MADISON, Wis. – It was a perfect homecoming for the Wisconsin men's soccer team on Saturday night as the Badgers defeated Grand Canyon, 3-1, in front of a fired up home crowd with nearly 1,400 fans.
The seniors looked right at home at McClimon Soccer Complex, with all three seniors netting the three goals that led UW (1-0-2 overall) to victory over GCU (0-3-0).
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Senior
Mark Segbers wasted no time, putting one away in the fifth minute for his first goal of the season. Fellow senior Chris Mueller set up the goal with the perfect dish to Segbers to open the scoring.
But returning All-American Mueller wanted in on the scoring action in the first half, netting his own first goal of the season in the 35th minute. Mueller looked sharp in his first home appearance, collecting plenty of good chances and commanding the midfield.
Senior
Mike Catalano sealed the deal right out of the gates in the second half, scoring his second goal of the season in the 48th minute of action on a solo run.
GCU got on the board in the 65th minute when Niki Jackson used the assist from Marco Adonso to lob it in for the Lopes' lone goal.
Mueller accounted for six of the Badgers' 14 total shots, including two shots on goal. Segbers, fellow senior
Tom Barlow and sophomore
Noah Leibold logged two shots each.
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Wisconsin outshot Grand Canyon, 14-8, and held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Senior
Philipp Schilling held down the net for the Badgers for all 90 minutes, recording two saves.
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Straight from the Pitch:
Head Coach John Trask
On what the team was focused on:
"The guys played pretty well last week out of region, that's always tough when you go away from home, I know they love playing at McClimon in front of our fans.
"We put some plays together tonight, that's what the game breaks down to. Solid defensively and it's nice to see that we held them to eight shots.
"I have a lot of respect for Grand Canyon's program. Schellas Hyndman is a legendary coach. We knew he and his team would be a tough test tonight but our guys played well."
On what the game foreshadows for the season:
"We're 1-0-2 right now … we start the Big Ten this coming Friday at Michigan, and then a very tough game against Northwestern back here on the Big Ten Network the following Wednesday. The out-of-conference stuff hopefully prepares you for the Big Ten, and we will have a whale of a test against those guys in Ann Arbor."
Up Next: The Badgers hit the road again for their first Big Ten road test and conference opener at Michigan on Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus and as always fans can follow live updates on Twitter (
@BadgerMSoccer).
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