A week after losing a pair of games thanks to lackluster defense and penalty issues, the Wisconsin men's soccer team rebounded with an unbeaten weekend at the Milwaukee Panther Invitational.
The Badgers were the tournament's runner ups after topping Oakland 1-0 and playing to a 1-1 draw against tournament champions UC-Santa Barbara.
Senior forward Brandon Miller powered the Wisconsin offense, scoring both of the team's goals, while senior goalie Alex Horwath played through an injured hand to earn the victory. Miller, Horwath and senior defender Eric Conklin were rewarded for their efforts by being named to the Panther Classic's all-tournament team.
The Badgers opened their weekend pair of games against Oakland Friday. Horwath successfully handled the Golden Grizzlies' 11 shots en route to the shutout victory, Wisconsin's third in five games so far this season.
Miller provided the Badgers with all the offense they would need in the 69th minute, scoring from eight yards out on a ball delivered by Conklin.
Wisconsin's next opponent, No. 9 UC-Santa Barbara (5-1-1), provided a tougher challenge.
In the 82nd minute, Miller scored again to put the Badgers up 1-0, but the Gauchos delivered an equalizer a few minutes later to knot the game at one goal apiece.
Because of their 2-0 win over UW-Milwaukee Friday, UC-Santa Barbara were named tournament champions while the Badgers took home second.
Wisconsin returns to Madison for their next contest, as the Badgers will open their Big Ten campaign against No. 8 Indiana Sept. 25.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
