With the Big Ten season looming, the Wisconsin men's soccer team seeks to bury memories of a 3-1 defeat to Drake when it faces UW-Green Bay Phoenix Thursday evening in Green Bay.'
A win against their state rivals would give the Badgers a confidence boost going into their match against No.14 Michigan Sunday.'""
""We need to show our resiliency and character in bouncing back,"" head coach Jeff Rohrman said. ""It's important for us to get a win Thursday and hopefully that will propel us into a great weekend against Michigan.""'""
The Badgers started slowly against Drake and conceded two goals in the first half - the first time Wisconsin had fallen behind in five games.'""
""We haven't really played from behind at all this season and we just didn't respond to playing from behind,"" senior defender Nick Caronna said. ""We probably tried too hard to get a goal back right away instead of sticking to the process.""'""
Sunday's loss was unexpected, but no one on the team is pushing the panic button.
The Badgers should be encouraged by the fact that they took the game to Drake by clawing back and getting a goal. They had chances to equalize, but a
combination of poor finishing and solid goalkeeping by Drake's Phillip Breuer shut them out.'""
""I think we've been doing really well defensively this year, and I don't think we'll let one bad result get in our way,"" Caronna said. ""The team is confident, and we're not going to have a big overhaul over one bad half of soccer.""'""
Nevertheless, the Badgers can expect another tough challenge from UW-Green Bay. The Phoenix defeated Drake in their opening game and are unbeaten in their last three games. '""Wisconsin is 15-15-0 all time against UW-Green Bay. Though the Badgers have emerged victorious in 12 of the last 16 meetings between the two, the Phoenix won the most recent game 3-2 in Madison last season.'""
Rohrman expects the Phoenix to start with a 4-3-3, an offensive formation that takes advantage of the attacking players they have.'""
He picked out Green Bay's senior midfielder Dan O'Brien and Canadian U-20 national winger Tosiant Ricketts as the main threats.'""
""Those two guys are very dangerous, they can attack and they can float and create problems,"" said Rohrman. ""So we're going to have our hands full with some very good athletes this Thursday.""
To stifle Green Bay's offense, Rohrman will deploy defensive midfielders Taylor Waspi and Zack Lambo in more withdrawn positions.'""
""It's going to be important for Zach and Taylor to stay more home instead of drifting out there and getting themselves too stretched out,"" Rohrman said. ""We're going to have to play from the back and always be shifting quickly, given the fact that they have three forwards.""
Rohrman also expects improvement in the Badgers' offense. Wisconsin has created half-chances aplenty, but not enough clear-cut scoring chances. '""
""I think we have to be a bit sharper in the attacking half and to do a little bit better in terms of combining,"" Rohrman said. ""Our possession could be a little bit better, and we have to finish off the chances we create."" '""On a brighter note, the Badgers welcome back sophomore goalkeeper Alex Horwath. Horwath sat out Sunday's game after he suffered a knock to his right knee against Gonzaga, but he is back to full strength and raring to go.'""
""I feel like I'm on a high level right now. I feel sharp and full of confidence, and that's always important for a goalkeeper to have,"" Horwath said.'""No doubt, his imposing figure between the posts will add further stability to the Badgers' backline.'""
Horwath made five saves against Gonzaga Friday to extend his shutout streak to an impressive 366 minutes and 17 seconds. He was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week for his impressive performances.'""
""Obviously it's a great honor to get all these awards, but more importantly we beat Gonzaga 1-0
