The University of Wisconsin men’s soccer team (4-3-5) continued their season Monday night with a 1–1 non-conference draw against Bradley University (4-3-5).
UW entered the clash as heavy favorites, ranked more than 50 spots ahead of Bradley in NCAA’s men’s soccer RPI. The cardinal and white hoped to use the game as a tune-up to help them finish the Big Ten season strong.
Head coach Neil Jones selected a nearly identical starting lineup to the one that faced Michigan State University last Friday. The lone change was Ryan Quintos playing for Ryan Keefe.
The Badgers dominated the Braves for the first 25 minutes of the game. They out-shot the Braves 6-to-0 and barely let Bradley complete a pass on the offensive end.
UW’s best sequence came in the 17th minute. Thomas Raimbault played a delightful through-ball to Birgir Baldvinsson, whose cutback found Tim Bielic in the center of the box. Rather than shoot, Bielic made the unselfish play and tapped the ball to a wide-open Trip Fleming, but Alex Grow, the Bradley goalkeeper, just managed to tip Fleming’s shot over the bar from point-blank range.
Minutes later, the Badgers’ pressure finally paid off on the scoresheet. Raimbault’s lofted corner reached Keefe at the back post, who headed in his first goal of the season.
The Badgers continued to outplay the Braves for the rest of the first half, but could not create any further separation on the scoreboard. Regardless, they still took a 1–0 lead into the break after their most dominant half of soccer this year.
UW’s stranglehold on the game started to loosen in the second half. Bradley got their second shot of the game in the 53rd minute, but Djibognihou ‘DJ’ Koulai’s long-range effort sailed harmlessly over Nate Crockford.
In the 60th minute, the Braves’ captain Charlie Dickerson tied the game up. The cardinal and white failed to clear a Bradley long throw and Dickerson took advantage by flicking the ball over his head, above the outstretched arm of Crockford and into the net. This was Dickerson’s first goal in his Bradley career.
Seconds later, the Badgers threatened to regain their lead. Raimbault collected the ball at the top of the box and fired a low-range effort past Grow, but the ball bounced off the post and away from the net.
The Braves created the last big scoring chance of the match. Grow launched a long goal kick that was flicked on by a Braves midfielder toward Koulai, who was left unmarked by the UW defense. But, Crockford made himself big and blocked Koulai’s breakaway effort.
Neither side created much more for the rest of the game, as the match finished 1–1. This was disappointing for Wisconsin, who outshot Bradley 13–4 and controlled the play throughout.
The Badgers look to bounce back on Friday with a tough conference matchup on the road against Rutgers University.
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