A series of first-half miscues were too much to overcome for the Wisconsin women’s soccer team (11-6-3, 8-2-1 Big Ten) Sunday afternoon at against Ohio State (11-5-3, 5-4-2 Big Ten), leaving the Badgers to speculate their chances at an NCAA tournament bid in the upcoming week.

First Half

Very little separated the two sides in the opening 15 minutes as both offenses were able to generate extended possession in the attacking third, but were unable to test the opposing keeper with a legitimate threat on goal. Senior forward Marisa Kresge lead the charge early on for the Wisconsin offense with three shots in the first 20 minutes, but Ohio State keeper Devon Kerr was dialed in and prevented any threat of scoring.

While normally a disciplined unit, the Badgers’ defense struggled with turnovers in the opening half and committed a costly error in the 28th minute when Ohio State drew a controversial foul in the attacking box. To the surprise of both benches, the referee called for a penalty kick, which was promptly knocked in by Ohio State’s Michela Paradiso for a 1-0 lead.

Capitalizing on the momentum, the Ohio State came right back in the 33rd with another breakthrough against the Badgers backline for an insurance goal, this time on an assisted header from Nicole Miyashiro to Sammy Edwards. With the defense again getting caught out of position, no one was able to account for Edwards making a run to the left side of the box as she placed the ball just beyond the outstretched hands of Wisconsin’s Caitlyn Clem.

While the stat sheet may have assumed a strong offensive showing in the first half for the Badgers, the team’s six shots on goal were mostly slow rollers and routine saves right into the hands of Kerr. The effort marked the third straight home game in which Wisconsin failed to score a first-half goal.

Second Half

After dominating possession and putting up a series of near-miss attempts, the Badgers attack finally found an answer against Kerr in the 70th minute on one of their nine corner kicks of the match. Assisted by defender Brianna Stelzer, the ball cut through the final line of defense and reached forward Nikki Greenhalgh for the tap in goal, her third of the season.

The Badgers essentially camped out in the attacking third for the final 20 minutes of the game, and while it came down to the final minutes, they simply couldn’t find the net despite two separate gifts from the Ohio State defense.

The first came with 11 minutes left when Rose Lavelle beat the defense and fired a shot that deflected into the middle of the box to Kresge. With the Buckeyes entirely out of position, Kresge aired the open chance over the crossbar. The second opportunity came in the 84th minute when a shot off the crossbar deflected back into the box to Lavelle, who soared another close-range open net shot over the top of the goal.

Being able to finish opportunities ultimately separated the two sides. Wisconsin had 22 shots to Ohio State’s 10, but couldn’t take advantage for the second straight match.

Quotable

Wisconsin head coach Paula Wilkins on the controversial penalty in the box:

“I couldn’t really see from where I was, but that’s the game of soccer. Referees call things, and we can only control what we can control. I wish we had a better response from it, but it’s just what happens in games.”

Wilkins on addressing her team after the game:

“There’s no words in that moment. You really can’t tell them anything that’s going to make anything feel better. I thought in the last 35 minutes that we created enough chances to get an equalizer, and that’s what you want to see from your group moving forward.”