By: Stephen Wagner
MADISON, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Coming off a quality draw against the 20th-ranked (Topdrawersoccer.com) Wright State Raiders, Green Bay continued its strong play in Madison, Wis., against in-state rival Wisconsin. The Phoenix found itself down 2-0 in the early stages of the match, but three-straight goals from the feet of Audi Jepson, William Nordenstrom and Cheenuj Shong propelled the Phoenix (2-5-2, 0-1-1) to a 3-2 victory over the Big Ten team at the McClimon Complex.
Wisconsin (2-7-0, 1-1-0) took advantage of its opportunities in the early phases of the match, finding the back of the net on its first two shots in the contest from the feet of Conner (13th minute) and Segbers (19th minute).
After allowing the early advantage, the Phoenix buckled down and worked its way back little by little. The first glimpse of a comeback came from the team leader in goals, Jepson, in the 31st minute of play. Jepson collected his third goal of the season after Shong played him the ball, marking the second time this season the two have connected to find the back of the net.
After cutting the deficit in half, the Phoenix continued to press its rival and turned in the tying strike in the 49th minute when Jepson passed the ball to Nordenstrom who was able to work through the backline and beat the Wisconsin keeper low for the equalizer.
With 40 minutes remaining in the contest, Green Bay found itself even with Wisconsin for the first time since the 13th minute. The mindset, however, did not change for the storming Phoenix offense, as the game-winning goal was turned in by Shong moments later in the 56th minute when the midfielder was able to find the net from 25 yards out and garner Green Bay's first advantage of the match.
Holding a 3-2 advantage over the Badgers with time on its side, Green Bay was able to thwart the remaining Wisconsin attacks and secure the 3-2 win over its rival.
"It was a tail of two different halves tonight," head coach Jeremy Bonomo said. "We simply didn't show up in the first half and our work rate wasn't good enough. When you're up against a Big Ten Team, you must be ready to play from the kick off. We made a few adjustments at halftime and our guys really turned it on in the second half showing what we are capable of if we put our best effort forward. I'm very proud of our guys tonight with the resilience they showed and the brand of soccer they played. It's hard not to notice what we are doing in Green Bay. Exciting times lie ahead."
Green Bay finished the match with 13 shots, five of which were placed on goal. Wisconsin's offense was able to fire off 16 shots and place nine on the mark, but was only able to get a pair past Phoenix keeper Kyle Ihn, who finished the match with seven saves.
Jepson directed the Green Bay offense in the match with four shots, one assist and one goal. Vincent Nguyen also made his presence known in Madison, Wis., by firing off three shots and placing two on the mark.
The Green Bay men's soccer team will return to action this Saturday in Green Bay, Wis., when it hosts Alumni Day at Aldo Santaga Stadium against Belmont at 7 p.m.
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