Badgers host No. 5 Creighton
October 04, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 4, 2011
UW hosts No. 5 Creighton
The Badgers (5-3-2, 1-0-0 B1G) host their second-straight ranked opponent, Wednesday, Oct. 5, when the No. 5 Creighton Bluejays (8-1-0, 0-0-0 MVC) come to town.
| Game #11 | Wisconsin (5-3-2) vs. No. 5 Creighton (8-1-0) | |
| Date | Wednesday, October 5 | 7:00 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Madison, Wis. | McClimon Complex |
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All-Time Series
Wisconsin vs. Creighton: 2-7-1
Wisconsin vs. Creighton at McClimon: 1-2-1
vs. Creighton
UW has beaten the Creighton Bluejays twice in 10 chances. Last season, the Bluejays defeated the Badgers, 1-0, in overtime at their home field in Omaha, Neb. Ethan Finlay scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minutes as then-No. 16 Creighton escaped with a win.
vs. Missouri Valley Conference
The Badgers enter Wednesday’s game with an even 24-24-3 all-time record against current Missouri Valley Conference teams. Additionally, Wisconsin is 1-0-1 this season against opponents from the Missouri Valley Conference. Earlier this season, UW met up with Drake and SIU Edwardsville both in Chicago. Wisconsin began its current five game unbeaten streak with a 3-1 win over Drake on Sept. 16, while tying SIU Edwardsville, 1-1, in double overtime on Sept. 18.
Last time out
On Sunday, Oct. 2, Wisconsin defeated No. 6 Indiana, 2-0, for the first time in 16 years. The last time the Badgers beat Indiana was on Oct. 13, 1995, as Wisconsin defeated the Hoosiers, 2-0, in Madison. The win also marked UW’s first win over a ranked opponent of the season.
After playing Indiana to a scoreless first half, junior Tomislav Zadro (Toronto, Ontario) scored the game’s first goal at the 53:50 off an assist from sophomore Nick Janus (Deer Park, Ill.). Later, in the 79th minute, Janus added to the Badgers’ advantage with his own goal off an assist from freshman A.J. Cochran (St. Louis, Mo.).
Sophomore goalkeeper Max Jentsch (Hartland, Wis.) recorded five saves to remain unbeaten on the season with a 3-0-2 record.
Going streaking
After Sunday’s impressive win over No. 6 Indiana, all three of Wisconsin’s streaks are still alive. The Badgers’ unbeaten streak improves to five games. The five-game streak is 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.
Zadro has now scored at least one point in each of UW’s last eight games. He leads the Badgers with 11 points off his three goals and five assists.
Jentsch has yet to lose on the season as he posts a 3-0-2 record. Sundays’ 2-0 victory over No. 6 Indiana marks Jentsch’s first shutout of the season. Also important to note is that Wisconsin’s unbeaten streak began when Jentsch made his first appearance in goal of the season on Sept. 16 against Drake.
Zadro helps out
The junior midfielder has scored at least one point in each of Wisconsin’s last eight games and leads the team with 11 points. His five assists and 0.50 assist per game average is the best in the league, while his 11 points rank second. He ranks 18th in the nation in total assists and 28th in assists per game.
National accolades
Janus was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after leading unranked Wisconsin to a stunning upset over No. 6 Indiana. Janus earned the assist on the game-winning goal, before adding an insurance goal late in the game. He earned three points in Sunday’s game and is now third on the team with six points on the season.
Scouting No. 5 Creighton
The Creighton Bluejays arrive in Madison with an overall record of 8-1-0, fresh off their first loss of the season. The Bluejays suffered their first loss of the season, 1-0, on Sept. 30 at the hands of then-No. 3 Maryland. Creighton was outshot, 11-6, by the Terps. Maryland’s goal on Friday is the first goal the Bluejays have allowed all season after shutting out all eight of their previous opponents.
Creighton leads the nation in team goals against average (0.11), shutout percentage (0.89) and save percentage (0.971).
