Giving up goals just doesn’t seem to be a concept the No. 15 Wisconsin women’s soccer team understands.
Coming off a dominant home stand that featured four straight wins, 11 goals scored and just one allowed, the Badgers didn’t miss a beat as they took their show on the road to the West Coast for the Husky Nike Invitational in Seattle this weekend.
Game one of the weekend featured a collision between two undefeated UW teams, as the Badgers (6-0-0 overall) squared off against the Washington Huskies (3-1-0) Friday night. Despite firing off five shots on goal in the first half, the Badgers only tallied one goal by redshirt senior forward Kodee Williams in the 10th minute. Williams broke away from the defense and finished off the play with a chip over the goalkeeper into the back of the net for her second score of the season.
A 15-minute break to regroup seemed to be all the Badgers needed to kick it into the next gear. Just three minutes into the second half, the offense got right down to business with a setup from sophomore midfielder Rose Lavelle to fellow junior midfielder Kinley McNicoll for a long-range goal to make it 2-0. The defense, held down by redshirt senior Alexandra Heller and junior Brianna Stelzer, was successful again in limiting the amount of saves required by redshirt senior Genevieve Richard to just three. Stelzer and senior forward Cara Walls recorded two more goals in the win off crosses into the box in the 51st and 75th minutes, respectively, for a 4-0 final. While the Huskies failed to score on the night, redshirt junior goalkeeper Megan Kufeld made some respectable saves throughout the game to keep it within reach for her team during the first half.
Sunday’s matchup against No. 22 Portland (2-3-0) showcased more of the same from the Badgers’ high-powered offense and stout defense. Walls got the scoring started early with a one-timer boot thanks to a perfectly placed cross by Williams in the ninth minute. It was Walls’ sixth goal of the season. Determined to uphold her perfect 2014 goalkeeping record, Richard refused to let a ball cross the line again, en route to four saves on seven total shots that challenged her throughout the day. Desperation from Portland to shut down the Badgers attack led to some costly fouls on defense, the most noteworthy being a call in the box which led to McNicoll scoring her fifth goal of the season in the 26th minute off a penalty kick.
Despite out-shooting Wisconsin 6-4 in the second half after a seemingly nonexistent offensive start to the game, the Pilots joined the growing list of teams that have been shut out by the Badgers this season. Scoring altogether came to a halt after redshirt junior Marisa Kresge finished off a deflected cross into the box during the 36th minute for her second goal of the 2014 campaign.
Eighth-year head coach Paula Wilkins picked up her 70th and 71st career wins at the helm of the Badgers’ over the weekend.
The Badgers will be on the pitch again next weekend for a pair of road games against Michigan State Friday, Sept. 12, and Michigan next Sunday, Sept. 14.
