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 The University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team was 4 minutes and 15 seconds away from seeing out a result that would have added credibility to its solid start to the season.
And had the Badgers been able to hold on for a draw against UC Irvine, the ninth-ranked team in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll, UW coach John Trask wouldn’t have left the McClimon Complex late Friday night still stewing over his team’s untimely errors.
"We failed again in that critical moment," Trask said after emerging from a team meeting that followed the Badgers' 3-2 double-overtime defeat to the Anteaters.
UC Irvine junior center back Everett Pitts' piledriving goal from the top of the box ended UW’s rollercoaster evening. The Badgers (2-2-0) appeared to be on the verge of self-destructing after conceding a pair of own goals – both were officially credited to UC Irvine sophomore striker Enrique Cardenas, but senior central defender Colin Mani (Madison Edgewood) provided the decisive touches – in the first 6 minutes of the second half.
But UW hauled itself back into the game in short order. Junior forward Chris Prince was pulled down in the box while trying to get on the end of a free kick 1:26 after the Anteaters’ second goal, and sophomore midfielder Nick Janus coolly converted the resulting penalty kick to give the Badgers hope in the 52nd minute.
It took just more than 25 minutes for the equalizer to arrive, with Prince doing the honors this time. Junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro – UW’s most impressive player on the night – flicked on a long ball from sophomore midfielder Joey Tennyson (Menomonee Falls), and Prince tucked his shot underneath UC Irvine senior goalkeeper Andrew Fontein into the bottom left corner.
"Going down 2-0 to a team as good as they were on two own goals, if you’ve ever played soccer, there’s nothing more demoralizing," said Trask, whose team faces Memphis (3-0-1) on Sunday. "… Usually at that point you feel like it’s not your night and you just kind of say, ‘Well this stinks, we’ll look forward to Sunday.’ And that’s where the guys showed good heart."
UW’s reshuffled defense – freshman AJ Cochran, a starter at center back, was out with a concussion – survived some shaky moments in the final minutes of regulation, but couldn’t do the same in the second overtime session as the Anteaters (5-0-0) continued to ratchet up the pressure.
Trask was unhappy with a lack of communication in his team's marking on a throw-in in the buildup to Pitts’ decisive strike. The Badgers failed to properly deal with the resulting ball into the box and paid for it.
"It's just attention to detail in those critical moments," Trask said. "It probably cost us against Virginia (which beat UW 4-2 last Sunday) and we felt it cost us tonight, at least on the last goal."
Still, UW’s growth from last season, when it went 4-13-3, was evident. UC Irvine beat the Badgers 1-0 early last season "and they never even had to get out of first gear," Trask said. But it would have been much more enjoyable for Trask to acknowledge that improvement after a positive result.
"We’ve come a long way, it’s tough to be critical of the guys," he said. "… But we just aren’t tough enough in those moments."
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Wisconsin |
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UC Irvine |
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UC Irvine – Enrique Cardenas 46
UC Irvine – Enrique Cardenas 51
Wisconsin – Nick Janus (penalty kick) 52
Wisconsin – Chris Prince (Joey Tennyson, Tomislav Zadro) 78
UC Irvine – Everett Pitts 106
WISCONSIN: Ciro Martinez; Trevor Wheeler, Arnel Zahirovic, Colin Mani, Kyle McCrudden; Paul Yonga, Blake Succa, Tomislav Zadro, Nick Janus; Chris Prince, Josh Thiermann. Substitutes: David Caban, Joey Tennyson, Jerry Maddi, Jacob Brindle, Derek Pitts.
UC IRVINE: Andrew Fontein; Jonathan Rivas, Marco Franco, Jimmy Turner, Norby Rodriguez, Christian Hernandez, Miguel Ibarra, Enrique Cardenas, Tarek Morad, Everett Pitts, Victor Calderon. Substitutes: Syd Tom, Christopher Santana, Memo Licona, Lester Hayes III.
Saves: W 8 (Martinez 7, Team 1), UCI 2 (Fontein 2). Shots: W 8, UCI 25. Fouls: W 15, UCI 15. Corner kicks: W 3, UCI 11. Offsides: W 3, UCI 3. Discipline: UCI – Rivas (caution, 52); UCI – Pitts (caution, 57); W – Mani (caution, 83); UCI – Team (caution, 92); W – Zahirovic (caution, 92); W – Janus (caution, 94); UCI – Hayes III (caution, 94); W – Thiermann (caution, 95). Att. — 510.
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