The Wisconsin men's soccer team (3-1-0 Big Ten, 7-6-2 overall) fell to Northwestern (3-0-1, 8-4-3) in Evanston, Ill, in a game between the two previously unbeaten team's in Big Ten conference play.
The first half of the game was slow, with both the Badgers and Wildcats each managing just two shots on goal. Wisconsin junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro had both shots for the Badgers, while the rest of the team was held in check by the smothering Northwestern defense.
The Wildcats, like Wisconsin, had both of their first-half shots taken by one player, junior midfielder Kyle Schickel. The Wisconsin defense was stout in the first half against the rest of the Wildcat offense.
The Badger defense was, however, more on its heels during the first 45 as the Wildcats had four corner kicks in the first half to accompany the two shots. The only thing Wisconsin had to show for the first half was those two shots and five fouls.
The Wildcats must have gotten a great pep talk at halftime because in the second half they were clearly the team coming to play. They attempted three shots in the first three minutes of the second half, all of which were blocked by the Wisconsin defense, which was seemingly burdened by the number of shots.
In the coming minutes of the second half the ball traded possession until the Wildcats got another shot in 56th minute on a junior midfielder Nick Gendron header, which sailed just high of the goal.
The second half continued miserably for the Badgers, who were constantly and consistently pressured by a Northwestern team that just seemed to want it more. The shots by the Wildcats finally came to fruition in the 75th minute.
Layth Masri, Northwestern's sophomore midfielder, crossed the ball into the box. His pass met Gendron's head, who finished the play from six yards out by knocking the ball into the back of the net for the decisive goal of the game.
This was Wisconsin freshman defender A.J. Cochran's one mistake as he lost Gendron in the box, thereby allowing the Gendron to score the game-winning goal.
This game was extremely important for both teams. The loss cost Wisconsin first place in the Big Ten conference while the Wildcats moved up into the conference's top spot.
The Badgers continue their road trip in Milwaukee to face UW-Milwaukee Wednesday where they look to win their first game of the road trip. Wisconsin is down, but not out and will have some soul-searching to do this week in practice to rebound from this disappointing loss.
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
