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 Both the UW-Green Bay and the University of Wisconsin men's soccer teams had halves with the wind at their backs Wednesday night.
But not only did the Phoenix get a goal during their 45 minutes playing with the significant breeze, they also got one while going against the wind.
Junior forward Alonso Flores scored in the ninth minute and freshman forward Kirby Allen (Appleton North) added a goal against the run of play – and the winds that gusted up to 35 mph – in the second half as Green Bay stopped the Badgers 2-0 in a non-conference match at Aldo Santaga Stadium.
"We had the same thing against Michigan State," UW coach John Trask said in a news release. "We had the wind in the first half and we got a goal."
But unlike their 1-0 win over the Spartans four days earlier, the Badgers (7-5-2) couldn't find the net during their time with the wind and were shut out for the first time this season. It was the second straight clean sheet for the Phoenix (7-5-1).
"One thing we did heading into this week was really challenge our guys to come up big on the defensive side of the ball and take pride in our defense," Green Bay coach Kris Kelderman said. "The chances that we've been creating offensively, we know we can do on the defensive side of the ball as well and that's really starting to show."
Green Bay had a 9-0 advantage in shots in the first half and went ahead on a set piece. Senior midfielder Stuart Grable (Neenah) bent in a corner kick that Flores headed past UW sophomore goalkeeper Max Jentsch (Hartland Arrowhead) for his third goal of the season.
"It was extremely tough playing," Phoenix junior defender Andrew Stone (Green Bay Preble) said. "It was a story of two halves, with us having the ball the entire time with the wind at our backs in the first half and then them controlling the second half."
The Badgers fired off seven shots after halftime, but junior keeper Ryan Wehking stopped both shots UW put on frame for his 17th career shutout – two behind the program record set by Adam Stikl (West Allis Hale) from 2005 to '08.
Green Bay put the game away in the 77th as freshman William Donovan played a long ball that Allen finished for his team-best fourth of the year.
"In the first half, we knew we had to be aggressive with the conditions and then had to do some adjusting in the second half, but thankfully were able to add that goal to put the icing on the cake," Kelderman said. "It was just a great effort by our team.
"Every win is a big one, but there's probably a little more meaning in this game with it being an in-state rival. Wisconsin is a good team and they've proven that over the past couple of weeks so obviously the win is a big one."
Jentsch made all four of his saves in the first half for the Badgers, who lead the Big Ten Conference heading into Sunday's match at second-place Northwestern (7-4-3, 2-0-1 Big Ten). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill., and the game will air live on the Big Ten Network.
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