MADISON, Wis. – In a deciding game for second place in the Big Ten conference between Wisconsin (8-3-3 overall, 3-2-2 Big Ten) and Indiana (8-1-6 overall, 2-0-5 Big Ten), neither team notched a point on the scoreboard and the game ended in a 0-0 (2OT) tie.
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"We struggled a little but it was a good team performance," junior
Philipp Schilling said. "We had a shutout, unfortunately we couldn't win but for me as a goalkeeper and with my defense, that's the first priority."
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Wisconsin pasted shot after shot on the Indiana goal but couldn't knock the lid off the net.
In their closest opportunity, junior
Christopher Mueller took a free kick and rocketed a liner to the top left post. Moments later, the junior danced around an Indiana defender and set a shot toward the net that froze the keeper, but bent around the target by inches.
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Mueller wasn't the only player in Cardinal and White to put shots up for the Badgers as Wisconsin led in shots, 17-7, going into the overtime.
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Leading the shot charge was junior
Tom Barlow with five shots. Juniors
Mark Segbers and Chris Mueller also accounted for a piece of the shot deficit, recording four and three, respectively.
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Play resumed in a back-and-forth manner in the overtime periods but the Badger backline was able to hold off Indiana after they were awarded with four-straight corner kicks. Wisconsin also had its fair share of corners as the Badgers tied a season high with seven corners.
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UW held the Hoosiers, who rank second in the nation in shots per game (17.57), to 14 shots in the game. Wisconsin was outshooting Indiana 11-2 at the half and 4-1 in shots on goal, and finished outshooting IU 18 to 14.
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Wisconsin has now built a successful resume against ranked opponents. Wisconsin led the No. 1 ranked Maryland Terrapins 2-1 with three minutes left before losing 3-2 in overtime. Wisconsin also tied top-25 ranked Michigan State 1-1 on the road and now Indiana 0-0 at home.
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"I think we showed that we're capable of a lot of things," Schilling continued. "We were toe-to-toe with Maryland. Some people might even say we deserved to win or at least tie.
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"So we got a lot of respect from them. We were pretty confident going into this game and I think we played like that, we played confident. So when we play toe-to-toe with these guys and the No. 1-ranked team, I think we can accomplish something. We just have to focus and finish, just finish the game."
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The overtime match was the seventh of the season for the Badgers and their second at home. UW is now 2-2-3 in overtime matches.
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Schilling got the start in net for the Badgers and tied a career high in saves with six, three of which came in the overtime periods. The junior has posted a dominant record in net for the Badgers, corralling seven shutouts in the 2016 season.
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Wisconsin resumes play against Western Illinois at home on Tuesday to defend its perfect record at the McClimon Complex. The match is set to start at 7 p.m.
