INSIDE
MEN'S SOCCER
BY JEREMY WODAJO
@BADGERMSOCCER
SCHEDULE (13-4-2)
THIS WEEK
NCAA tournament
Thurs. Milwaukee
7 p.m.
Sun.
Winner at Notre Dame TBA
Dance fever: Wisconsin
earns berth in Big Dance
UW to battle Milwaukee at home on Thursday
he Wisconsin men's soccer team has seen its fair
share of dark days since
its last postseason berth in
1995.
To put that into perspective, the last time UW appeared in the NCAA tournament, the 'World Wide Web'
was four years young and Bill
Clinton was serving his first
term in office.
T
60
//
VARSITY November 21, 2013
That 18-year drought
ended Monday, as the 19thranked Badgers saw their
name appear on the 2013
NCAA bracket.
To make the accomplishment even sweeter, UW was
granted a first-round home
match and a chance to once
again extend the nation's longest home unbeaten streak.
"A long waiting period for
the guys on the team as well as the staff,"
UW head coach John Trask explained.
"To get rewarded with our body of work
and be in the NCAA Tournament after 18
years here at the University of Wisconsin, it's more than exciting."
To fuel the excitement even more,
Thursday's match at the McClimon Complex (7 p.m.) will also feature another
team from the state of Wisconsin, the
Milwaukee Panthers.
The Badgers played Milwaukee to a
1-1 draw at Engelmann Field in midOctober, but look to get over the hump
this time around in front of their home
crowd.
"It just shapes up for a great game,
and it's what the NCAA Tournament is
all about," Trask said. "You've got rivalry
games all over the country that will be
happening. I think it shapes up for just
an excellent night of soccer."
All of the ingredients are there to
make an NCAA tournament run: leadership from 13 seniors, the highest scoring
offense in the Big Ten, a hunger to make
even more history.
Wisconsin has waited nearly two decades for an opportunity to make another run at a national title, similar to what
it did in 1995. And Trask believes his
team's best days are still ahead of them.
"I think there's more in this team,"
Trask said. "I've said it consistently to
them. I'll say it publicly. I still don't think
we've seen the best soccer out of this
group of players."