Wisconsin Soccer Central

After handing then-No. 6 Indiana its first loss of the season Sunday, the University of Wisconsin men's soccer team has caught the eye of coaches and media in the Big Ten Conference the nation alike.

Midfielder Nick Janus and goalkeeper Max Jentsch (Hartland Arrowhead) collected individual awards in the wake of the Badgers' 2-0 win over the Hoosiers, while UW moved into two national rankings after its first win over Indiana in 16 years.

Janus, who assisted on junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro's opening goal against the Hoosiers and scored the second, was named to the College Soccer News and Soccer America national teams of the week, earned a spot on the CS360 Primetime Performers Weekly Honor Roll and was the Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Fellow sophomore Jentsch, who saved a penalty kick by Indiana's Harrison Petts with the Badgers leading 1-0 on Sunday, was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. In two matches last week, Jentsch made 11 saves and allowed one goal as he and UW extended their unbeaten streaks to five games (3-0-2).

The Badgers (5-3-2 overall, 1-0-0 Big Ten) are tied for 25th in the Soccer America Top 25 and stand 30th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 48, which is meant to simulate the NCAA tournament field. UW also is 10th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Great Lakes Region poll.

Another tough test is up next for the Badgers, as fifth-ranked Creighton (8-1-0) visits the McClimon Complex on Wednesday for a non-conference match. The Bluejays and senior keeper Brian Holt lead the nation with a 0.11 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage, stopping 33 of 34 shots this season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Honor roll

UW-Whitewater swept the weekly Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's awards after knocking off WIAC rival UW-Oshkosh 2-0 last Wednesday and beating St. Thomas (Minn.) 4-1 in a non-conference match Saturday.

Senior forward Kevin Kron, who scored both goals in the win over the then-No. 12 Titans and added one against the Tommies, was the Offensive Player of the Week. Junior goalkeeper Aaron Sesselmann (Green Bay Notre Dame) was the defensive honoree after stopping seven of the eight shots he faced on the week, including all three against Oshkosh.

• Marquette senior defender Kerry McBride (Elm Grove/Milwaukee DSHA) was named to the Big East Conference Weekly Honor Roll and the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week. McBride anchored a backline that allowed just one shot on goal in each of the Golden Eagles' wins last week, a 1-0 victory over Louisville and a 4-0 victory over Cincinnati.
• UW-Milwaukee senior striker Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) extended her Horizon League record, as she was voted the Horizon League women's player of the week for the 14th time. Hagen had two goals, including the game-winner, in the Panthers' 3-1 road victory over Wright State last Saturday – it was the fifth consecutive match in which she delivered the game-winner for UWM. She also earned a spot on the Soccer America national team of the week.
• UW-Milwaukee's Cody Banks (Madison Memorial) was listed among the men's Top Performers by the Horizon League. The junior midfielder scored his first two goals of the season last week, including the game-winner with 7 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Panthers a 3-2 win over rival UW-Green Bay last Wednesday.
• Freshman Brittany Syms was the Northern Athletics Conference women's player of the week after scoring her first two collegiate goals in the final 10 minutes to lead Marian to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over host Dominican last Saturday. Syms found the back of the net on her only two shots of the match.
• Lawrence junior keeper Cassie Burke collected the Midwest Conference women's defensive player of the week for her 13-save performance in a 0-0 draw at Carroll on Saturday. It was Burke's second shutout of the season.
• The WIAC women's defensive player of the week was UW-Eau Claire junior defender Emily Moore (Brookfield Central), who anchored two impressive efforts by the Blugolds' backline. Eau Claire held UW-Platteville to four shots on goal in a 2-1 double-overtime win in a WIAC match Saturday, then didn't allow a shot on goal in Sunday's 3-0 non-conference win over Macalester (Minn.) – that's the first time the Blugolds have accomplished that feat since 2006.
• UW-River Falls senior midfielder Eryn Lansverk claimed the WIAC women's offensive award following a five-goal week. Lansverk had both goals in Saturday's 2-1 win over UW-Stevens Point in WIAC play and had a hat trick – and scored them all in a row – in a 7-1 rout of Ripon in a non-conference game Sunday.
• Carthage junior keeper Milan Tijanic was the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin men's defensive player of the week after making four saves in a 1-0 win over CCIW rival Augustana (Ill.) on Saturday. 
  
  

Milestones

Senior forward Shannon Becker (De Pere) tied the UW-Parkside women's program record with her 39th career goal in the Rangers' 3-2 loss to then-No. 19 Northern Kentucky in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match Friday in Highland Heights, Kent.

Becker's goal on a bouncing shot from nearly 40 yards out in the 50th minute matched the mark set by Bryanna Jurvis (Kenosha Bradford) from 1999 to 2001. Becker also assisted on Parkside's other goal, bringing her career total to 40 – five behind record-holder Allison Wild (2001 to '05). She already is the school's all-time leader in points.

• Senior forward Jessica Axt (Germantown) became the leading goal scorer in Northern Athletics Conference history Saturday, scoring four times in a 7-0 win over Wisconsin Lutheran to take her career total to 67. Marian's Kim Kriese (Stevens Point) previously held the record with 66 from 2007 to '10. Axt added four more goals in Tuesday's 9-0 win over Maranatha Baptist and stands at 71 goals, followed by Kriese and Edgewood College junior forward Elaine Gerry (Sauk Prairie) at 63. Axt also is two points behind Kriese's NAC record total of 156 and Gerry is third with 138.
• River Falls' 2-1 win over then-No. 19 UW-Stevens Point on Saturday was just the fourth for the Falcons in the teams' 24-game series. The Pointers won the first 15 meetings, River Falls three in a row from 2004 to '06 and Point had claimed three straight until Saturday's match.
• UW-Eau Claire's Sean Yengo became just the second coach in WIAC history to record 200 wins, reaching the mark with the Blugolds' 3-0 victory over Macalester. Yengo is 200-83-25 in 15 seasons at Eau Claire.
  
  

Polling place

There are just two state teams in the NSCAA national polls this week, both in the Division I women's rankings.

Marquette (12-2-0) moved up one spot to No. 9, while UW-Milwaukee rose two places to No. 12. The University of Wisconsin again was among others receiving votes.

• The Panthers and Golden Eagles both stayed put in the Soccer America Top 25, Milwaukee at No. 12 and Marquette at 13th, and both sides moved up three spots in the Soccer Times poll, Marquette to No. 11 and UWM to No. 14. UW also received votes in the Soccer Times rankings.
• Marquette is 10th, Milwaukee 22nd and UW 40th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 64.
• UW-Milwaukee continues to top the NSCAA Great Lakes Region poll, which also includes the Badgers at No. 7, while Marquette kept its spot at No. 1 in the Northeast Region.
• UW-Parkside (6-2-0) is fourth in the Division II Midwest Region women's poll.
• In Division III, UW-Stevens Point (7-3-0) fell to fifth in the North Region women's poll, which also features No. 7 UW-Eau Claire (7-3-1) and No. 9 UW-Stout (6-1-0). Meanwhile, Edgewood (7-3-1) continues to receive votes in the Central Region poll.
• UW-Oshkosh (5-3-2) dropped to sixth in the Division III North Region men's poll after a two-loss week, while UW-Superior (7-3-0) was seventh in the region.
• The Titans received votes in the D3soccer.com Men's Top 25, while UW-Stevens Point received votes in the website's women's rankings.