The Bluejays welcomed 17 new student-athletes to their roster this season, while returning eight starters from last season, including reigning MVC Player of the Year and MAC Hermann Trophy candidate Ethan Finlay. Creighton also welcomed a new coach, Elmar Bolowich. Bolowich arrived at Creighton following 22 seasons as the head coach at North Carolina where he was the winningest coach in school history.
In this week’s NSCAA Coaches Poll, Creighton fell from No. 2 to No. 5 after suffering its first loss of the season. The highest ranking the Missouric Valley Conference Champion Bluejays received last season was No. 9. Creighton was eliminated from the NCAA tournament in the second round after Southern Methodist took a 5-3 advantage in penalty kicks.
Who to watch for
All eyes will be on Wisconsin native, Ethan Finlay, Creighton’s star forward. Already this season, Finlay has been named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week three times. The senior forward has also received multiple national accolades this season. He was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week (Sept. 19) and Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week (Sept. 5). Finlay leads the Bluejays with six goals and four assists for 16 total points on the season.
Mascot Matchup: Badger vs. Bluejay
Seven NCAA teams use the Bluejay or Blue Jay as their team mascot, but Creighton is the only Division I school on the list. Forty-eight Division I schools use a bird as a mascot. UW most recently tied the Golden Eagles of Marquette and holds an all-time record of 33-26-13 against teams with a bird mascot.
Welcome to Madison
Wisconsin holds an all-time record of 88-59-15 at the McClimon Complex since 1993. In the inaugural season of action at the McClimon in 1993, the Badgers earned a program-best nine wins. In 1996 Wisconsin recorded a program-best .833 win percentage with a 7-1-1 record. In 2010, UW marked a 3-5-1 record at the McClimon Complex.
Wisconsin opened the 2011 season with a 1-0 win over Western Illinois, before suffering losses to UC Irvine and Memphis at the McClimon Complex. On Sept. 25, UW defeated Loyola Marymount in the first of a four-game homestand at McClimon before tying Marquette on Sept. 28 and defeating Indiana on Oct. 2. The Badgers are 3-2-1 in Madison this season.
In the Big Ten
Wisconsin is 82-69-19 all-time in Big Ten games and 47-55-10 since 1991, the year the Big Ten officially recognized men’s soccer. Against current Big Ten opponents, UW holds a record of 72-78-20 in all games played. UW’s best record is against Northwestern (25-8-4), while it has fared the worst against Indiana (4-32-5).
B1G openers
UW is 9-9-2 in Big Ten openers since 1991. The Badgers went 7-0-0 in Big Ten openers from 1991-1997. On Sunday, the Badgers won their first Big Ten opener since the 2006 season when they beat Michigan, 2-1, in overtime in Madison.
Around the league – as of Oct. 2, 2011
Ohio State claims sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a perfect record of 2-0-0 in the Big Ten and a 6-4-1 overall record. Wisconsin, coming in in second place with a 1-0-0 record, is the only other team that has yet to lose or record a draw. Indiana and Michigan follow with records of 1-1-0 in Big Ten play. Penn State sits at last place in the league with a winless record of 0-2-0.
Big Ten dribbles …
Ohio State leads the league in shots (176), goals (19) and points (54) … Indiana and Penn State have only allowed six goals this season, while Michigan has given up 18 … seven of Penn State’s 10 games have been shutouts … Ohio State has received 21 yellow cards, while Indiana has six … Indiana’s Alec Purdie and Ohio State’s Chris Hegngi lead the league with 12 points … Hegngi leads the league with six goals … Purdie has scored five goals, three of which were game-winners.
Big Ten accolades
Janus and Jentsch earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after their performance in Wisconsin’s win over No. 6 Indiana. Janus earned Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Jentsch was named Defensive Player of the Week. Janus scored three points in the game off one assist and one goal. He earned the assist on Zadro’s game winning goal in the 54th minute, before scoring a goal of his own at the 79th minute. The award marks the first of Janus’ career.
