2002 Men's Soccer Final Release
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Wisconsin Sports Information 1440 Monroe Street Madison, WI 53711 WISCONSIN Ph: 608-262-2255 Fax: 608-262-8184 2002 Men’s Soccer Web site: UWBADGERS.COM Final Release Contact: Jessica Burda BIG TEN RUNNER-UP BADGERS WRAP REGULAR SEASON AT .500 THE BADGERS In a suprising twist for the Big Ten standings, Wisconsin and four other Conference 2002 Regular Season schools ended the regular season tied for second place with 3-3 conference records. Overall Record ......................................9-10-0 While Indiana raced to first place with 6-0 record for the Hoosiers and Overall Home/Away ......................5-3-0/3-7-0 Northwestern fell by the wayside with a 0-6 record, Wisconsin joined Michigan, Big Ten Regular Season Record..................3-3-0 Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State all tied up entering the Conference Championships. Big Ten Regular Season Finish ..................T-2nd Highlighting the regular season, the Badgers kickstarted 2002 with three-straight Big Ten Championship Finish ......................T-5th shutouts and a sweep of both the Rocky Rococo-Wisconsin Soccer Classic and the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Classic. Coaching Staff In Conference play, the Badgers knocked off No. 20 Penn State 2-1 on Oct. 6 in Head Coach ..................................Jeff Rohrman addition to later defeating both Michigan State and Northwestern. Both UW’s 1-0 over- Alma Mater ..................UW-Milwaukee, 1986 time loss to Ohio State (Sept. 27) and the 3-2 loss to Michigan (Oct. 20) were nailbiters Record at UW ..9-10-0, 3-3-0 Big Ten (first year) for Wisconsin. The Badgers held the Buckeyes scoreless throughout regulation, while Overall Record..........................................Same Bucky rallied back from a two-goal deficit to tie the Wolverines 2-2 before falling in the Assistant Coach ........................Jon Szczepanski final minutes. Alma Mater ..................UW-Milwaukee, 2001 UW’s contest against Michigan capped a three-game home stretch of five days, Oct. 16-20, where Wisconsin also held No. 11 UW-Milwaukee scoreless throughout regula- Assistant Coach ........................Nick Pasquarello tion, before the Panthers scored a lone goal against the Badgers in the 92nd minute for Alma Mater..........................Wisconsin, 1994 the 1-0 decision. Team Manager ..................................Phil Ayoub Captains ......Valentine Anozie and John McGrady UW ENDS SEASON AT BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS Down 1-0 after an early Penn State goal in the 19th minute, the Wisconsin men’s soccer team barraged the Nittany Lions’ net in the closing minutes of Game Two of the Big Ten STORYLINES Championship tournament, but the Badgers ran out of time and out of season in the • Wisconsin finished its season with a 1-0 loss to first-round loss. eventual Big Ten tournament champions Penn State Penn State moved on to knock off No. 3 Indiana 2-1 with a 4-3 shootout victory followed by a 2-1 decision over Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Game for the at the Conference Championships in State College, tournament title. Both Penn State and Indiana received NCAA bids. Pa., Nov. 14. • The Badgers finished the regular season at .500 HEAD COACH JEFF ROHRMAN and tied for second place in the Big Ten with a 3-3 A Minnesotan by birth and former UW-Milwaukee MVP, in addition to professional soc- record. UW tied Big Ten opponents Michigan, cer player and a top-collegiate recruiter, first-year head coach Jeff Rohrman arrived at Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State for the Wisconsin last January fresh from seven years as an assistant coach at nationally-ranked runner-up honors. Maryland. • The Big Ten named Wisconsin sophomore Nick Now 9-10-0 overall and 3-3-0 in the Conference, Rohrman led the Badgers to a .500 Van Sicklen as a first-team All-Big Ten selection. The record and a Big Ten runner-up finish in the regular season. award is Van Sicklen’s first All-Big Ten honor. The Badgers also earned their first national ranking since 1997 on Sept. 9, while • Three Badgers - Eric Hanson, Joe Anderson and three Badgers earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors and Nick Van Sicklen represent- Valentine Anozie - earned Big Ten Player of the ed UW as a first-team All-Big Ten selection. Week Honors in 2002. VAN SICKLEN EARNS FIRST-TEAM ALL-BIG TEN HONOR • Six Badgers earned Academic All-Big Ten honors: Wisconsin sophomore Nick Van Sicklen, a midfield/forward with the Badger men’s soccer Valentine Anozie, Noah Goerlitz, Eric Hanson, John team, was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection at the men’s soccer Big Ten McGrady, Christian Poppert and Nick Van Sicklen. Championship banquet. The award is Van Sicklen’s first All-Big Ten honor. A