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November 03, 2016 | Men's Soccer
Badgers are hot on the trail headed into Big Ten tournament
MADISON, Wis. — Looking at the national tournament picture, don't overlook Wisconsin.
"In our last 10, we are 7-1-2, our only loss was to Maryland at Maryland," head coach John Trask said at the weekly news conference. "As many people know, we were up late in the game and it was a tough result for a number of different reasons. We tied Michigan State on the road and tied Indiana.
"When you look at our last 10, we're hot. If and when the committee does an eye test, we stack up very well. You just hope the committee takes a serious look at the Badgers because we deserve it."
The numbers do all the talking for themselves. The Badgers are 7-1-2 in their last 10 matchups and 8-0-1 at home headed into Sunday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinal match against Ohio State at noon at the McClimon Complex. The Wisconsin squad (10-3-3 overall) is tied for second in the conference and jumped four spots to the No. 20 spot in the national rankings this week.
"From top to bottom in the Big Ten conference, it's very tight," Trask added. "We're just happy to be at home in front of our fans. Our guys are excited to host a Big Ten quarterfinal. We've got to continue to win to stay in that conversation."
The Badgers are coming off of an exciting 2-1 home win against Ohio State last weekend that wrapped up the regular season. All of the home wins have been special, but this one stands out. It tied the
Badgers for second in the conference, clinched the third seed in the Big Ten tournament, secured the undefeated home record and it all came at the hands of some unlikely heroes who found their way into the spotlight.
"As a coach, what you really take to heart is to see two guys who have never scored a goal for the program, get goals for themselves," Trask said. "Enda O'Neill, who has been so close and is involved in all of our attacking setpieces, and then Isaac Schlenker, a walk-on who was a spring tryout and fantastic student-athlete here. Those are the parts, as great as our top players are, to see the development of the younger guys — guys who don't get the majority of the minutes and aren't always in the press — is just really rewarding for us as a coaching staff and program."
UW holds a 22-27-5 historic mark in Big Ten tournament play and the last tournament title came in 1995.
The Badgers are also looking to snap a five-match losing streak in conference tournament play dating back to their last win in 2011 against Michigan, a 2-0 victory in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, Wisconsin has not played host to a Big Ten tournament match since Nov. 13, 2008, when
UW tied Michigan, 0-0, but advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3.
The Badgers haven't lost a match at home yet this season and they don't plan to. Like Athletics Director Barry Alvarez once famously said about the Badger football team, "You'd better get your tickets now."
This is one team that you won't want to miss seeing this season.
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"In our last 10, we are 7-1-2, our only loss was to Maryland at Maryland," head coach John Trask said at the weekly news conference. "As many people know, we were up late in the game and it was a tough result for a number of different reasons. We tied Michigan State on the road and tied Indiana.
"When you look at our last 10, we're hot. If and when the committee does an eye test, we stack up very well. You just hope the committee takes a serious look at the Badgers because we deserve it."
The numbers do all the talking for themselves. The Badgers are 7-1-2 in their last 10 matchups and 8-0-1 at home headed into Sunday's Big Ten tournament quarterfinal match against Ohio State at noon at the McClimon Complex. The Wisconsin squad (10-3-3 overall) is tied for second in the conference and jumped four spots to the No. 20 spot in the national rankings this week.
"From top to bottom in the Big Ten conference, it's very tight," Trask added. "We're just happy to be at home in front of our fans. Our guys are excited to host a Big Ten quarterfinal. We've got to continue to win to stay in that conversation."
The Badgers are coming off of an exciting 2-1 home win against Ohio State last weekend that wrapped up the regular season. All of the home wins have been special, but this one stands out. It tied the
Badgers for second in the conference, clinched the third seed in the Big Ten tournament, secured the undefeated home record and it all came at the hands of some unlikely heroes who found their way into the spotlight.
"As a coach, what you really take to heart is to see two guys who have never scored a goal for the program, get goals for themselves," Trask said. "Enda O'Neill, who has been so close and is involved in all of our attacking setpieces, and then Isaac Schlenker, a walk-on who was a spring tryout and fantastic student-athlete here. Those are the parts, as great as our top players are, to see the development of the younger guys — guys who don't get the majority of the minutes and aren't always in the press — is just really rewarding for us as a coaching staff and program."
UW holds a 22-27-5 historic mark in Big Ten tournament play and the last tournament title came in 1995.
The Badgers are also looking to snap a five-match losing streak in conference tournament play dating back to their last win in 2011 against Michigan, a 2-0 victory in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, Wisconsin has not played host to a Big Ten tournament match since Nov. 13, 2008, when
UW tied Michigan, 0-0, but advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3.
The Badgers haven't lost a match at home yet this season and they don't plan to. Like Athletics Director Barry Alvarez once famously said about the Badger football team, "You'd better get your tickets now."
This is one team that you won't want to miss seeing this season.
Â
Players Mentioned
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