The Wisconsin men's soccer team put on an offensive clinic, tallying four goals en route to a 4-0 victory over the Northern Illinois Huskies Wednesday night at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
The Badgers (0-0-1 Big Ten, 5-2-2 overall) controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish and made runs at will. They played solid possession soccer and never let Northern Illinois (2-4-3) hold the ball for long, pressuring the Huskies into bad decisions.
Each team had scoring chances early on, but neither could put the ball in the net. The Badgers failed to convert two first half corner kicks into points.
In the 18th minute, sophomore forward Brandon Miller sent a cross to center that was one-timed toward the net by senior forward Dirk Pearson. The Badgers caught a lucky break as a Huskie defender deflected the ball into the back of the net just out of the keeper's reach.
We came out flat, but that goal pumped the whole team up,"" Miller said. ""Just to get that first one going our way was big, and it was pretty easy after that.""
Wisconsin added to the lead in the 26th minute when Miller took off on a solo run up field and blasted a shot from just inside the 18-yard box for a goal in the right side of the net.
The Badgers continued to pour it on in the first half with another goal in the 34th minute. On a well-played ball up the left hand side, Miller drilled a cross to a wide-open Pearson, who slammed the ball passed the keeper for his second goal of the game.
""I thought [Pearson] did a great job,"" head coach Jeff Rohrman said. ""He was ready when his number was called, and I thought he had a great performance.""
The second half was relatively tame, with the ball going back and forth between teams. In the 80th minute, freshman forward Bryan Gerster took a feed from Brandon Miller and scored the final goal of the night on a breakaway, giving the Badgers their most goals scored in a game so far this season.
The Wisconsin defense never gave up with a big lead, playing lock down defense against a resilient Northern Illinois offense.
""We came out with such a focus because we hadn't beat this team in three years, and the seniors had never beaten them,"" sophomore goalie Alex Horwath said.
""Everybody played so well. They were tight on their men, and everybody left 110 percent on the field today.
""We played well in our formation, we stayed tight, we had good shape, and we just stuck to the coach's game plan,"" he added.
