One week after taking the loss against Michigan, the Wisconsin men's soccer team (1-8-2) head to East Lansing to take on the Spartans of Michigan State (9-3-0). Michigan State enters this weekend's contest ranked 21st in the country and perfect at home.
Despite facing a tough opponent in the Spartans, Wisconsin has owned the all time series with a record of 20-8-4. The Badgers are still looking for their second win of the season, hoping to bring their conference record back to .500.
If the Badgers wish to win this weekend, the team will have to keep their head in the game at all times. A reoccurring issue this season has been the lack in focus and intensity on the Wisconsin side when they find themselves down a goal.
This became very evident versus Michigan. Once down by two goals, UW looked as though they left the game mentally. It took a late goal in order for them to regain focus and resuming playing at the level that they are capable of.
""I thought that if we would have been a little more energetic when we were down 3-1, we would have been playing right now,"" said head coach John Trask after the loss against Michigan.
Against Michigan State, they cannot make the same mistake of losing their focus. Scoring 23 goals already this season, the Spartans will take advantage of any lapse in intensity by the Badgers.
""If we go down a goal, we really need to focus and get the energy up because we can't give up and go down two goals,"" said freshman midfielder Joey Tennyson. ""We've been focusing on trying to keep a positive attitude and get the energy up so we can get the goal back.""
For a team that is 1-8-2, a positive attitude is the most important piece of the puzzle. If the Badgers hope to rebound in their last seven regular season games, they must stay positive.
""[The coaches] have been forcing that we should continue to keep our heads in [the game],"" said freshman defender Paul Yonga. ""If we stay focused, we'll be able to get back into the game.""
""You're not going to get down on your teammates; you're not going to get down on your coaches,"" said freshman defender Luke Goodnetter. ""We're just going to go back to the field and keep working, that's all you can do.""
Motivating a young team is not always the easiest thing to do, and Wisconsin is no exception.
""We're having a hard time right now adjusting to when things aren't going well for us,"" said Goodnetter. ""That's college soccer; things aren't going to go your way in games.""
In practice, the message from the coaches has been a simple one: stay positive, focused and give 100 percent.
""They've been reminding us to work harder,"" said Yonga. ""Push through the time when we're down.""
To beat Michigan State, it's going to take all the focus that the team has. With the right attitude, the Badgers could leave East Lansing with a long awaited win.
