After a mediocre season, the Wisconsin Badgers men's soccer team still has time make its mark on the Big Ten.
Fifth-seeded Wisconsin will battle fourth-seeded Ohio State in the first round of the 2003 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Championship today at 12:30 p.m. in Bloomington, Ind. Wisconsin and Ohio State have matched up once this year already, with the Buckeyes coming out on top 1-0, with sophomore Dana York scoring the only goal of the match.??
Head Coach Jeff Rohrman described the Buckeyes as \one of those teams that we really felt we should've beaten.""
Although Ohio State (2-3-1) had a better record in the Big Ten than the Badgers (1-4-1), their record paled in comparison to Wisconsin's overall record, 4-11-4 to 10-9-1. In fact, it was the worst in the Big Ten.??
The Badgers have played Ohio State twice before in this tournament. In 1993, the Badgers beat the Buckeyes 4-0 in Madison, but the tide was turned in 1999 as Ohio State squeaked past Wisconsin 2-1 in Columbus, Ohio.
As far as the season goes, the Badgers' coach is not entirely disappointed. The Badgers had 13 new faces on their roster this season and Coach Rohrman was happy to see the newcomers find their respective niches.
""We felt, certainly, that most of them were going to be able to play a major role in our successes this year,"" he said. ""As young players coming into Division I college soccer, we had some ups and some downs over the course of the year.""
Many freshmen made huge impacts this year and are poised for breakout seasons next year. Defenseman Andrew Cordona, who has started every game this season, contributed greatly to the seven Badger shutouts this season. Aaron Hohlbein, also a freshman defender, finished tied for third on the team with two assists and wound up with two goals, including a game winner against NSCAA regionally ranked UW-Milwaukee.
""I think, last year, we were about the same record but we weren't talking about a team where we're starting four to seven freshmen in every lineup,"" said Rohrman.??""So, it's a little different scenario and I certainly hope the fruits of our labor will pay off down the road here soon. I couldn't think of a better time than this Thursday against Ohio State.""
Rohrman is more than confident that his team has a shot to make their mark on the Big Ten Tournament. ""We're going down there and we're packing for four days. We certainly think if we execute the way we think we can and know we can, then we should be there on Sunday. So, we're going in very positive.""
Aaron's brother, junior forward Jed Hohlbein, transferred from Southwest Missouri State this year and affected the team's play incalculably, ranking in the top five in the Big Ten in virtually each offensive category, with nine goals and six assists. Hohlbein logged a hat trick against Brown on Sept. 14 and a two-goal game against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in his very next game.
Coach Rohrman says the record of the Badgers could easily have been a lot better. ""When we look back at our Big Ten schedule this year and the teams we played, there wasn't anybody that we didn't think we couldn't have beaten.""
As far as an NCAA tournament bid, things get a little hazy. ""Well, right now, I believe we'd probably have to win out ... we'd have to win the tournament this weekend,"" Rohrman said.??""I feel if we had won maybe two or three over the course of the year and were sitting at maybe 13-6-1, or 14-5, something like that, 14-5-1, we'd probably be in a better position as an at-large [NCAA qualifier].""
After the end of the season, the Badgers will say goodbye to senior midfielders and captains Erol Goknur and Watson Vaughan Prather. Goknur has notched two goals and eight assists over his time and Prather has racked up three goals and tallied six assists during his collegiate career. The only remaining captain is junior goalie Eric Hanson, who in just his second year as netminder for the Badgers has racked up 151 saves, 10 shutouts and 18 wins, putting him in seventh place slot on the long list of Wisconsin goalies. Hanson's five shutouts this year ranked fourth in the Big Ten.??
If the Badgers fail to make their mark on the Big Ten this time around, Hanson, Hohlbein and a strong core of young talent will be here next year. The future is bright for the Badgers, and maybe the future can start today. ''??