MADISON, Wis. - The Western Illinois men's soccer team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin Saturday (Aug. 27) for its regular season opener and fell to the Badgers of Wisconsin, 1-0.
The Fighting Leathernecks' all-time record against Wisconsin falls to 4-7-1. The last three contests (2008, 2009 and 2011) between the two teams all ended 1-0.
"We had good moments tonight in both halves and played as good as we have in a second half of any of the games we have played this season (including two exhibition games)," said head coach Eric Johnson. "Even after we gave up a goal midway through the second, our team didn't give up."
The Leathernecks and Badgers played to a scoreless first half with the Badgers tallying 10 shots to Western's six. All six of the Leathernecks' shots came from different members of the squad.
After 45 minutes of action in net, freshman goaltender Andre Nichols faced three shots on goal, stopping all of them. On the Badgers' side, Florida Atlantic University transfer Ciro Martinez stopped two WIU shots.
The game remained scoreless into the second half until Wisconsin's Kyle McCrudden scored the Badgers' first goal of the 2011 season at the 67:25 mark. McCurdden found the back of the net after a scramble six yards out in front of the net.
"The ball must have deflected off of at least five players before finding the back of the net," said coach Johnson.
Wisconsin finished the contest with 18 total shots, while the Leathernecks recorded 14. Six Leathernecks finished the contest with a team-best two shots.
Nichols finished with four saves and Martinez had three.
The Badgers improve to 1-0 on the season, while Western falls to 0-1.
Coach Johnson said even though the team is still thinking about the 1-0 loss, they are excited to return home for Monday's tilt.
"We have tomorrow to recover and get our legs ready. After tonight we have a better idea of how this team works together. Our field is in good shape, there is always a comfort level when playing at home and we really want to start the home portion of our schedule off on a positive note."
The Leathernecks will play host to the Drake Bulldogs Monday (Aug. 29) at 5 p.m. for their 2011 home opener.
