The Wisconsin women's soccer team (6-6-1) is now 0-4 in Big Ten play after losing both matches this past weekend to the Ohio State Buckeyes (5-4-2) and No. 25 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-5-0).
Both Ohio State and Penn State are undefeated in the Big Ten with the Buckeyes on a five-game winning streak.
The Badgers faced the Buckeyes Friday evening at OSU's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium where they lost 0-4. Senior goalkeeper Jamie Klages had to be on her toes the whole evening, pounded by shots on goal throughout the night. Klages had nine total saves but it was not enough as the Buckeyes put together a 16-shot attack against the Badgers.
Eight different Buckeyes combined for the shots on goal. OSU senior forward Lisa Collison scored twice in the first half, with an assist by junior Ashley Bowyer. Both of Collison's goals were scored within the first 30 minutes of play. Collison is just one goal away from being the all-time Ohio State goal scoreing leader in Buckeye women's soccer history.
The Badgers picked up their game in the second half and tried to pick themselves out of the two-goal deficit. Wisconsin had just four shots on goal in the first half and more than doubled its shots in the second half to nine.
We look again at the youth of our team, and I'm trying to figure ways to coach them to make them a little more consistent,"" head coach Paula Wilkins said.
Freshman Laurie Nosbusch had two shots on goal while freshman teammates Erin Jacobsen, Leigh Williams, Meghan Flannery and sophomore Kellyn Flanagan also put up shots.
Ohio State kept their intensity high and were relentless against the young Badgers. In the 56th minute, sophomore Lauren Beachy took a shot on goal which was stopped. The rebound, however, was put in by freshman Paige Maxwell for her third of the season. With just seven minutes left in the game, the Buckeyes kept hitting the Badgers hard with a 12-yard goal by sophomore Laura Roberts, assisted by senior Caitlin Colfer.
The Badgers had to quickly recover before seeing the Nittany Lions Sunday afternoon at Penn State's Jeffrey Field. It was a homecoming of sorts for Wilkins, who coached at PSU for 14 years. Penn State wasted little time in the first half, finding the back of the net three times.
In the eighth minute, senior Zoe Bouchelle assisted junior Katie Schoepfer, who made a straightaway shot into the goal. Nearly five minutes later, freshman Emma Thomson assisted Schoepfer again who blasted a shot into the right corner of the net. Before heading into the half, the Nittany Lions added another goal in the 28th minute by sophomore Danielle Toney, who hit the right corner of the goal.
The second half was scoreless for both teams but Nosbusch and Williams each had two shots on goal. Klages had seven saves for the afternoon, while junior standout goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher had three.
The Badgers will face Indiana Friday, Oct. 10 at the McClimon Soccer Complex at 7:00 p.m.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
