Feb. 1, 2017 will go down as a bittersweet day in the history of Wisconsin men’s soccer, as sophomore defender and team captain Sam Brotherton signed a contract with Sunderland AFC of the English Premier League (EPL) until 2019.
After a stellar college career that included 33 starts, three goals and an All-Big Ten second team selection in 2016, Brotherton will jet off to England this Saturday to join Sunderland’s under-23 squad.
“I'm really excited about the opportunity at Sunderland, and think it is going to be great for my development as a football player,” Brotherton said. “At the same time, I am sad to be leaving Madison, my teammates and everything that I have here.”
During his time in Madison, Brotherton played a massive role in the growth of John Trask’s team, and more specifically, its defense. The Badgers more than doubled their 2015 five win total to 11 in2016 (11), and went from conceding 1.60 goals per game to a far stingier 0.79 per contest.
Brotherton said the highlights of his Badgers career were Christopher Mueller’s 2015 overtime winner at Rutgers, playing at No.1 Maryland in 2016 and making a run to the Big Ten final later that season. That contest, a 2-1 loss to Maryland, would unfortunately prove to be his last game in red and white.
“I am disappointed that I never got to play in an NCAA tournament with the boys, and I believe that we deserved to last year,” Brotherton said. “I know that the team is in a good place, and I look forward to watching their progress in 2017 and beyond.”
As Brotherton begins his career nearly 4,000 miles away at Sunderland, the New Zealand international will hope to become the first ex-Badger to appear in the EPL, arguably the finest soccer league in the world.
While that reality hurts the Badgers’ roster, it should be an exciting one for Wisconsin fans, as it speaks to the level of Brotherton’s talent and indicates the growing stature of Wisconsin soccer.
Brotherton’s career at Wisconsin is finished, but hopefully, the growth and improvement of the Badgers is not.
Information from UWBadgers.com and the Sunderland AFC official website were used in this report.
