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Led by freshman Brooke Ammerman’s five goals, Wisconsin improved to 4-0 this weekend with a series sweep over Syracuse.

Ammerman’s big weekend included a four-goal outing in Saturday night’s 8-0 win and a crucial goal in Friday night’s 3-0 win.

The Badgers found the net right away on Saturday, as junior Kyla Sanders found Ammerman in front of the net just 20 seconds into the game. Only a minute later, sophomore Kelly Nash — filling in for the injured Hillary Knight — found the net for her first goal of the year to give the Badgers a quick 2-0 lead.

Ammerman noted the importance of getting a quick goal on Saturday after they struggled to do so on Friday.

“It helped a lot because we didn’t get another goal until the third period on [Friday], and so when we got that one in the first 20 seconds, it probably shook the goalie’s confidence a little bit,” Ammerman said.

Ammerman’s six goals on the season give her the second-highest total on the team behind Knight’s seven.

Ammerman found the net once more in the first period on an assist from Julia Giles and Alycia Matthews. Ammermans’s third goal came on a two-on-one in the third period, when she caught the Syracuse goalie off-guard.

“I tried to pass it like four times, and I got lucky and caught the goalie cheating and just whiffed, and [the puck] went in,” Ammerman said. “Sometimes it just happens like that.”

The Badgers needed someone to step up, as Knight was out for the weekend. Nash filled in for Knight on the Badgers’ top line and had two goals and an assist for the weekend. Nash has experience on the line and looked good in Knight’s absence.

“There is a lot of pressure once you get moved up to that line,” Nash said after Saturday’s game. “So I just focus on having fun because, obviously, it’s fun playing with [Erica] Lawler and Angie [Keseley].”

Lawler, the team’s senior captain, added a goal Saturday to go along with her team-high eight assists on the season.

Wisconsin head coach Mark Johnson also was pleased with Nash’s performance. “She practiced there all week. She’s gifted; she probably could have scored two or three goals there in the third period. She did well up there.”

Syracuse played the Badgers tough all weekend, and the players and coaches seemed impressed by the first-year program.

“I thought they were a really great team, for the first year, it hard to come in and start a program in Division 1,” said freshman defender Brittany Haverstock.

Senior forward Megan Duggan said she didn’t know much about Syracuse coming in.

“I knew they had girls coming in from all different teams, and I know their coach,” Duggan said. “Coach Flanagan is a great coach. They battled and worked hard. They’re a physical team, big and strong.”

Duggan had a goal and an assist to break the game open Friday night.

The Badgers held the Orange scoreless all weekend, as senior Jessie Vetter and junior Alannah McCready combined to stop 25 shots.

Syracuse goalie Lucy Schoedel was solid on Friday night as she stopped 41 of 44 shots to help keep the Orange in the game. The Badgers struck first when sophomore Mallory DeLuce scored, knocking in a Duggan rebound halfway through the first period.

The second period saw no scoring as Schoedel stopped all 12 Badger shots to keep the lead at one goal. Finally, after nearly 10 minutes of play in the third period, Ammerman scored to make it 2-0. Three minutes later, Duggan rifled a wrist shot over Schoedel’s shoulder to give the Badgers a 3-0 lead.

“[Schoedel] played well; she looked very comfortable, very controlled and poised,” Johnson said. “She controlled her rebounds very well, and again it becomes a very difficult task to score when she is seeing the puck so well.”

Johnson also noted the importance of remaining positive when a team is struggling to score. “At this point in the season, I think one of the things you worry about is [scoring]. You talk to the team about it, and get them to understand that in our sport sometimes the goaltender and the team you’re playing against make it tough to score. The key is not to get frustrated.” Johnson said.

While the Badgers allowed only 25 shots on the weekend and Syracuse never seriously posed a threat to score, the Orange played physically and held their own against a superior opponent.

“They’re a physical team; you know they bring a lot to the ice,” Duggan said. “They’re big and strong, and I think once we realized that and altered our game a little bit, we capitalized on more of our opportunities.”

Next weekend, the Badgers kick off their first road series of the season against Ohio State.