Buzzer-beaters are common in some sports, dramatic in them all. In a low-scoring game such as soccer, they are especially memorable.
With one second left in the game, a ball off the foot of redshirt senior Tomislav Zadro found a home in the back of DePaul’s (1-3-0 overall) net, igniting a full-scale Wisconsin (2-0-1) celebration.
Down 2-1 against 10 men, UW pushed the ball from end-to-end in less than 30 seconds, allowing freshman forward Nick Jones and sophomore midfielder Anders Kristensen to set up the far post finish by Zadro.
The DePaul team was crushed and tried to rally in overtime, but Wisconsin was too much to handle when, three minutes later, junior midfielder Jacob Brindle scored the game-winner with a header from the back post. The Badgers held out for the remainder of the sudden death overtime, winning 3-2 .
“I thought going into halftime even being down 2-1 that if the guys would just get out there and continue to play their soccer, that we would eventually wear on them and I think that is what happened,” head coach John Trask said. “It’s a funny game, it took 89 minutes and 59 seconds for the ball to go in but that was that persistent pressure.”
Wisconsin is now 8-0-0 all time against DePaul.
In the two games this weekend, Zadro had two goals and one assist. “That’s what All Americans are made of,” Trask said. “If he is not on everybody’s national player of the week, I don’t know who would be.”
The score was the same as Wisconsin’s Friday night win against Western Michigan, but the games could not have been more different. Friday the Badgers were dominant throughout and let in two goals at the end when many of the starters were out, whereas Sunday featured a fierce Wisconsin comeback.
Kristensen opened the scoring in the 16th minute after his shot from outside the 18-yard box hit the post and bounced in.
Exactly three minutes later, Blue Demon junior forward Anthony Hunter scored with a textbook one-touch volley from the endline.
Seven minutes before halftime DePaul added another goal when sophomore midfielder Joe Brinckwirth had his shot deflect off a Wisconsin player and tuck into the net.
The game intensity escalated in the second half after Zadro was given a yellow card for diving in the box. In the 60th minute when DePaul junior defender Koray Yesilli was also given a red card on a tackle right outside the 18-yard box.
The Badgers then turned up the pressure with offensive minded substitutions and outshot the Blue Demons 13-2 in the second half. However it took until the last second for the pressure to pay off.
“Unbelievable. I have never played in a game like this before,” freshman forward Nick Jones said.
Wisconsin junior starting defender JunHo Seok left the game due to an injury. An X-Ray today will determine the extent of Seok’s foot injury, but the defender was unable to walk off on his own.
Senior midfielder Trevor Wheeler filled in for Seok after the injury.
Wisconsin will not play at home until Oct. 2 against Marquette. Their next game is at South Florida Sept. 12.
