown-Samper said having played some of the top teams in the country over the past week has given the team confidence, but that defending set pieces will have to be a primary focus.
“We've only given up one goal in the run of play. Every other goal has been set piece,” Brown-Samper said. “So I think as a defensive unit, we're very sound by just being focused on those free kicks, corners, everything.”
In the postgame meeting, Jones said he praised his team for fighting back, but told them they have to get off to faster starts and be braver earlier on in the game.
During this four-game stretch of playing ranked conference opponents, Jones said he and his team have learned this conference is the best in the country for a reason. Wisconsin will have to find a way to win in the margins in tight games.
After a 3-0 loss against Michigan State on Friday, the Badgers will travel to Seattle to try to earn their first conference win against the Washington Huskies on Friday, Oct. 2.
