The No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers men’s soccer team scored early against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights but could not hold onto the lead with a missed penalty kick, a goal ruled offside and a red card on goalkeeper, Matisse Hébert.
The Badgers’ star freshman Dean Boltz, who is now tied for the third-most goals scored this season within the nation with eight, struck in the sixth minute, receiving a pass from Markie Hrvojevic and knocking the ball into the upper-90 of the net.
In the 52nd minute, Wisconsin had the opportunity to extend their lead with a penalty kick taken by Boltz. But the Scarlet Knights keeper came up with a big-time save.
Then, in the 58th minute, Rutgers capitalized off a penalty kick opportunity of their own, evening the score to 1-1.
Just moments later, Badger goalkeeper Hébert was given a red card for a mis-tackle, forcing the Badgers to play a man down and put in goalkeeper Adam Braman, who had only played a career total of 15 minutes up until this moment.
While Braman had some excellent saves, he ultimately let two goals in — one in the 73rd minute and one in the 89th minute — both of which went unanswered by Wisconsin. He will have another chance to shine in the Badgers’ next game, as Hébert’s red card will leave the starting keeper ineligible to play in that game.
Rutgers claimed their fourth win in a row against Wisconsin and first win this season within the Big Ten conference. Coming off of a loss to Indiana on Tuesday, the Badgers now have a 1-3-1 conference record.
The Badgers will have another opportunity to find a second conference win next Friday, as they head to East Lansing to play the Michigan State Spartans at 6 p.m.
