With a 2-1 win over UW-Milwaukee (8-8-1, 5-1-0), the UW-Madison women’s soccer team (9-8-1, 4-6-0) extended its winning streak to two games and earned a key victory over an in-state rival.
“It’s always a big game because of the rivalry and it’s always great to get [the] result,” head coach Dean Duerst said. “There is a little bit extra on the line any time you play Milwaukee, Green Bay or Marquette. We want to win that state battle.”
The Badgers struck first, as forward Marla Froelich served a free kick to midfielder Molly Meuer, who knocked the ball past UW-Milwaukee goalkeeper Kerri Saint Aubin to give the Badgers an early 1-0 lead with 37:09 remaining in the first half.
“It was really important to get an early start, but we didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” Meuer said. “In the second half we didn’t play very well. We didn’t finish the game out. We wanted to get a couple more goals and put them away solidly, and we didn’t do that today.”
The Panthers answered with 18:56 remaining in the first half, when forward Elizabeth Chudy beat Wisconsin goalkeeper Stefani Szczechowski with a shot from beyond the penalty area to tie the game at 1-1.
In the final 10 seconds of the first half, midfielder Kara Kabellis capitalized on a scramble in front of the UW-Milwaukee net to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead at the half. After the Badgers’ corner kick hit the crossbar, Kabellis pounced on the loose ball and slipped a shot past St. Aubin to score the game’s deciding goal.
“We got one with six seconds left,” Duerst said. “If we go in 1-1 at half, the pressure is on to score.”
Though the Badgers earned a victory, the offense failed to capitalize on numerous scoring chances in the second half, allowing the Panthers to stay in the game.
“I’m very disappointed with how we didn’t put them away,” Duerst said. “We should have scored a few more goals today. I was elated about the victory, but not happy about the lack of goal production.”
However, the Badgers made their set plays count, scoring off of a free kick and a corner kick.
“We need to continue to be dangerous on those,” Duerst said.
Though the offense struggled in the second half, the Badgers’ defense turned in a solid performance, limiting the Panthers to one shot on goal.
“Our defense really did well overall,” Duerst said. “[UW-Milwuakee] had one shot, and that means your defense is not giving them any opportunities.”
Though she faced only one shot, Szczechowski earned her second consecutive win. After allowing four goals in the two victories, the talented freshman has earned the starting nod against UW-Green Bay in the final game of the regular season Nov. 2.
“We still feel confident in both keepers,” Duerst said. “Stefani (Szczechowski) has just been a little more consistent and is just more ready right now. She has shown strides of improving, and it’s starting to come together.”
The Badgers will look to extend their winning streak to three games heading into a Big Ten tournament game against top seed Penn State. In the final game of the regular season, the Badgers will take on UW-Green Bay, another in-state rival. The Badgers have never lost to UW-Green Bay, posting a dominant 9-0 record against the Phoenix.
“We have two wins now underneath us, and we have one more to go before we play Penn State,” Meuer said. “We really need a win on Sunday to keep this going.”