MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's soccer shutout Western Illinois, 4-0, Tuesday night at McClimon Soccer Complex.
The Leathernecks and Badgers battled back and forth over the first half with UW attempting six corner kicks with no scores to tally for the team.
In the 42nd minute, UW's
Moritz Kappelsberger yelled out to his team "it doesn't matter who scores." And it didn't matter as
Henri Tophoven struck a goal in the last minute of the opening period.
Aron Eli Saevarsson was credited with the assist on the play.
Wisconsin kept the momentum rolling in the second half when
Inaki Iribarren headed a shot in the back of the net off a free kick from
Ignasi Marques in the 62nd minute.
For a third straight game
Andrew Akindele scored for the Badgers. Saevarsson passed the ball to Iribarren and he found the senior forward open for his third score of the season.
To finish off the contest,
Jack Finnegan capped the night off for UW with a 90th minute goal which came off a feed from
Michael Wampler.
The four goals is a season high for Wisconsin and it didn't matter who found the back of the net against the Leathernecks. This is also the eighth game where UW has not allowed a goal this year.
Carter Abbott got the start in net for the Badgers, but
Ben Krongard played the last 9:04 for Wisconsin. Krongard also recorded two saves in the final minutes of play.
The victory extends Wisconsin's eight game unbeaten streak and gives the Badgers five victories in a row, including all five coming by way of clean sheets.
Next up for UW is a trip to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines Friday night. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and can be viewed on BTN+.
UW returns home on Tuesday, Oct. 19 for a game against Northwestern. It will be Chris Mueller T-Shirt Night. The first 500 fans will get a Wisconsin Mueller t-shirt in honor of the Orlando City SC and recent U.S. Men's National Team player.