Madison, Wis., native and graduate of Madison West High School, Van Sicklen tal - lied seven goals and five assists to lead the Badgers in scoring with 19 points in 2002. He ranks first in both total goals and points on the team, while he is tied with teammate Erol Goknur for most assists. In just two years wearing the cardinal and white for Wisconsin, Van Sicklen’s totaled 10 goals and 10 assists for 30 points. He has played and started 17 of 19 games for UW this year, missing two due to a leg injury. He also was named the Offensive Making it two-straight for the SPREADING THE ATTACK MVP of the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Badgers, the Conference named sopho- Unlike past seasons for Wisconsin, the Classic after Wisconsin posted two more Joe Anderson the Defensive Player Badgers’ 2002 scoring was not an shutouts over Gonzaga and Oregon of the Week for Sept 9. individual effort. State to sweep the tournament held Anderson, the Badgers’ 2001 Most Three UW players - Nick Van Sept. 6-8. Outstanding Freshman, helped lead Sicklen, Phil Doeh and Valentine Anozie Wisconsin to four straight defensive - all hit double-digits in points scored FAN SUPPORT GROWS FOR shutouts to start the 2002 season, as this season, while a total of eight players BADGERS WITH ROHRMAN UW allowed just one goal from a recorded one goal or more during the Under first-year head coach Jeff penalty kick in the first four games. regular season. Rohrman, the Wisconsin men’s soccer Senior co-captain Valentine team ended its season with a 1-0 loss to Anozie’s Offensive Player of the Week FRESHMEN FIREPOWER eventual Big Ten Champion Penn State honor on Oct. 7 completed the Badger Wisconsin’s freshmen class built an at the Conference Championship Nov. trifecta, in addition to marking Anozie’s impressive portfolio in 2002 as seven 14 in State College, Pa. second P.O.W. career award. young Badgers recorded minutes on the However, the Badgers’ record, 9-10- field, while three frosh broke into the 0 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, doesn’t UW CLIMBS TO NO. 22 regular line-up for UW. clearly reflect the success that Rohrman Wisconsin returned to the Division I Leading the way, true freshman and his assistant coaches, Jon national polls on Sept. 9 after the Alec Neal started and played 18 of Szczepanski and Nick Pasquarello, have Badgers earned a No. 22 ranking in the Wisconsin’s 19 total games this year. A begun to build in the program. National Soccer Coaches Association of member of the Badger backline, Neal Most evident in UW fan support, America/adidas standings. The season- talllied his first career point, an assist, the Badger men’s soccer page on high ranking marked UW’s first national against Gonzaga on Sept. 6. UWBADGERS.com experienced a 200 poll position since 1997. Offensively, true freshmen Phil percent increase in hits this past Doeh and Pat Cronan both earned sig- September, as compared to September WISCONSIN’S MVPS nificant playing and starting time. of 2001. Additionally, attendance also The Badgers completed a two-tourna- Doeh ranks second in scoring with grew at the McClimon Soccer Complex ment sweep of MVP honors this year 6-1=13, including UW’s only hat trick of as the Badgers’ crowd of fans grew 50 after cleaning out all four awards at the the season in a 4-3 double-overtime percent from last year’s per-game Rocky Rococo-Wisconsin Soccer Classic win against Illinois-Chicago on Sept 15, average. and the Gonzaga Nike Soccer Classic. while Cronan scored his first career goal Sophomores David Martinez and against Michigan on Oct. 20 and is 1- BADGERS EARN BIG TEN Eric Hanson picked up the Offensive 2=4 overall this season. ACADEMIC HONORS and Defensive Most Valuable Player Six members of the Wisconsin men’s awards respectively at the Rococo BIG TEN NUMBER CRUNCH soccer team earned Academic All-Big Classic, while fellow classmates Nick • Among all Big Ten goalies, sopho- Ten honors this fall with cumulative Van Sicklen and Joe Anderson swept the more keeper Eric Hanson finished third grade point averages of 3.0 or higher. Offensive and Defensive MVP awards in the Conference with 77 saves overall, Proving they’re leaders both on and respectively at the Nike Classic in averaging 4.05 saves per game. off the field, 2002 team co-captains Spokane, Wash. Hanson also tied Michigan’s Peter Valentine Anozie and John McGrady Dzubay for sixth place with five both earned the honor. OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN shutouts overall this season. Fellow senior Christian Poppert Wisconsin’s 2002 team co-captains, also joins his teammates in the acco- Valentine Anozie and John McGrady, • In the front line, true freshman Phil lades, in addition to sophomores Noah led the Badgers by example in 2002. Doeh finished his first season as a Goerlitz, Eric Hanson and Nick Anozie, a forward serving his sec- Badger tied for fifth place in the Big Ten Van Sicklen.