On Top of the World
Roaring through Boulder and cementing their legacy as the top program in the sport, Wisconsin polished off the only thorn in its side in the last three seasons, and claimed the first back-to-back National Championships since the only program with more titles ruled all the land.
From the legacy handed to them by the '02 National Runners-Up and '03 National Championship teams, both firsts in program history, the core of '04 Freshmen Matt Rebholz, Will Lokke, and Brandon Malacek, built an even more impressive run. Joined in '05 by newcomers Drew Mahowald, Kevin Riley, Tom Annen, Jim Foster, Chris Doede, and Tim Pearce, these Hodags would spend their last Nationals Sunday on the sideline watching. Adding Shane Hohenstein in 2006 brought Wisconsin to the summit, but as is the case with many great teams, they may have needed to lose first. The group managed to channel its energy into a 55-1 record in '07 and a second National Championship.
Entering this tournament, with their long list of experienced talent all in tow, Wisconsin had turned in a dominant Regular Season. 40 wins against 3 losses. Tournament titles at Mardi Gras, Trouble In Vegas, and The Stanford Invite. Continued domination of Lake Superior Sectionals and further evidence they have taken control of the rivalry with Carleton, winning a third straight Central Regional Title.
The rest of the field was mostly filled with question marks. The spring was marked with surprises, from Arizona in Las Vegas, British Columbia in Palo Alto, and Michigan in Austin, to continued success from Texas and Georgia, down years from Stanford and Oregon, and two very different halves of the season for Colorado .
Only top-ranked Florida, behind Kurt Gibson and Brodie Smith, had turned in a season to challenge Wisconsin, in spite of getting caught up in the early season's major storyline of unpredictability. After allowing Arizona to claim headlines in February, Florida had righted the ship. After claiming its first Centex title that included a Quarterfinal win over Wisconsin it rolled through most of the Series, that included a 17-5 Regional Final win over Georgia, and allowing only 7 and 6 goals to Arizona and Carleton on Saturday. It set up a fitting conclusion to a season that saw many new faces among the College elite, but similar foes holding most of the trophies.
The thrilling 2008 season, with all its exciting twists and turns, ended in a whimper. What was to be the final salvo in a career long struggle of two dominant groups of young men never materialized. Even a decidedly pro-Wisconsin crowd never produced the roars of a day earlier with the home team one step from returning to the Finals.
In a sloppy game that lacked all the typical intensity of the rivalry, Wisconsin made all the important plays, controlling the disc with much greater success than their opponent, and capitalizing on an atypically error-prone team. Even with Mahowald sidelined due to injury, Hohenstein was only able to cover one of Florida's dynamic duo, but neither Gibson or Smith were able to isolate a shorter defender in the deep space. Instead, the crosswind affected every deep pass, and Florida caught nothing in stride toward the endzone. Rebholz proved to be the difference early, making most of the deep passes for his own team, often late in the stall count, and almost always drawing a foul on the backhand pass.
The day before, Wisconsin had also sucked the energy out of the complex, much to its delight. Drawing the hometown team in a rematch of last season's National Championship game, Wisconsin went down early, but not for long, storming back to eliminate Colorado 15-10. Though not taking place on the showcase field, the decade's best programs drew the biggest crowd and the loudest roars while Colorado held the advantage. But methodically and decisively, Wisconsin controlled the action, and positioned themselves for Sunday.
Unlike the past two seasons where Wisconsin rolled through the early stages, the first two days of this tournament weren't a breeze. En route to the Finals in '06, Wisconsin allowed 5, 4, 10, 5, and 7 goals in the tournament's first two days, Texas the only team to post double digits. Last season saw an even more dominant run up to Sunday, allowing 4, 5, 6, 9, and 6 goals, with Oregon tallying the high total among those victims.
Early Friday morning, Stanford nearly sent shockwaves through the entire field, holding a 13-12 lead in the first round of the B Pool, but surrendered the next three goals and Wisconsin was off the hook. Revenge against Pittsburgh was next, and Wisconsin served a cold 15-7 defeat. Heading to the pool's final game, with a round off to recover legs and lungs, Wisconsin used a zone early and Arizona lived up to its reputation, playing loose with the disc. Though many said Arizona's lack of fear may give them a chance, it proved to be their demise, and Wisconsin had another pool win and a Saturday morning bye.
The rest of the results offered a mixed bag. Harvard, like the rest of its pool, had stunned Texas, and North Texas had knocked off Illinois and held off Delaware, so one of the two would be the start of Wisconsin's run through bracket play. However, Colorado had throttled Carleton to hold seed and stay in line for the aforementioned Saturday showdown. North Texas had Harvard on the ropes, but the last seed showed the toughness that had allowed it to break seed, and claimed a 17-15 victory. That would only allow them to be eliminated by the eventual Champs.
By claiming the victories over Colorado and Florida, Wisconsin distanced itself from the other two teams that have sat atop the College Division the last three seasons. It also moved ahead of Stanford, Brown, and East Carolina, the other programs with two National Titles. Their graduating class is among the most accomplished of any in the history of the game.
This Championship season, which until Saturday in Austin, looked like it might be an undefeated record on the way to a repeat, might owe its ending to the results at Centex. Collecting the first check as the winners of National Collegiate Ultimate Series, was bittersweet in March, but now blends perfectly into the glow of May.
The three losses may not put this season in pantheon with 2002 Stanford, 2006 Florida, or their own standard-bearing season in 2007. Instead it is a team that will look a lot like 2004 Colorado, who shared the spotlight for most of the season with California, but roughed up their nemesis in the end to claim the Title. Regardless of where this sits all-time, it is a time that Wisconsin fans will always remember, and one that this team certainly will be proud of.
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