Wisconsin (5-5-2) took on Minnesota (8-2-0) in the classic border battle match-up on a cold and rainy night at the McClimon Sports Complex. At the end of the long and much-delayed evening, the Gophers came out on top, 2-1, in an overtime victory over the Badgers.
Wisconsin was looking to continue its Big Ten hot streak against the highly-touted Minnesota squad, but a converted Gophers' penalty kick in the final two minutes of the first overtime period put a blemish on the Badgers' perfect Big Ten record.
The first half saw the two teams drawing even with five shots each. Minnesota started off fast with a strike from 35 yards out that struck the crossbar, and was eventually smothered by Wisconsin sophomore goalkeeper Michele Dalton.
It was Wisconsin, though, that got on the board first. In the 24th minute, sophomore midfielder Meghan Flannery came up with the lone Badger goal, coming directly off a corner kick for the second time in the past three games.
The second half was a different story. Minnesota bombarded the Wisconsin goal with 13 shots compared to Wisconsin's three, and maintained possession for the majority of the half.
Unable to keep up their solid play for the full 90 minutes, the Badgers finally relented and conceded a goal in the fifth minute of the second half. Coach Paula Wilkins said putting together a full game is something her squad needs to work on.
""Again, I think we were inconsistent, Wilkins said. ""Obviously in the first half I thought we did better but once we scored I don't think we continued to play and do what we needed to do,"" Wilkins said.
Tied 1-1, the two rivals headed into overtime.
The first overtime period looked as though it was going to end without much action, until finally, with less than two minutes remaining, the Gophers broke through the Wisconsin defense and drew a penalty kick. Dalton was unable to make the save and was the game ended. The result was a disappointing end to a promising start.
The Badgers will look to improve their Big Ten record when they travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes (7-3-0) this Sunday.
In regards to the match, Wilkins said there are a few things the team can improve on. ""I think we need to put a full 90 [minutes] together and work on the consistency of our passing and movement off the ball, and I don't think we've done that yet,"" Wilkins said.
