When Scott Lorenz dresses before a game, it's always the same routine. Every piece of equipment for the left side goes on before the right side. The senior forward for the Wisconsin men's soccer team has developed a nice routine on the field as well by putting the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis.
Lorenz will look to build on a junior season in which he lead the team in scoring with 23 points and was named Second Team All-Big Ten. However, that does not mean that matching and surpassing those numbers will constitute progress in his mind. Lorenz wants to make noise in the postseason.
""Minimum, we want an NCAA Tournament berth,"" Lorenz said. ""We haven't had one since 1995. Getting Wisconsin back to that powerhouse it was in the early nineties is something we've had our focus on since I got here.""
The Badgers quest for an NCAA Tournament bid this year will be guided by first year head coach Todd Yeagley, who noticed that Lorenz was determined to take his team to the next level right away.
""From the moment that we stepped in here, Scott Lorenz has been a key part of us moving forward,"" Yeagley said. ""He is the catalyst for our attack.""
Lorenz broke out as a junior, scoring 10 goals. Since then, he has been one of Wisconsin's most dangerous forwards.
""Scott is a very talented player. [He] brings great energy not only to our training, but to our team,"" Yeagley said. ""He is very dangerous, not only on the ball with his technical abilities and his ability to take player on but his willingness to make runs without the ball. He has winning qualities.""
As he closes out his college career this fall, Lorenz will use those winning qualities on and off the field. After graduation, he may attend graduate school, but there could be more soccer on his horizon.
""If I have a nice season, hopefully [I'll] get invited to the MLS Combine, that would be a great experience.""
But for now, on the advice of a former team captain, he is just trying to have fun and succeed in his last year in Madison.
""[Being a senior] makes you appreciate things a lot more; it makes you want to work that much harder to get results, to keep your team going and get to the postseason.""
Today Scott Lorenz points to back-to-back 1-0 wins over two ranked schools, Cal and Stanford, in 2007 as his fondest memory in Madison. But an NCAA Tournament berth would easily be number one on his list should the Badgers finally return to it this fall.
