The Wisconsin men’s soccer team defeated Big Ten rival Ohio State 1-0 Friday after a third-minute goal set the tone early and the Wisconsin defense held strong to protect the lead.
The Badgers came into the game with an overall record of 4-4-5 and a 1-2-3 record against Big Ten opponents, including a 1-2 loss against Rutgers the week before.
Wisconsin started the game strong with a third-minute goal from forward Mitchell Dryden. It was the Milwaukee native’s third goal of the season, making him the team’s top scorer of the season so far. He is tied for third-most goals out of all players in the Big Ten conference.
The Buckeyes had a chance to tie the game in the 10th minute after getting close to the Badgers’ goal. Wisconsin’s Ryan Keefe blocked the goal attempt as well as the second rebounded attempt from Ohio State.
An Ohio State forward got past the Wisconsin defensive line in the 28th minute and had a one-on-one encounter with Wisconsin goalkeeper Nate Crockford. Crockford successfully ran up and stopped the Ohio State forward from scoring, keeping the Badgers’ clean sheet.
Wisconsin secured their seventh shutout of the season with this victory.
The Badgers now move to 5-4-5 on the season with a Big Ten record of 2-2-3. They will look to use this victory as leverage when they return home to face in-state rivals UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 24.
