The Wisconsin men's soccer team (0-1-0 Big Ten, 3-4-3 overall) won its first home game this season against Cleveland State Saturday night. Two first half goals were enough for the Badgers to hold on and beat the Vikings (4-5-1 overall), 2-1. The first goal came from a far post shot by senior midfielder Jerry Maddi, and the second from a finish by freshman midfielder Drew Conner. These were the only two shots by the Badgers in the first half.
"Our attacking players had nice dynamic movement up there," said junior defender Blake Succa. "We moved the ball around well and had a lot of options and were able to put a couple away." Succa assisted on both of the Badger goals.
After two home losses and one tie, Wisconsin was finally able to secure a win at the McClimon Memorial Soccer Complex.
"It feels good to win at home, there is no question," said head coach John Trask. "It might not have been perfect, but there was improvement in some areas, and we won the game so it was a positive night."
"It feels awesome," said sophomore defender AJ Cochran. "We've been waiting for it, it's a good time to get a big win at home."
After recent offensive struggles, two first half goals proved vital in the Badgers holding on to win.
"Any soccer game turns on goals, and you can make the argument that the second goal before half was a dagger," said Trask. "That made [Cleveland State] change things at halftime and they did, they pushed the game at us in the second half and hung around."
Goals allow great momentum shifts, and fortunately for Wisconsin, the Vikings did not have enough time to find another goal.
"I'm glad the goal came at the fifth- or sixth-minute mark and not the 16th, because I think that momentum could have changed," said Trask.
With five minutes left in the game, Cleveland State senior forward Aaron Adkins scored on a deflected shot. However, the Badgers' defense held the Vikings to only three shots on goal.
"We did exactly what we needed to do. We stayed compact, we stayed intelligent," said freshman goalkeeper Chase Rau. "At the same time there are a lot of improvements to be made."
Wisconsin will play another ranked conference opponent when it travels to Bloomington to meet No. 11 Indiana (2-0-0, 7-2-1) next Saturday night.
"We want goals," Trask said. "Two goals down in Bloomington would be unbelievable, if we can continue to create goal-scoring opportunities, it'll be an excellent soccer game."
"We need to keep scoring goals like we did this game and there are a few things we need to clean up defensively," said Succa. "What we have to continue is keep the ball, work hard, and get some opportunities." The Hoosiers are coming off a 1-0 double overtime win against Penn State, who the Badgers lost to by the same score.
"We are going to have a hard week of practice and get organized," said Cochran. "We will stay tough and work together as a team and hopefully we can keep a good shutout and get that win."
