Badgers travel east for meeting with Milwaukee
October 25, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 25, 2011
Badgers travel east for meeting with Milwaukee
The Badgers (7-6-2, 3-1-0 Big Ten) travel to Milwaukee on Wednesday, Oct. 26, for their last midweek game of the season. UW wraps plays its final home game of the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 30, hosting Ohio State at 1 p.m.
| Game #16 | Wisconsin (7-6-2) at Milwaukee (5-7-2) | |
| Date | Wednesday, October 26 | 7 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Milwaukee, Wis. | Engelmann Field |
| Live Coverage | GameTracker | Horizon League Network |
All-Time Series
Wisconsin vs. Milwaukee: 14-13-6
Wisconsin vs. Milwaukee in Milwaukee: 4-8-5
vs. Milwaukee
Wisconsin leads the all-time series with the Panthers, yet 10 of its 14 wins have been either in Madison or outside of Milwaukee. Despite struggling against the Panthers on their home turf, UW is 2-1-1 in its last four trips to Milwaukee. Wisconsin also holds the advantage in the last five meetings, with a 3-0-2 record in that time.
vs. Horizon League
UW faces its second Horizon League team in three games when it travels to Milwaukee. Last week, the Badgers fell to Horizon League member, Green Bay, 2-0. In preseason play, UW topped Loyola (IL) 3-0. The Badgers are 47-41-10 all-time against current members of the league.
Last time out
Wisconsin’s three-game Big Ten win streak came to an end in Evanston, Ill., as the Badgers suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Northwestern Wildcats. After a scoreless first half, Northwestern's Nick Gendron connected on a service from Layth Masri in the 76th minute of play, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage.
Tyler Miller earned his eighth shutout of the season as Northwestern moved to the top spot in the Big Ten with a 3-0-1 league record.
Scouting Milwaukee
The Panthers (5-7-2, 2-2-2 Horizon League) were held scoreless for the first time this season in a 2-0 loss against Valparaiso on Oct. 22. Milwaukee is 4-3-1 on its home turf this season, including wins over Marquette (Sept. 9) and Green Bay (Sept. 28). The Panthers are in fifth place in the Horizon League with two league games remaining.
Head coach Chris Whalley is in his second season with the Panthers. In his first season at Milwaukee, he helped the team double its win total from the previous year and had two players earn First-Team All-Horizon League honors -- the most for the Panthers since 2007.
Who to watch for
Robert Refai leads Milwaukee with seven goals and one assist for 15 points. Fourteen different Panthers have recorded points this season. Milwaukee’s potent offense leads the Horizon league in goals (25), assists (24) and points (74). The Panthers are averaging a league-best 1.79 goals per game.
In-state rivalries
Wisconsin came up short in its quest for a win in Green Bay, falling to the Phoenix, 2-0, on Oct. 19. The Badgers haven’t recorded a win in Green Bay since the 2004 season, when they topped the Phoenix, 4-1. Wisconsin battled in-state rival Marquette to a 1-1 draw when the Golden Eagles visited Madison earlier this season on Sept. 28. UW wraps up its in-state tour on Wednesday, Oct. 26, when it travels to Milwaukee.
Roadtripping
The Badgers are looking to capture their first win in the finale of their current three-game roadtrip, Wednesday night in Milwaukee. Wisconsin was shut-out, 2-0, on Oct. 19 in Green bay, before falling at Northwestern, Sunday, 1-0. Wisconsin is also looking to prevent another three-game skid on Wednesday night. The Badgers longest losing streak this season was back in early September when they dropped three consecutive decisions.
Wednesday workouts
The Badgers suffered a 2-0 loss to the Green Bay Phoenix on Oct. 19, dropping to 0-2-1 in midweek games. Wisconsin and Marquette played to a, 1-1, double overtime draw in the Badgers’ first midweek game of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 28 and the Badgers fell, 2-1, to Creighton on Wednesday, Oct. 5. UW wraps up its midweek schedule on Oct. 26 when it travels to Milwaukee for its final non-conference game of the season.
Last year, the Badgers saw three of their four Wednesday games go into overtime, finishing 1-2-0 in in those games. UW ended the 2010 season 2-2-0 in Wednesday games, with all four midweek matchups played in Madison.
In the Big Ten
Wisconsin is 83-70-19 all-time in Big Ten games and 48-56-10 since 1991, the year the Big Ten officially recognized men’s soccer. Against current Big Ten opponents, UW holds a record of 73-79-20 in all games played. UW’s best record is against Northwestern (25-9-4), while it has fared the worst against Indiana (4-32-5).
B1G streaks
Wisconsin’s loss against Northwestern on Oct. 23 snapped its three-game Big Ten win streak. UW opened league play with wins over Indiana (Oct. 2), Michigan (Oct. 9) and Michigan State (Oct 16), marking the first time since 1995 that Wisconsin has opened league play with three consecutive wins.
