Baggot: NCAA berth a year in the making
November 15, 2017 | Men's Soccer, Andy Baggot
Last year’s heartbreak fueled the Badgers’ drive to qualify this season
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — The fourth-floor conference room in Bennett Hall was filled with optimistic people associated with the Wisconsin men's soccer team.
They were gathered 12 months ago to see where the Badgers would be slotted in the 48-team NCAA tournament.
UW players and coaches felt reasonably confident of their inclusion given they'd tied for second in the Big Ten Conference regular season and advanced to the championship match of the league playoffs before falling to perennial powerhouse Maryland.
One by one the brackets were filled.
One by one the faces in the room sagged in painful disbelief as the field, sans Wisconsin, was assembled.
Chris Mueller, who led UW in goals, assists, shots and points as a junior midfielder/forward, remembers leaving the building hearing teammates question the wisdom of the selection committee while rehashing the positive aspects of their 11-4-4 season.
"It was a moment we took and soaked it in," he said. "It was tough."
The response was immediate and profound.
"The first thing we did is we got back to work," Mueller said. "We used that feeling to keep driving us."
Wanting to leave no doubt, the Badgers won their first Big Ten Tournament championship in 23 years and returned to that same conference room Monday to see their NCAA tournament hopes fulfilled.
The pursuit... Begins. #Badgers
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerMSoccer) November 13, 2017
A cheer went up when it was revealed that Wisconsin (10-4-5 overall) will host Illinois-Chicago (11-5-3) in a first-round match Thursday at the McClimon Complex at 7 p.m.
The survivor will advance to face 12th-seeded Notre Dame (11-6-2) on Sunday in South Bend, Indiana.
It marks the first time since 1995 that the Wisconsin men's and women's soccer teams qualified for the national tournament in the same season.
The UW women, fresh off a 5-0 opening-round victory over Toledo that improved their overall record to 14-5-2, play Friday at top-seeded South Carolina (16-2-1) at 5 p.m.
"We're definitely not satisfied," Mueller said of the men's first NCAA tournament assignment since 2013. "That was a goal of ours."
UW men's coach John Trask said his veteran-laden club responded admirably to the postseason snub last November.
"Adversity tests people," he said. "You go out and keep getting better at the things you need to get better at."
Take it all in. A moment we'll never forget #Badgers
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerMSoccer) November 12, 2017
Self-improvement is a concept the Badgers have embraced for a while now, especially the seven seniors.
They arrived during a rebuilding phase. The Badgers were fresh off winning 14 of 21 matches in 2013 while advancing to the second-round of the NCAA tournament.
Trask said significant turnover in '13 led to the incoming freshmen being "asked to do some things that were a bit unfair" and that "maybe they weren't quite ready for it."
The Badgers went 3-12-3 in 2014 and were 5-11-3 the following season before putting themselves on the fringe of the postseason.
"It's been a grind," Mueller said of the process. "All those moments were driving factors for us. They drove us to what we are today."
UW lost one-goal matches to powers such as Duke, Indiana and Maryland and Michigan during the regular season, but turned the tables multiple times during the playoffs.
Wisconsin opened the Big Ten tournament winning 3-1 at Maryland before thumping Michigan 4-0 in the semifinals.
That gave way to an overtime duel vs. Indiana that was decided by penalty kicks 4-2.
Remember when our keep made easily one of the best PKs. Yeah, us too. ????
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerMSoccer) November 13, 2017
Trask said his club "stepped through that door" with the win over Maryland and played withering defense to knock off Michigan and Indiana.
"I wasn't surprised at what happened this weekend," Trask said.
Neither was Mueller, a two-time all-Big Ten first-team selection.
"Right now there's the most belief in each other that I think I've ever seen," he said. "We don't feel like we're going to lose any games. We feel like we can beat anybody.
"The belief is there."
"We're a team on the pursuit of greatness and a team on the pursuit of redemption" @mikecatalano1 #Badgers || #OnWisconsin
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerMSoccer) November 14, 2017
Mueller said the moment of truth for the Badgers might well have come in a quiet conference room in the shadow of Camp Randall Stadium. Grand expectations were dashed by cruel reality.
"Maybe the most defining turning point," he said.
"It's a great feeling, obviously, something we've been working toward for four years to at least get a shot.
"We're excited, but we're not satisfied with getting in. We want to make a serious run."