Jentsch also earned his first weekly award of the season and second of his career for his shutout performance in the Badgers’ win over Indiana. Jentsch blocked a penalty kick from Indiana’s Harrison Petts to preserve the shutout. In the two games played last week, Jentsch recorded 11 saves and allowed just one goal. Jentsch is now 3-0-2 in goal on the season.
Junior Kyle McCrudden (Wilmette, Ill.) earned Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors after his performance against Western Illinois. McCrudden’s game-winning goal in the 68th minute was his first game-winner and second career goal at UW. The weekly award was McCrudden’s first and UW’s first since Prince earned the honor on Oct. 25, 2010.
NSCAA Coaches Poll – Oct. 4, 2011
Connecticut remains the top ranked team in this week’s NSCAA Coaches Poll. With a perfect 10-0-0 record, the Huskies received 22 first place votes to claim the No. 1 ranking. Maryland moved up to the No. 2 spot after handing then-No. 2 Creighton its first loss of the season. Creighton fell to the fifth spot while UC Irvine, a UW opponent on Sept. 9, remains seventh. Indiana, the only ranked Big Ten team, fell four spots to tenth, while Penn State dropped out of the rankings for the first time this season. Six previously unranked teams earned a spot in this week’s top 25.
Regional rankings
Wisconsin moved back into the 10th spot in the Oct. 4 Great Lakes regional rankings. UW received votes in the Sept. 27 rankings and was ranked 10th in the Sept. 20 and Sept. 6 polls. Indiana, Ohio State and Penn State all rank above UW in this week’s rankings.
Wednesday workouts
Wisconsin and Marquette played to a double overtime draw in the Badgers’ first midweek game of the year. Last season, 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.
Extra time
UW played Marquette to a 1-1 double overtime tie, marking the fourth time this season that the Badgers have played into extra time. UW is 1-1-2 in overtime action this season, defeating Virginia Tech, 1-0, in the first overtime period, falling to UC Irvine, 3-2, in double overtime and tying SIUE and Marquette.
Last season, nine of the Badgers' games went to overtime, setting a new program record for overtime games in single season. With a scoreless double overtime draw with Ohio State in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament, UW wrapped up the season with a 1-5-3 mark when playing extra minutes.
All-Tournament honors
Cochran, sophomore Paul Yonga (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and 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, Thiermann and sophomore Blake Succa (Lewisberry, Pa) 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 (Madison, Wis.), Arnel Zahirovic (Melbourne, Australia) and 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.
Badgers in season-openers
The Badgers are unbeaten in season-openers since 2007, most recently defeating Western Illinois, 1-0, to begin the 2011 season. Overall, Wisconsin is 21-11-3 in season-opening matches and head coach John Trask is 2-0 in season-openers at Wisconsin.
Network connection
The Badgers’ game against Northwestern on Oct. 23 will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
Rookie class ranked No. 18
The 2011 incoming class earned a No. 18 ranking on the College Soccer News Top 40 Recruiting Class list. The Badgers welcome 13 new faces to the field this fall, including eight freshmen and five transfers. North Carolina received the No. 1 ranking with a 10-member recruiting class, while Indiana's No. 4 ranking was the highest in the Big Ten. Wisconsin's No. 18 ranking was the next highest in the league, with Penn State ranked No. 24, Michigan State No. 31 and Northwestern No. 38 also making the list.
Badgers picked seventh
Wisconsin was selected seventh in the 2011 Big Ten men’s soccer preseason poll. Perennial Big Ten powerhouse, Indiana, was voted in the top spot, 2010 regular-season champion Ohio State was voted second and defending Big Ten Tournament champion, Michigan, was selected fourth.
No surprise here
College Soccer News named Wisconsin one of five teams that may surprise in 2011, noting the team’s 12 one-goal defeats a year ago, the return of eight starters and strong recruiting class.
