Van Sicklen Leads Badgers over Spartans, 2-1
October 31, 2004 | Men's Soccer
Senior tri-captain Nick Van Sicklen scored both Badger goals to give the Wisconsin men 's soccer team a 2-1 victory over Big Ten rival Michigan State in East Lansing Sunday afternoon. The win improves the Badgers' record to 8-8-0 on the season and 2-3-0 in the Big Ten, while Michigan State falls to 8-6-1 overall and 2-4-0 in conference.
'We played very competitively,' said head coach Jeff Rohrman after the victory. 'I think the first half is as complete a half as we have played to this point. In the second, we came out a little flat and kind of let MSU dictate the flow and the rhythm of the game. We gave up the goal and I think the resolve the boys showed was a real credit to them.'
The game-winning goal came at 79:51 when Van Sicklen scored off of a Jed Hohlbein assist. He also opened the game with a goal at 6:13 off of an assist from fellow tri-captain Noah Goerlitz.
With his two goals, Van Sicklen passes former standout Dominic DaPra on Wisconsin's all-time career points list, and is currently fifth with 73 points. With 28 points in 2004, Van Sicklen is currently eighth all-time for the most points accumulated in a season. He would need to gather another seven points to claim a spot in the top five
'Nick (Van Sicklen) played a heck of a game. Everyone, Noah (Goerlitz) and Aaron Hohlbein especially, played very well,' said Rohrman.
The Badger defense was tough on Michigan State, stepping up down the stretch to preserve the win despite a Spartan goal at 67:48 by Kenzo Webster. Senior goalkeeper Eric Hanson finished with four saves, and the defense allowed just six shots on goal, and had a team save.
'Overall, I think this is a great win to get on the road, ' said Rohrman. 'We are 8-8 now and given our schedule and the difficult season through October, I think we have learned some important lessons and are now 5-2 in our last seven games. In these last couple of weeks and games here we need to approach each competition and make it a complete game.'
The Badgers conclude regular season play with games against Marquette and Northwestern. Wisconsin travels to Milwaukee to play Marquette in a mid-week match-up at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 3, before returning home to take on Northwestern at 1 p.m. Sunday, November 7 for senior day. Stay tuned to uwbadgers.com for upcoming men 's soccer results.
