To get a sense of the level of trust that exists between University of Wisconsin men’s soccer coach John Trask and goalkeeper Philipp Schilling, see the penalty kick shootout that delivered a conference title.
No, not the fact that Schilling made a critical diving stop on one of Indiana’s penalty attempts in the Big Ten title game Sunday, although that would be enough for most.
Not even that Schilling stepped up to the spot himself and coolly delivered a goal just underneath the crossbar, where no goalkeeper was going to stop it.
The faith that Trask has in his goalkeeper as a player and a leader came a few minutes before, when he essentially put the keys to the shootout in Schilling’s hands.