Badgers hit the road for Big Ten play
October 07, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 7, 2011
Badgers prepare to play first road game since Sept. 18
The Badgers (5-4-2, 1-0-0 B1G) are set to hit the road again this weekend after a four-game homestand, traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich., to play the Wolverines (3-8-1, 1-1-0 B1G) on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m.
| Game #12 | Wisconsin (5-4-2) vs. Michigan (3-8-1) | |
| Date | Sunday, October 9 | 1 p.m. (CT) |
| Location | Ann Arbor, Mich. | U-M Soccer Stadium |
| Live Coverage | GameTracker | Watch Live  |
All-Time Series
Wisconsin vs. Michigan: 2-10-3
Wisconsin vs. Michigan in Ann Arbor 0-4-1
vs. Michigan
The Badgers and the Wolverines meet on the pitch for the 16th time in school history. UW won the inaugural meeting in 2000 and earned its second victory in 2006. Since then, Wisconsin is 0-4-3 against Michigan. Last season, Michigan posted a pair of victories over UW, including a 1-0 victory en route to winning the Big Ten Tournament title.
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).
Last time out
UW suffered its first loss in five games, falling to No. 5 Creighton, 2-1, in overtime at the McClimon Complex on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Wisconsin netted the game’s first goal in the 59th minute when sophomore Chris Prince (Naperville, Ill.) flicked the ball past Creighton's goalkeeper from 10 yards out for his third goal of the season.
The Bluejays wasted no time tying the game up, as Dion Acoff evened the score off an assist from Wisconsin native Ethan Finlay fewer than three minutes later. The game remained knotted at the end of regulation, forcing overtime play.
Wisconsin could not keep the attacking Bluejays from striking, giving up the game-winning goal just over three minutes into the overtime period. Sophomore goalkeeper Max Jentsch (Hartland, Wis.), the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 3-1-2.
Going streaking
The Badgers put together a five-game unbeaten streak from Sept. 16-Oct. 2. On Sept. 16, in 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).
The 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.
Zadro helps out
Junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro (Toronto, Ontario) has scored at least one point in each of Wisconsin’s last nine games and leads the team with 12 points. His six assists and 0.55 assist per game average is the best in the league, while his 12 points are tied for second. He ranks 18th in the nation in total assists and 28th in assists per game.
Big Ten accolades
Sophomore Nick Janus (Deer Park, Ill.) and Jentsch earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors after their performance in Wisconsin’s win over then-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.
National accolades
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. 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 fourth on the team with six points.
Scouting Michigan
Michigan suffered its eighth loss of the season Wednesday night, falling 2-1 to Western Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. After Western Michigan took an early lead, junior David Yang tied the game at the 57:04 mark. The Broncos scored the eventual game-winner in the 81st minute of play to hand the Wolverines the loss. Senior co-captain Tim Bergsma made his first start of the season in net for the Wolverines, giving redshirt freshman Adam Grinwis the night off.
A year ago, Michigan won the Big Ten Tournament and posted two wins in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Akron in the semifinal round. Michigan was the Big Ten's first College Cup participant since Ohio State took runner-up honors in 2007.
Head coach Steve Burns is in his 12th season. The only coach the Wolverines have ever known, Burns was a NSCAA National Coach of the Year Finalist in 2010. The Wolverines welcomed 12 newcomers to the field in 2011 after losing eight letterwinners from the 2010 team.
Who to watch for
Fabio Pereira leads Michigan with four goals and two assists for 10 points. Etienne Lussiez ranks second with four goals and one assist for nine points. The duo has scored half of Michigan’s 16 goals this season. Grinwis has allowed 40 goals in 1,023 minutes of action this season and enters Sunday’s game with a 3-7-1 record.
Welcome to Madison
Wisconsin holds an all-time record of 88-60-15 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, defeating Indiana on Oct. 2 and losing to Creighton on Oct. 5. The Badgers are 3-3-1 in Madison this season.
Around the league – as of Oct. 6, 2011
Ohio State claims sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with a perfect 2-0-0 league record. Wisconsin sits in second place with a 1-0-0 record and is the only other team that has yet to lose or record a draw. No. 10 Indiana and Michigan follow with records of 1-1-0, while Northwestern, Michigan State and Penn State are still looking for a win.
Indiana leads the league with a 6-2-2 overall record, while Penn State’s record of 6-3-2 is the second best. Ohio State leads the league with seven wins (7-4-1) and Wisconsin is fourth with a .545 win percentage. Northwestern (4-4-3), Michigan State (3-6-2) and Michigan (3-8-1) round out the bottom of the league.
Big Ten dribbles …
Ohio State leads the league in shots (200) and goals (20), while Indiana leads in assists (21) and points (59) … Penn State has only allowed six goals this season, while Michigan has given up 20 … eight of Penn State’s 12 games have been shutouts … Ohio State has received 22 yellow cards, while Indiana has seven … Indiana’s Alec Purdie leads the league with 14 points … Purdie has scored six goals, three of which were game-winners.
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, Oct. 2, the Badgers won their first Big Ten opener since the 2006 season when they beat Michigan, 2-1, in overtime in Madison.
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.
Badgers in the polls
Following its win over Indiana, Wisconsin earned a No. 25 ranking in the Soccer America Top 25 poll. The Badgers also earned the No. 30 spot on the Tournament 48 rankings by Top Drawer Soccer. The rankings are a running attempt to project the postseason college soccer tournament qualifiers, including every automatic conference berth.
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
Freshman AJ Cochran (St. Louis, Mo.), 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, senior Josh Thiermann (Stoughton, Wis.) 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.
