Tag: UW soccer

Wisconsin men’s soccer defeats second ranked opponent this season

Wisconsin men’s soccer defeats second ranked opponent of season

There’s something special brewing with the 2024 Wisconsin men’s soccer team.

The No. 8/7 Badgers trounced the No. 12 UCLA Bruins 4-1 Monday in their first conference match of the 2024 slate. The win marks the team’s second victory over a ranked opponent this season after UW took down No. 16 Kentucky 1-0 on Sept. 6.

Freshman sensation Dean Boltz scored his eighth goal of the season to put the Badgers up 1-0 in the 24th minute. Six minutes later, senior forward Kevin Andrews scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-0 before midfielder Trip Fleming, Wisconsin’s No. 2 scorer, made it 3-0 before halftime at the 40th minute.

Wisconsin would ultimately cruise to a 4-1 finish to remain undefeated at home. The team has allowed just six goals in seven games this season and boasts a +16 goal differential at home this season.

Wisconsin will return to the pitch on Sept. 21 with a match against unranked Viterbo University. After that contest, the Badgers’ final eight games of the regular season will come against Big Ten opponents.

Wisconsin men’s soccer rises again in national poll

Wisconsin men’s soccer rises again in national poll

The Wisconsin men’s soccer team rose to No. 8 on the United Soccer Coaches Poll on Tuesday.

The ranking is the highest of any UW men’s soccer team since 1995, the season Wisconsin defeated Duke in the NCAA title game.

Wisconsin most recently earned the No. 10 spot on the national hierarchy, another milestone it hadn’t earned in seven seasons.

UW currently owns a 5-0-0 mark after defeating Marist, Drexel, UIC, Marquette and #16 Kentucky. With help from superstar freshman Dean Boltz, head coach Neil Jones has captained his group to its hottest start since 2001.

Boltz, a native of Palatine, Illinois, leads UW with seven goals and 17 points through five appearances. Midfielder Trip Fleming has accumulated 11 points in 443 total minutes played thus far.

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The buzz surrounding this iteration of the Badgers’ platoon on the pitch is substantial. Wisconsin has allowed just two goals through five contests and scored 16, a sizable 14-tally differential entering a slew of conference opponents to close its season.

The Badgers will play the unranked Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Maryland on Sept. 13. Wisconsin will return home to square off against the #6 UCLA Bruins in what figures to be its toughest bout of a young slate thus far.

Wisconsin men’s soccer starts 5-0-0 for first time since 2001

Wisconsin men’s soccer starts 5-0-0 for first time since 2001

The Wisconsin Badgers’ men’s soccer team took down the No. 23 Kentucky Wildcats to earn their first 5-0-0 start to a season since 2001 on Friday.

UW entered the contest ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, a feat the crew had not achieved in seven seasons.

With four home wins against Marist, Drexel, UIC and Marquette under its belt, the team traveled to Lexington, Kentucky for its first road match of the season.

Midfielder Noah Glorioso ultimately pushed the Badgers ahead 1-0 against the Wildcats in the 78th minute after scoring on a crossing pass into the box. The goal arrived three minutes after superstar freshman Dean Boltz’s header was ruled offsides by officials.

UW and goaltender Matisse Hébert held strong for the game’s final 12 minutes to complete the shutout. The triumph sealed his third shutout of the season, the most among any goaltender in the Big Ten.

The win in Kentucky was also Wisconsin’s first against a ranked opponent this season. The Badgers will square off next against the unranked Maryland Terrapins on Friday, Sept. 13 in College Park at 7 p.m. CT. A match against the #6 UCLA Bruins follows on Sept. 16 in Los Angeles. 

Wisconsin men’s soccer lands in top 10 for first time since 2017

Wisconsin men’s soccer lands in top 10 for first time since 2017

The Wisconsin Badgers’ men’s soccer team owns the No. 10 spot in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll.

The crew’s undefeated start to its season landed it a top 10 position in the poll for the first time in seven seasons. This also marks the first time Wisconsin’s men’s soccer program started 4-0-0 since 2002.

West Virginia owns the No. 1 spot in the ranking with No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Denver, No. 4 Western Michigan, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 Marshall, No. 8 Pittsburgh and No. 9 Northwestern ranked ahead of Wisconsin at this stage of the season.

A large part of UW’s success on the pitch rests on the shoulders of freshman Dean Boltz.

Boltz entered Wisconsin’s Sept. 2 match against Marquette as the nation’s leading scorer with six goals and 14 points in three appearances. That’s nearly five points per output.

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The Badgers ultimately beat the Golden Eagles 2-1 courtesy of a late Boltz header in the 86th minute. His seven goals are the most by any UW freshman since 2005, per UWBadgers.com.

Wisconsin owns triumphs over Marist, Drexel, UIC and Marquette thus far. The teaem will square off against #23 Kentucky on Sept. 6 and #10 UCLA on Sept. 16 in its first ranked tests of the season.