After Friday night's devastating 2-1 double overtime loss to Brigham Young, Wisconsin head coach Dean Duerst stressed the need to get off to a quick start Saturday, and for one of his younger players to step up.
Enter Taylor Walsh.
It took the redshirt freshman just over a minute to answer both of her coach's calls. Walsh netted her first of two goals just 1:11 into the contest, sending No. 15 Wisconsin on its way to a 4-0 rout of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2-4-2). The victory earned the Badgers a split in the Big Toe Invitational at McClimon Soccer Complex.
\We just put a zap to some of their energy,"" Duerst said of the fast start. ""We needed an early goal. We needed Taylor to step up and score one.""
Walsh's first goal, her first of the season, was assisted by sophomore Ann Eshun. Junior Allison Preiss assisted on Walsh's second, which gave the Badgers a 2-0 cushion at 26:28.
""I was pretty much in disbelief. I was so excited,"" said Walsh, a Madison native who played club soccer with many of the UWM players in high school. ""I know probably half the people starting on the field tonight, so it's always fun to have a little personal vendetta going. It's exciting just to go out there and play strong against an in-state school.""
Wisconsin iced the game with a pair of late goals from Katy Lindenmuth and Allison Preiss. Lynn Murray was also solid in goal for Wisconsin, making five saves.
Friday night's 2-1 loss to upstart Brigham Young (8-0-0) may not have gone Wisconsin's way, but it did provide plenty of excitement and even some controversy.
With the score tied 1-1 with just minutes left in the second overtime period, Wisconsin senior Amy Vermeulen was taken down by a BYU defender, but no foul was called. After gaining possession of the ball, the Cougars immediately sent a long ball the length of field, which was run down by BYU's Jamie Beck. Beck beat Murray and found the back of the net, sending the Badger faithful home stunned and frustrated.
""All day long we were getting called for a lot of fouls, and then what we thought might have been one didn't go our way,"" said Duerst, adding that the non-call alone didn't decide the outcome.
""I think the bottom line is that we had two or three chances that didn't go our way. It was a very exciting game, and anybody could have won,"" he said.
After BYU took a 1-0 lead into halftime, junior Kara Kabellis knotted the score with just 15 minutes remaining. The game remained tied until BYU's controversial game winner.
Making matters more difficult for Wisconsin on Friday was the absence of senior defender Jessica Ring, who was serving a one-game suspension for a red card she received last weekend. Midfielder Marisa Brown, however, did an outstanding job filling in as a back, and was named the Big Toe Invitational's Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Walsh and Kabellis were also named to the Big Toe Invitational All- Tournament Team.
UW hits the road next weekend to take on Big Ten conference rivals Iowa and Illinois on Friday and Sunday respectively.
