The Wisconsin men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 contest to San Diego State and tied Dayton 0-0 at the Wisconsin Soccer Classic this weekend, sliding to 1-4-1 on the season.
Back and forth possession characterized the first half of the Badgers' clash with the Aztecs Friday. Both sides mustered a handful of half-chances and goal-scoring opportunities. Perhaps Wisconsin's best chance of the half came 20 minutes in when junior midfielder Colin Monasterio sent a threatening free kick into the box, only to be hit inches over the net by a Badger on the receiving end.
In the 37th minute the Aztecs struck. The Wisconsin defense gave up a free kick just outside the penalty box and centered directly in front of goal. San Diego State would make the Badgers pay for it. A seemingly routine save for senior goalkeeper Ryan Vint turned into a goal for the Aztecs after he gave up a rebound that was tapped in from the six-yard box by an unmarked San Diego player.
Vint took full responsibility for the goal and said it was just a lapse of concentration.
""I'm not going to make excuses,"" Vint said. ""I should've had it, and 99 out of 100 times I'll make that save and hold onto it. Instead of watching the ball in my hands I was thinking of the next play in my mind.""
Despite solid distribution by Wisconsin, the attack consistently broke down in the offensive third. Head coach John Trask attributed these mistakes to the Badgers being a youthful side and that they haven't gotten used to each other's playing styles yet.
""We're young, we made a bad decision, we dwelled on it or we played too quick,"" Trask said. ""That will just get better with time. They're seven games and 28 practices in to knowing each other – that's not a lot of time for soccer players.""
Sunday afternoon Wisconsin looked like a completely different team in the offensive third, with the exception being the Badger's inability to create more than a few quality scoring chances.
Even though Wisconsin dominated possession and had a nice passing rhythm for most of the game they still had nothing to show for it. Two of their best opportunities were a laser of a shot by midfielder Colin Mani that whizzed above the crossbar, and a scramble inside the Flyers' box with 12 minutes remaining that yielded two blocked shots.
After a 0-0 end to regulation, the game was headed to overtime. A reckless challenge from behind by Dayton's Marlon Duran resulted in a straight red card for the freshman midfielder. Down a man the Flyers remained steadfast and did not allow Wisconsin to take advantage of their extra player, resulting in a 0-0 tie after both overtime periods.
As a match-up with national soccer power Creighton looms, senior Aaron Nichols hopes the team improves their finishing this week in practice and provides a jumpstart to beat the Blue Jays. ""Today we couldn't find the back of the net, but after practice this week we're going to concentrate on shooting,"" Nichols said. ""And by the time Creighton rolls around those [shots] will be rolling in hopefully.""
