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| | Wisconsin 1, NIU 1
Exhibition • NIU Soccer Complex • Dekalb, Ill.
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| | 1st | 2nd | Final | Wisconsin
| 0 | 1 | 1 | NIU
| 0 | 1 | 1 | | | Stats at a Glance | MARQ | WIS | | Shots | - | - | | Shots on Goal | - | - | | Saves | - | - | | Offsides | - | - | | Corner Kicks | - | - | | Yellow Cards | - | - | | Red Cards | - | - | | |
Aug. 16, 2015
DEKALB, Ill. -- The Wisconsin men's soccer team finally kicked off its 2015 season, as Tom Barlow scored a goal early in the second half and the Badgers played to a 1-1 tie against NIU in Dekalb, Illinois on Sunday.
"This was a good start to our preseason and another good step in the growth of this team," head coach John Trask said. "We thank NIU for hosting us and agreeing to play us for an exhibition. With any preseason game, we're less concerned with the result and more with performance. In that regard, I thought we looked good defensively and I was very pleased with what I saw overall today.
"It was also great to see Tom score a goal and get himself going offensively. We're looking forward to seeing him and the rest of this group continue to build on what they were able to do today."
A 2014 Big Ten All-Freshman team honoree, Barlow made early work in finding his form from last season and scored in the team's first game of the 2015 campaign.
Brought up the midfield by Mike Catalano, the ball was perfectly played to Brian Hail, who was able to then get a great pass of his own up to Barlow. From there, Barlow dribbled the ball, beat NIU goalkeeper Andrew Glaeser and scored past him far post.
Barlow's scoring sequence was one of a handful of offensive chances for the Badgers. The first opportunity for UW came in the 15th minute on a free kick, as Matej Radonic connected on a header, but Glaeser was able to quickly react and make the save.
Wisconsin held a 4-3 shot advantage at the scoreless halftime break.
Defensively for the Badgers, Casey Beyers started the first half at goalkeeper and looked good taking command of the UW defense. In the second half, Connor Revsbeck took over for the first 25 minutes and Adrian Remeniuk also saw action for the final 20 minutes of the game.
Freshman defender Sam Brotherton earned his first start as a Badger, joining fellow freshmen Elan Koenig and Isaac Schlenker in earning the first minutes of their collegiate career. Brotherton looked far from timid for a freshman, commanding the back line both vocally and with his play. With Brotherton on the field, UW did not concede a goal.
Wisconsin returns home to Madison and hosts one final exhibition of the preseason vs. Drake on Aug. 22 at 11 a.m. CT at the McClimon Soccer Complex. The regular season also kicks off at home for UW on Aug. 28 vs. Butler.
