The University of Wisconsin women's soccer team (2-3-1 Big Ten, 8-3-1 overall) began Big Ten play with a disappointing 0-3-1 start; however, with wins over Purdue (2-3, 6-5) and Indiana (7-3-1, 2-2-1) last weekend, the Badgers have begun the quest to resurrect their season.
Wisconsin's first win of the weekend came Friday at Purdue. Junior forward Katy Lindenmuth scored in the 10th minute to give the Badgers the early lead. From there, the UW defense stepped forward and held off the furious Boilermaker attack.
The Badger defense bent, giving up 12 shots, but never broke, as freshman goalkeeper Lynn Murray recorded the clean sheet.
\Our defensive play, especially in the second half, was huge,"" UW Head Coach Dean Duerst said. ""Purdue really cut loose, but we stood firm.""
Two days later, it was Wisconsin who cut loose as the Badgers drilled Indiana 5-2 in Bloomington. Leading the barrage was sophomore midfielder/forward Allison Preiss, who scored two goals and set up another in the win.
At halftime, the Badgers led 2-0, but the Hoosiers cut the deficit in half 10 minutes in. Less than four minutes later, senior defender Molly Meuer ghosted in on a corner kick to head home what would ultimately prove to be the winning goal.
With the wins, Wisconsin moved out of the cellar and into a tie for the eighth spot in the league. Since the bottom three teams in the conference are excluded from the Big Ten tournament, the wins in Indiana were invaluable for Duerst's squad.
""You need to win games on the road in the Big Ten to finish in the upper part,"" Head Coach Dean Duerst said. ""[With the past two wins] , we've proven we can win in this league.""
Wisconsin returns to Madison for a pair of vital games at home against Minnesota Friday and Iowa Sunday.
The Gophers and Hawkeyes are currently 11th and 10th respectively, and with their current position in the league, the Badgers cannot afford any slip-ups against conference bottom-feeders.
Luckily for the Badgers, the staunch defense displayed against Purdue and the offensive explosion against Indiana proved that UW has what it takes to move up in the Big Ten rather than down.
