Wisconsin Soccer Central

As a whole, Wisconsin's NCAA Division I men's soccer programs have enjoyed nearly unprecedented success this fall –  the teams are a combined 47-18-9, a 69.6 winning percentage that is the best for the quartet since 1979.

When the 48-team NCAA tournament bracket was announced Monday, Marquette, the University of Wisconsin and UW-Milwaukee all were part of the field, the first time that more than one state team has made the tournament in the same year.

Thursday night will mark another first, as the Badgers play host to the Panthers at the McClimon Complex in the first NCAA match between two state sides.

Here's a look at the UW, UWM and Marquette teams, along with Cardinal Stritch, which is making its second straight appearance in the NAIA men's tournament.

NCAA DIVISION I

UW-MILWAUKEE PANTHERS
Coach: Kris Kelderman, second season at UWM (23-10-4), third overall (34-17-5).
Record: 15-2-2 overall, 5-2-0 (second). Last 10 games – 7-2-1.
Schedule: First round – UW-Milwaukee at Wisconsin (13-4-2), 7 p.m. Thursday at McClimon Complex, Madison. Second round – Winner at third-seeded Notre Dame (12-1-6), 6 p.m. Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
How they qualified: Defeated top-seeded Illinois-Chicago 2-0 in the Horizon League tournament final Sunday to earn an automatic berth.
NCAA tournament history: 4-7-1 in eight appearances (1979, '80, '90, 2001, '02, '03, '04 and '05).
By the numbers: Goals for – 39 (2.05 per game). Goals against – 12 (0.63). Shutouts – 10.
Stat pack: Scoring leaders – M Laurie Bell, jr. (13 goals, 4 assists, 3 game-winning goals); F Rami Younes, jr. (3-7); F-M Robbie Boyd, sr. (3-5); F Aaron Horvat, so. (5-0); M Luke Goodnetter, jr. (2-6); M Declan Rodriguez, so. (3-2); D James Ashcroft, sr. (3-2); D Andrew Stone, sr. (3-0). Goalkeeper – Liam Anderson, fr. (0.61 goals-against average, .846 save percentage, 10 shutouts).
From the touchline: Received votes in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 and ranked eighth in the Great Lakes Region poll. ... Stone (Green Bay Preble) and Rodriguez scored in a 16-minute span early in the second half as they avenged a 1-0 regular-season loss to UIC with Sunday's victory. Kelderman didn't use any substitutes in the match. ... Unbeaten in six games since the loss to UIC, a streak that started with a 1-1 draw against Wisconsin on Oct. 23 in Milwaukee. ... Other loss was to 2-1 to UW-Green Bay in double overtime on Oct. 8, snapping their 10-game unbeaten streak to start the season (9-0-1). ... Bell was named the Horizon Offensive Player of the Year and Co-Player of the Year. He is tied for seventh in the nation with 13 goals. ... Anderson, who was a New Zealand youth international, ranks 10th the NCAA in goals-against average. ... Sophomore M Patrick Hodan (Milwaukee Marquette) is the second-leading scorer for Notre Dame with six goals and five assists.

WISCONSIN BADGERS
Coach: John Trask, fourth season at UW (20-29-10), ninth overall (74-53-36).
Record: 13-4-2 overall, 4-2-0 Big Ten Conference (second). Last 10 games – 7-2-1.
How they qualified: At-large berth.
Schedule: First round – UW-Milwaukee (15-2-2) at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. Thursday at McClimon Complex, Madison. Second round – Winner at third-seeded Notre Dame (12-1-6), 6 p.m. Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
NCAA tournament history: 8-4-0 in five appearances (1981, '91, '93, '94 and '95). Won national championship in 1995.
By the numbers: Goals for – 38 (2.00). Goals against – 23 (1.21). Shutouts – Six.
Stat pack: Scoring leaders – M-F Nick Janus, sr. (9-2, 4 GWG); M-F Jacob Brindle, jr. (8-1, 3 GWG); M Tomislav Zadro, sr. (4-8); M Drew Conner, so. (1-7); F Nick Jones, fr. (2-3); D-M Paul Yonga, sr. (2-3); F-M Chris Prince, sr. (1-5); D AJ Cochran, jr. (3-0); F Toni Ramadani, sr. (2-2). Goalkeeper – Max Jentsch, sr. (0.81 gaa, .706 sp, 3 shutouts).
From the touchline: Ranked 19th in the NSCAA Top 25 and seventh in the Great Lakes Region. ... Most wins for program since 1995. ... Unbeaten in their past 13 matches (12-0-1) at the McClimon Complex, the longest active home winning streak in Division I. The visiting last team to beat the Badgers was none other than UW-Milwaukee, a 1-0 winner over UW on Oct. 10, 2012. ... Lead all-time series against the Panthers 15-14-7 and have lost only once in the past eight meetings. ... In the first meeting against UWM this season, Bell converted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute, but Brindle scored on a header just 22 seconds later to forge a tie. ... Jentsch (Hartland Arrowhead) made four saves in the draw against the Panthers in his first start of the season – he's started all five games since. ...  Zadro, who sat out the 2012 season recovering from a torn ACL, ranks ninth in the country in assists per game (0.53) and became the first UW player to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. ... Cochran was the conference Defensive Player of the Year, also the first time a Badgers player has claimed that award.

MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES
Coach: Louis Bennett, eighth season at Marquette (54-73-21), 18th overall (190-136-38).
Record: 12-5-2 overall, 6-2-1 Big East Conference (tied for first). Last 10 games – 7-2-1.
How they qualified: Defeated fourth-seeded Providence 3-2 in the Big East tournament final Sunday to earn an automatic berth.
Schedule: First round – Seeded ninth nationally, received bye. Second round – Akron (16-3-1) or Indiana (8-11-2) at Marquette, 5 p.m. Sunday at Valley Fields, Milwaukee.
NCAA tournament history: 0-2-0 in two appearances (1997 and 2012).
By the numbers: Goals for – 29 (1.53). Goals against – 17 (0.89). Shutouts – Nine.
Stat pack: Scoring leaders – F C. Nortey, so. (9-2, 5 GWG); M Louis Bennett II, fr. (4-5); F Adam Lysak, sr. (4-2, 3 GWG); F Coco Navarro, fr. (2-5); D Paul Dillon, sr. (1-6); D Axel Sjoberg, so. (2-2); D Jake Taylor, fr. (2-2); M Sebastian Jansson, jr. (2-1); F Kelmend Islami, jr. (0-5). Goalkeeper – Charlie Lyon, jr. (0.86 gaa, .807 sp, 9 shutouts).
From the touchline: Ranked 11th in this week's NSCAA Top 25 poll and tied for third in the Great Lakes Region. ... Nortey, who was sidelined last fall recovering after having surgery on both knees, has 18 goals in 38 career matches. ... Lysak (Milton) scored two of his four goals in the Big East semifinals and final, recording the game-winner in each match. ... Lyon, who has played every minute in goal over the past two seasons, was the Big East Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, while senior M Bryan Ciesiulka was the conference Co-Midfielder of the Year. ... Will be seeking their first win over Indiana (0-9-1) or Akron (0-8-4); however, they haven't played the Hoosiers in a competitive match since 1996 and haven't faced the Zips since 1998. ... Indiana and the Golden Eagles tied 3-3 in an exhibition match in August. ... The Hoosiers, led by former UW coach Todd Yeagley, are the defending national champions but needed to win the Big Ten tournament to earn an automatic berth.

NAIA

CARDINAL STRITCH WOLVES
Coach: Kevin Brennan, third season (35-17-6).
Record: 12-5-2 overall, 8-1-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (first). Last 10 games – 6-2-2.
How they qualified: Earned automatic berth as CCAC regular-season champion.
Schedule: First round – Cardinal Stritch at fourth-seeded Ashford, Iowa (13-4-1). Second round  – Winner vs. 13th-seeded Baker, Kan. (14-5-2) or Midland, Neb. (18-1-2), Dec. 2 or 3 in Montgomery, Ala.
NAIA tournament history: 0-1-0 in one appearance (2012).
By the numbers: Goals for – 35 (1.84). Goals against – 19 (1.00). Shutouts – Six.
Stat pack: Scoring leaders – M Josh Roberts, jr. (9-3, 4 GWG); F Peter Bannister, so. (5-6); M Ignacio Baeza, so. (3-4); M-F Christian Pedroza, so. (3-3); D Carsten Stockreiter, fr. (2-2); D Oliver Bell, jr. (3-0); D Tom Shepherd, jr. (1-3); M Wolfgang Pilarski, fr. (2-1). Goalkeeper – Jim Jones, jr. (0.93 gaa, .788 sp, 6 shutouts).
From the touchline: Received votes in this week's NSCAA Top 25 poll. ... Eliminated 8-7 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 tie with Columbia (Mo.) in its national tournament debut last fall. ... Bell was the CCAC Player of the Year. ... Roberts recorded a goal or assist in five straight matches before last week's 4-2 loss to Holy Cross (Ind.) in the CCAC tournament semifinals. ... Baeza, who is from Santiago, Chile, scored once in nine appearances for Butler as a freshman last year. ... Ten state natives on the 25-player roster. ... All but six players for 17th-ranked Ashford are international players. Sophomore goalkeeper Ben Cleveland (Stoughton) is a member of the Saints' JV team.