Jonah Beleckis
Men's Soccer Ohio State Preview
11/2/12
The Wisconsin men's soccer team (1-3-1 Big Ten, 6-7-4 overall) will conclude their regular season on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio when they square off against Ohio State (0-4-1, 6-9-2). The Badgers are looking to avoid a four game road losing streak, while the Buckeyes are 5-4-1 at home this season.
Wisconsin is coming off an impressive 0-0 (2OT) draw against Northwestern. Ohio State is coming off a thrilling tie of their own, finishing level at Penn State 4-4 (2OT). Freshman goalkeeper Chase Rau is the reigning Big Ten defensive player of the week after posting five saves against the Wildcats. It has yet to be decided whether Rau or junior Max Jentsch will start against the Buckeyes.
"One of the main things that we liked was that we kept a shutout," sophomore AJ Cochran said. "It was good to put out a solid 110 minute performance and keep Northwestern to limited chances. We can work on getting a few more combinations in the final third and put one in."
Cochran injured his foot at the end of the game against Northwestern, but is fully recovered and practicing this week.
"No matter what, we are going to go into it with the same mindset," junior captain Chris Prince said. "We need to win by playing together. Getting a road win would help with our momentum."
"They are a good team with a strong defense," senior captain Kyle McCrudden said. "They have the reigning Big Ten offensive player of the year, so they will have a good team but we are in good form at this point. We have put a few good results together."
Ohio State senior Chris Hegngi has an impressive season last year with nine goals. However, he has only two goals and three assists this year.
The Badgers have been shut out six times this season and would like to see some consistent scoring. "We have to get things right on set pieces," Prince said. "It should be one of the strengths on our team, so hopefully we can produce some more opportunities and when we get those we can put one in the back of the net."
The Badgers have only scored two goals in Big Ten games this season. "We have not scored enough goals, especially in Big Ten play," head coach John Trask said. "Hopefully we can build some confidence this weekend and find a way to put the ball in the back of the net. They gave up four in their last game so we would like to think that we could score a couple goals against."
Wisconsin will have a quick turnaround after Sunday. The Big Ten tournament begins Nov. 7 in Evanston, Ill. "Our bodies are used to it," Prince said. "I know it's the end of the season, but the coaches do a good job of getting us rested up."
"At this point our focus is more toward the Big Ten tournament," McCrudden said. "You never want to have a losing record, especially as a senior, I would like to go out above .500. I want to do that for the pride of the program and the pride of the school."
