Badgers fall to Northern Illinois 1-0
The Wisconsin men's soccer team (3-5-0) dropped its second straight game Wednesday afternoon, falling 1-0 at the hands of Northern Illinois (7-3-0).
Sophomores Aaron Witchger and Hamid Afsari led the Badgers with three shots apiece, but the team could not get the ball past NIU goalkeeper Steve Goeltz. The absence of leading scorer, senior Jed Hohlbein, did not help the Badgers' scoring chances.
Senior Badger goalie Eric Hanson also had a good game in net, keeping NIU off the scoreboard until late in the game. With less than five minutes to play the Huskies tallied the game-winner.
With a crowd of players in front of the Badger net, a missed shot deflected into the mix where NIU's Curt Zastrow put it into the back of the net.
UW opens its Big Ten season on the road Sunday at Ohio State.
Br??ckler honored
Wisconsin senior goalie Bernd Br??ckler was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Preseason Player of the Year Wednesday. Voted on by the coaches, Br??ckler received five of the 10 votes.
Br??ckler is the league's only returning All-
American and edged out Michigan Tech junior forward Chris Conner, who received four votes. Colorado College junior forward Brett Sterling received the final vote.
The Austrian provided one of the school's best performances in net last season for the Badgers, setting records along the way.
Br??ckler posted a 19-10-8 record in 38 games last year, setting school records with a .926 save percentage and a 2.09 goals against average.
He was a first-team all-WCHA selection last season after being named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week four times throughout the season.
Br??ckler will be expected to play a key role if the Badgers hope to have another successful season this year.
