Badgers Blank Buckeyes, Advance to Semifinals
November 13, 2003 | Men's Soccer
In the quarterfinals of the 2003 Big Ten Conference Men's Soccer Championship, the fifth-seed Wisconsin defeated four-seed Ohio State 2-0. Junior forward Nick Van Sicklen notched a goal and an assist in the winning effort for the Badgers.
Wisconsin struck late in the first half, scoring the first goal with less than two minutes remaining in the frame. Van Sicklen dribbled down the right side of the field and crossed the ball in front of Ohio State's goal where it was deflected to junior midfielder David Martinez who netted it for the eventual game-winner.
'I thought we rebounded from a pretty tough first half, ' Wisconsin head coach Jeff Rohrman said. 'It certainly wasn't our best performance in the first half, but I thought in the second half we played a little bit better. I thought we were somewhat fortunate to be up 1-0 going in.'
Wisconsin put the game away midway through the second period with another goal coming via Van Sicklen's fancy footwork. Van Sicklen charged down the left side of the field and beat the Buckeyes' sophomore goalkeeper, Ray Burse Jr., in a one-on-one battle from eight yards out.
'[Van Sicklen] gave us a great lift when he came in. ' Rohrman said. 'I was really pleased with the way he played.
He's such a dynamic kid. He's explosive, he 's great on the dribble, and he's great on the run. He gives us that dimension that maybe a couple of our other forwards don't have, so it's nice to put him in the mix and have him playing well right now.'
Ohio State had several chances in the game, with seven shots on goal, but was held scoreless by Wisconsin's strong defense led by senior Watson Vaughan Prather and junior goalkeeper Eric Hanson. The shutout is the team's eight of the year and Hanson's sixth.
Hanson collected seven saves on the day ' most from close range.
'Overall, I was pretty pleased with the way we closed the game out and finished it off,' Rohrman said. 'There's not one player in that group who's had a Big Ten Tournament win, so there's a lot smiles over there and we're looking forward to tomorrow.'
The last time a Wisconsin men's soccer team won a Big Ten tournament game was a 2-0 victory over Michigan State in 1998.
The Badgers advance to take on the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the semifinals Friday at 4:00 p.m.
In other quarterfinal action, sixth-seeded Penn State defeated Michigan State, the three-seed 2-1. The Nittany Lions advance to take on the winner of the Michigan ' Northwestern game played at 3:00 p.m.
Game Recap
Ohio State 0-0'0
Wisconsin 1-1'2
First Period: 1, UW, David Martinez (Nick Van Sicklen), 43:19.
Second Period: 1, UW, Nick Van Sicklen (Unassisted), 61:17.
Saves: UW, Eric Hanson ' 7; OSU, Ray Burse Jr. ' 1.
