The national spotlight provided a thriller at the McClimon Complex on Friday night.
Wisconsin (1-4-0) was not able to hold off the Rutgers Scarlet Knights who were playing in their first game ever as a member of the Big Ten, inducted this fall.
The Scarlet Knights (3-2-0) beat the Badgers with an overtime goal by redshirt junior JP Correa to win the game 3-2.
The overtime thriller came on a night that saw free admittance for all UW students and alumni and free scarves for all attendees.
Wisconsin was leading for a good part of the first half and it was not until the 53rd minute that Rutgers tied it up.
The Scarlet Knights scored two goals in the second half and held the lead for only eight minutes until Wisconsin freshman forward Mark Segbers scored in the 88th minute. The goal evened the score and forced overtime.
Segbers added to his already impressive total of three goals and eight points to remain in the top spot of the Big Ten in goals scored by a freshman.
Continuing the trend of well-rounded underclassmen play, Tom Barlow netted the first goal of the game in the 11th minute on a pass from Segbers. Barlow now has two goals on five consecutive starts.
Redshirt sophomore Casey Beyers made his first start of the season as keeper and recorded a career-high nine saves for the Badgers.
The game was an exciting one in the conference season-opener as Wisconsin scored early in the game and looked to attack throughout.
Team captain Drew Conner explained the resilient nature of the match.
“We had some opportunities. It felt like one of those game where we just had to keep pushing,” Conner said. “You knew you were going to get four or five shots on goal that the goalie was going to save, but eventually that goal was going to come.”
The Scarlet Knights proved they were resilient as well and never played as though they were defeated.
Rutgers redshirt junior JP Correa scored two goals in the contest including the game-winner in the 97th minute.
Junior midfielder Rayon Gibbs scored the potential go-ahead goal for Rutgers late in the second half.
Going into the game Wisconsin knew that the experienced Scarlet Knights team would be a problem for the young Badgers.
The upperclassman proved themselves for Rutgers and showed that it is good to have experience on your side in a close match.
This Rutgers men’s soccer team will go down in history as the first Scarlet Knights team to record a win in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin will have to think about this game until they play St. John’s in another game at the McClimon Complex Friday, September 19th. St. John’s has played two double-overtime games in the last two weeks, both of which ended in a tie.
The young Badgers are still gaining experience and will have to make progress in search for much needed win.
