The Wisconsin men's soccer team (1-3-0 Big Ten, 6-7-3 overall) blanked the University of Missouri-Kansas City (4-1-0 Summit League, 6-8-2), 2-0, Wednesday night.
Both Badger goals came from sophomore forward Jacob Brindle, who came off the bench in the 58th minute and had an immediate impact one minute later, scoring the game's opening goal.
The Badgers came out aggressive in the first half. Despite not scoring, they fired a slew of shots towards the goal while UMKC struggled to maintain any sort of possession. They also earned five corner kick to UMKC’s zero in a half where UW did everything but find the back of the net.
The shooting onslaught continued in the second half as the Badgers recorded 13 of their 19 shots in the final 45 minutes
"We created a lot of shots in the first half, the guys were feeling it," head coach John Trask said. "It's nice to see them get two goals and finish the game. It's not easy to score two goals in a college game."
The Badgers are currently playing many games with short turnarounds with little time for rest. Junior forward Chris Prince was substituted in the second half. "He's been feeling it, he has been working very hard," Trask said. "He is our captain and I told him to tell the team that they have to step up for him. Chris steps up for them all the time. And some guys did."
"It's big time. It's definetly good morale for the team going into Northwestern," said sophomore AJ Cochran. "It was good to get two goals and a shutout. That was huge for us, we will just have to keep it up at home against Northwestern."
Junior midfielder Trevor Wheeler assisted on the second goal, which helped to ice the game.
"Toni Ramadani got the ball and he played me a great ball. Then Brindle made a great move and with one cut beat four other defenders and had a great finish," said Wheeler. "Coach told us to keep focus. We have won three of the last four and are coming up to the biggest game of the season. We will be working on this in practice and hopefully bring it to Northwestern."
The load was light for junior goalkeeper Max Jentsch, as he only faced one shot on goal. The lack of pressure on Jentsch was a testament to the unrelenting UW attack and a fundamentally sound defensive performance, leaving UMKC no chance to counter.
"For me, a shutout is the best way I can help my team out. I need to keep everything out of the net, it gives our team the best chance to win," Jentsch said.
The two shots (one on goal) for UMKC are both season-lows for the Badgers.
The team rotated goalkeepers once again, and the decision for who will start on Sunday against Northwestern is as tough as ever. "It was nice to see Max get another shutout. Obviously it wasn't Big Ten competition, but we will weigh everything," Trask said. "It doesn't matter if you are a freshman or a senior, you have to go with the guy that gives you the best chance to win."
"Max talked and communicated the whole game," Cochran said. "Every time we needed it, the ball was well collected and well saved and he distributed it well, he played really well."
The Badgers look to extend their winning streak at home to four games when they play host to Northwestern Sunday, and will then end the regular season visiting Ohio State.
