MADISON, Wis – The Wisconsin men's soccer team has made tremendous strides in the right direction this season and on Tuesday night battled No. 18 Indiana to the end in a 2-1 defeat at McClimon Soccer Complex.
Straight from the Pitch – Head Coach Neil Jones
"Credit to Indiana for picking up three road points. We tried to make it really hard on them and I think we did. We are a little disappointed in the goals we gave up. I thought they really punished us for some really small errors, but that is what quality teams do; they punish you for making mistakes and Indiana did that tonight. Happy with the resolve of the group to come back, score and make it 1-1 but disappointed we couldn't get something out of the game."
How it happened
It was a cold and windy night at McClimon when the Badgers took on the Hoosiers. Indiana came out strong in the first 10 minutes, scoring its first in the eighth minute of play. Similar to what they shown in countless other games, the Badgers did not let that get to them and kept fighting. In the 49th minute, they were rewarded for their efforts in the form of a goal by
Ryan Keefe, which was his first career Wisconsin score.
However, Indiana responded in the 54th minute and scored their second. It was a hard-fought match from both sides but sadly the Badgers fell. The team will now focus on their next Big Ten game against Northwestern on Sunday.
Notes
- Wisconsin defenders have scored two of the last three goals for the Badgers (Ryan Keefe tonight and Drew Brown against Maryland)
- Freshman Mitchell Dryden played his second most minutes of the season with 56 minutes (behind 62 minutes played in the first game of the season against Utah Tech)
- Junior goalkeeper Carter Abbott was announced as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week earlier this afternoon and finished with five saves in the contest.
Next up
Wisconsin takes on Northwestern in Evanston on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. For the third consecutive game, the Badgers will appear on national television with Sunday's contest on Big Ten Network