After dropping a game to Michigan State last week, the Wisconsin men's soccer team (0-2-1 Big Ten, 4-4-2 overall) plays host to in-state rival UW-Milwaukee (3-4-4 overall) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the McClimon Complex.
Returning to its home field may allow the team a chance to find the success it had earlier in the season, as Wisconsin has been winless in its last five contests. Additionally, three of those losses were shutouts. The first five games of the season greatly favored the Badgers squad, as they went 4-for-5 with a tie. Bouncing back from this mid-season drought will be important for Wisconsin's confidence as Big Ten play picks up.
To find success against the Panthers, the Badgers will have to overcome the pressure that has been causing them to fall short in the last few games. The penalty kick that caused the Badgers to lose against Michigan State Sunday seemed all too familiar. They were in a similar situation last Saturday when they tied Michigan 1-1 after the Wolverines evened the score on a penalty-kick goal with just 24 seconds remaining in the game.
The Badgers were defeated by the Spartans even though they led the shot count 18-14, the second time this season they have lost despite out-shooting their opponent. Wisconsin has out-shot six of its 10 opponents, owning a 2-2-2 mark in those games.
Wisconsin junior forward Scott Lorenz led the way for the Badgers with six shots, including four shots on goal, while senior midfielder Kenny Dix finished with four shots and freshman midfielder Austin Spohn, a reserve, had three. Junior goalkeeper Alex Horwath, who leads the Big Ten in saves, finished with five while playing all 90 minutes in goal.
Additionally, Wisconsin senior forward Victor Diaz was pulled from the starting lineup, a position he has held for 37 consecutive games. This marked the fourth game Diaz missed in his career with the Badgers, as he has played in 61 of Wisconsin's 65 contests since 2005. Diaz has only one goal on the season and a total of two points, which are both low statistics compared to Wisconsin's usual starters.
UW-Milwaukee head coach Jon Coleman and the Panthers are also coming off of a four game winless streak and will come into Madison hungry for a win. Freshman midfielder Eric Frazier leads the Panthers with 12 points on the season, including four goals and four assists.
Wisconsin junior midfielder Pablo Delgado and Lorenz lead the Badgers offensively this season with eight and seven points, respectively. Delgado has found the goal twice and has also set teammates up with four assists. Lorenz has a team-high three goals and has also registered one assist on the season.
Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rohrman may have to rely more on Delgado and Lorenz, and put extra pressure on his bench, to help his team pull past UW-Milwaukee tonight.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
