The Wisconsin men's soccer team (6-5-2) outlasted Marquette (2-6-4) Wednesday night 1-0 and secured their first road win in over a month. The Badgers headed down to Valley Fields in Milwaukee after coming off an incredible second half against a highly talented Northwestern and were able to continue that level of play against the Golden Eagles.
Wisconsin jumped on the Golden Eagle defense early when junior forward Scott Lorenz was able to sneak a shot passed Marquette junior goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski in the 14th minute. It was Lorenz's team-leading seventh goal of the season and his fourth in the last three games.
Lorenz emphasized Tuesday at practice that getting ahead early was important.
Hopefully they'll feel the pressure a little bit, make some mistakes, and we'll be able to convert and get some goals early and get in our rhythm,"" Lorenz said
Marquette coach Louis Bennett said of the goal, ""We took too long clearing the ball, and it was almost a comedy of errors.""
The Badger's offensive leader was surprisingly correct on his statement. He has been nearly unstoppable in the last three games, continually producing at forward and improving the Badger's attack.
Junior goalkeeper Alex Horwath was able to maintain a shutout throughout the game recording two saves and protecting the goal from Marquette's eight shots and eight corner kicks. It was Wisconsin's fourth shutout of the season, and they have yet to give up a goal against an in-state rival this year. The win also extends Wisconsin's unbeaten streak against Marquette to six games, beginning in to 2002.
The Badgers only have to beat UW-Green Bay in their Oct. 20 match to successfully sweep all the other teams in the state.
The Badgers now turn back to Big Ten Conference play and will head to Columbus on Friday to take on the Buckeyes at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium Saturday night. Ohio State was recently ranked No. 22 but was unable to beat West Virginia last night losing a 1-0 match.
Last year, in Madison, the Buckeyes were able to outplay the Badgers, beating them 2-1. The Badgers will face a tough challenge as they continue to look for their first Big Ten win since October 15, 2006. So far this year Ohio State is undefeated at home going 5-0 and have an overall record of 7-4-2. The team is lead by junior forward Andrew Magill, who leads the team in points, and junior goalkeeper Drew Czekanski, who has a 7-2-1 record in goal.
- ouwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
