The Wisconsin women’s soccer team refuses to go down without a fight.
The Badgers kept their Big Ten tournament hopes alive this weekend with a 2-0 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Heading into Friday’s matchup with Iowa, Wisconsin sat in 10th place, five points behind Northwestern for the final tournament berth.
With only three games remaining — and a potential of nine points to be earned — the Badgers knew it was win or go home.
However, following Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Minnesota, Wisconsin is no longer in control of its own destiny.
In Sunday’s matchup, Wisconsin failed to come out strong and the first half saw the Badgers struggle to maintain possession offensively and fight to stop the Gophers’ offensive attack.
"I thought we came out flat," head coach Paula Wilkins said of the loss. "As a coach, I need to do a better job of motivating them, especially in such a big game."
Minnesota scored the eventual game-winner in the 40th minute on a header off the crossbar by forward Lindsey Schwartz. For Schwartz, the goal increased her team-leading total to eight and was her second game-winner in as many contests.
Despite the goal late in the first half, the Badgers did not give up. The team came out with increased intensity in the second half and fought hard to the end, firing up seven shots in the period.
"I think everyone put it out there," senior co-captain Ann Eshun said. "Everyone worked hard, but we could not come up with it. We all wanted to get a win, especially on senior day."
For Wisconsin, the team’s lack of offensive output was once again its downfall. In addition to failing to net a goal, the Badgers did not even force the Gophers’ goalkeeper to make a save.
"We didn’t even get a shot-on-goal," Wilkins said. "When we get our opportunities on offense, we need to be able to finish them off. We did not do it again today and it is something that we need to go back and refocus on this week."
Friday was a different story, as the Badgers came out strong against the Hawkeyes, netting the eventual game-winner in the 20th minute off the foot of midfielder Krysta Liskevych — a goal that took a moment to register with the sophomore.
"[Krysta] didn’t really realize that she had scored at first," junior forward Taylor Walsh said. "Either way, she will take what she can get; that goal was big for her confidence level."
Wisconsin maintained its strong play throughout the first half, as the defense did not allow Iowa to post a shot-on-goal in the half.
"[The first goal] gave us a bit of momentum," Wilkins said. "Anytime you can keep the momentum going [through the end of the half] with a lead, it is very important."
In the second half, the Badgers and Hawkeyes battled for nearly 37 minutes before junior forward Tricia Krombach tallied the final goal for Wisconsin, her fourth of the season.
"Tricia played really well tonight," Walsh said. "She got in line and created some chances, which was good. It was something that she has needed to do."
Friday’s win over Iowa, coupled with a Northwestern loss to Minnesota put Wisconsin exactly where it hoped to be after the matchup. The Badgers moved within two and three points of Northwestern and Iowa, respectively.
However, Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Minnesota left Wisconsin sitting at six points while Northwestern defeated Iowa 3-0 to move to 11 points — 2 points out of reach for the Badgers.
The silver lining for Wisconsin is the fact that all hope is not yet lost. With Iowa losing both games over the weekend, the Badgers remain in the race.
"We have one game left and we need to put this loss behind us," Eshun said. "We’ve come a long way together and we have one more game to dig it out and just see what happens."
Senior co-captain Katy Meuer hopes the loss and the Badgers’ postseason chances will be motivating factors for the squad this week in practice.
"I think everyone will realize how important this week is and that should motivate them to practice harder than they have all year," Meuer said. "We have to play like there is no tomorrow, because pretty soon there will not be."
