No one can doubt the size of the Wisconsin women’s soccer team’s heart. The team has had a treacherous season placing them last in the Big Ten, yet they continue to fight for wins.
And this weekend the Badger squad’s results were no different, dropping games to Northwestern and Marquette.
Friday, Northwestern (5-9-1 overall, 3-6-1 Big Ten) took UW (4-10-3, 1-7-2) into overtime once again this season, pulling out the 1-0 victory in the 90th minute.
Junior goalkeeper Kelly Conway closed the door on nine Northwestern shots, notching three saves, but was beaten by Wildcat forward Ashleigh Garmon.
“I watched the [NU] film and we should have scored,” said UW head coach Dean Duerst. “It should have never gotten to overtime. We just did not put that game away.”
Defense has kept UW in nearly every game this season, and the weekend’s games showed nothing different.
Wisconsin held off Northwestern for 90 minutes and held Marquette scoreless for just over an hour before the Golden Eagles placed their first shot of the game past the outstretched arms of Conway for the deciding score of the contest. Marquette, ranked 18th nationally, was outplayed by UW throughout the first half before being able to pull out the victory 2-0.
“I thought we put in a great first half; [we] really dominated,” said Duerst. “You want to get a goal in the first half of a game like this.”
That first half goal was nearly realized when Lauren Schmidt lined up a rebound for a shot in front of the net, only to have it bounce off the upper woodwork.
“Schmidt has hit more crossbars than I have ever seen in my life,” said Duerst.
In honor of Senior Day on Sunday, Duerst made it a special moment for all the seniors by starting all six, including goalie Jodi Zilinski in place of Conway.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” said Zilinski. “I was so honored. I’m going to remember this night for the rest of the night.”
Zilinski, who played only the first half, had a defensive front that didn’t allow Marquette’s offense to take a single shot in the first 45 minutes. The UW defense was stellar throughout the game, allowing only two shots in the second half, both of which resulted in goals.
Golden Eagle forward Anne Ioder bagged the game’s first goal at 64:07 and MU put the icing on the cake with a penalty kick goal from Kristen Jensen at the 77-minute mark. Jensen was awarded the penalty kick after she and Allie Rogosheske tangled in front of the net.
“[It was] really [an] unfortunate PK call too,” said Duerst. “I don’t know [what the call was]; holding or something. As the game was going on players where [holding] all over the place.”
After the penalty kick, UW didn’t merely decide to bag it but went back after Marquette, getting enough quality scoring chances to allow for the hopes of an extra period.
At the end of the game, the six seniors walked out to mid-field to not only take pictures, but also to bond and reflect before leaving from their last home game of their careers.
“It was a special day for our seniors and I started every one of them,” said Duerst. “They played great.”