Around the league -- as of Oct. 24, 2011
Northwestern’s win over Wisconsin gave it possession of first place in the Big Ten standings. The Wildcats lead the league with 10 points, while UW is tied for second with Ohio State with a 3-1-0 league record and nine points. Indiana is fourth with seven points, Michigan State is fifth with five points, Michigan is sixth (3 points) and Penn State seventh in the league with a winless Big Ten record.
Big Ten dribbles …
Indiana leads the league in goals (28), assists (28) and points (84) … Michigan has recorded 269 shots, while UW has 150 … Penn State has nine shutouts in 16 games … Ohio State has scored eight goals in Big Ten action, while Penn State has one … Wisconsin has only allowed two goals in league play … OSU’s Chris Hegngi leads the league in goals (4) and points (8) in Big Ten games … UW’s Max Jentsch leads the league a 0.50 goals against average.
RPI rankings -- as of Oct. 25, 2011
Wisconsin ranks 36th in the second RPI rankings of the season, falling from the No. 22 spot last week. Indiana sits in the 19th spot, while Northwestern is 48th. UW’s upcoming opponent Marquette is 57th and Ohio State, Sunday’s opponent, is 59th.
NSCAA Coaches Poll -- Oct. 25, 2011
A late-season shuffle occurred as all five of the top spots in this week’s NSCAA Coaches Poll are occupied by new teams. Maryland jumped from the No. 3 spot to No. 1, New Mexico moved from the fifth spot to second and Creighton jumped from sixth to third. Connecticut, last week’s No. 1 ranked team, fell to the fifth spot after suffering its first loss of the season. Indiana is the lone Big Ten representative in this week’s poll, coming in at No. 10.
Regional rankings -- Oct. 25, 2011
UW fell from fifth to 10th in this week’s NCSAA Great Lake Regional Rankings. Wisconsin’s No. 5 ranking was its highest this season. Wisconsin opened the season 10th in the rankings, before falling out of the rankings in the Sept. 27 poll. UW earned the 10th spot in the Oct. 4 poll and moved to sixth in the Oct. 11 poll.
B1G openers
On Sunday, Oct. 2, the Badgers won their first Big Ten opener since the 2006 season when they beat Michigan, 2-1, in overtime in Madison. UW is 9-9-2 in Big Ten openers since 1991. The Badgers went 7-0-0 in Big Ten openers from 1991-1997.
More points please
In 15 games played this season, the Badgers have scored 58 points, seven more than all of 2010. Ten members of the team have scored a point this season, while Tomislav Zadro leads the team with 15.
Streaking
The Badgers put together a five-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 16-Oct. 2. On Sept. 16, in Max Jentsch’s first start in goal, UW defeated Drake, 3-1. The Badgers then went on to tie SIUE (Sept. 18), defeat Loyola Marymount (Sept. 25), tie Marquette (Sept. 28) and defeat Indiana (Oct. 2). An overtime loss to then-No. 5 Creighton (Oct. 5) ended UW’s run.
The unbeaten streak was UW’s longest since the 2008 season, when the Badgers started the season 4-0-1 before falling to Binghamton in the sixth game of the season.
Big Ten accolades
Max Jentsch earned his second Big Ten weekly award this week for his performance in Wisconsin’s 1-0 shutout victory over Michigan State on Sunday. The sophomore goalkeeper was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week in the Big Ten after recording his second shutout in league play this season. Jentsch is now 5-1-2 in goal for UW.
Jentsch earned his first weekly award of the season for his shutout performance in the Badgers’ win over Indiana on Oct. 2. Jentsch blocked a penalty kick from Indiana’s Harrison Petts to preserve the shutout.
Nick Janus also earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after his performance in Wisconsin’s win over then-No. 6 Indiana. Janus earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring three points in the game. The award was the first of Janus’ career.
Junior Kyle McCrudden earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors after his performance against Western Illinois on Aug. 29. McCrudden’s game-winning goal in the 68th minute was his first game-winner and second career goal at UW.
National accolades
Nick Janus was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week, CS360 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll and selected to Soccer America Men's Team of the Week after leading unranked Wisconsin to a stunning upset over No. 6 Indiana on Oct. 2. Janus earned the assist on the game-winning goal, before adding an insurance goal late in the game. He earned three points in the game and is now fourth on the team with six points.
All-Tournament honors
Freshman AJ Cochran sophomore Paul Yonga and Tomislav Zadro were named to the UIC Soccer Classic All-Tournament team. Zadro earned three points with one goal and one assist, while Yonga and Cochran’s defensive performance helped the Badgers finish the tournament unbeaten.
Zadro’s all-tournament honors at UIC were his second of the season as he, senior Josh Thiermann and sophomore Blake Succa were named to the all-tournament team at the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. Thiermann led Wisconsin with two goals, while Zadro earned his first point of the season with an assist.
Badger captains
Seniors Colin Mani, Arnel Zahirovic and Josh Thiermann are serving as captains for the 2011 season. Thiermann will be making his first appearance on the field for the Badgers after playing three seasons at Notre Dame. Mani has seen action in 38 games for the Badgers, including appearances in 16 games a year ago. Zahirovic appeared in 19 games in 2010 with 18 starts after transferring from Illinois Central College following the 2009 season.
