The University of Wisconsin’s women’s soccer team took down one of their most formidable foes this season last night in No. 11 Penn State.
The game ended in a 1-0 score with the sole goal coming off the leg of freshman forward Cameron Murtha. Murtha capitalized off a free kick header with the assist going to Sammy Kleedtke for her fifth goal of the season.
Women’s soccer: Badgers dominate Hawkeyes in final road challenge
For Murtha, the goal — which was arguably her most important of the season — came in the 51st minute to give Wisconsin (12-4-2, 6-3-2 Big Ten) the emotional victory heading into the Big Ten tournament. Despite this being her first year on the team, the moment was not too sizable for the young forward.
“I still had to stay in the game and I just wanted the rest of the team to be able to focus because anything can happen in 30 minutes, so it was awesome for a second and then I was back in it,” Murtha said.
While appropriate for Murtha to temper her expectations, she could not have had a much better defense to protect her lead. Caitlyn Clem was able to record her second straight shutout and ninth of the season to secure the win for the Badgers. The defensive play aided Clem greatly in this contest as the keeper only needed to make one save on the night.
Murtha also noted her excitement to compete in postseason play.
“I think our team is looking really good right now and we’re very motivated so going into the tournament,” Murtha said. “I expect us to do really well and hopefully we’ll make NCAAs too.”
Men’s soccer: Wisconsin to take on non-conference in-state rivals
With both their offense and defense firing on all cylinders the past couple games, Wisconsin could make a run in the Big Ten tournament and beyond. After struggling for parts of conference play, the Badgers have outscored their last two opponents 4-0 while outshooting them on goal 16-5.
Though the win against Penn State (10-4-3, 6-2-3 Big Ten) was significant for morale, their victory Wednesday did not improve Wisconsin’s standings for the Big Ten tournament. The Badgers have secured the six seed and will compete Sunday against the three seed Minnesota in Westfield Indiana.
The Badgers will hope to have similar performances going forward as they did last night. In what has been a long season full of ups and downs for the Wisconsin women’s team, it appears as if they are hitting their stride at the perfect time.
