The No. 15 Badgers (6-0) had momentum behind them as they headed to Washington this weekend for a pair of road games against quality opponents - the Washington Huskies (4-1) and the Portland Pilots (3-2).
The first matchup Friday against Washington was a battle of unbeatens. Both the Huskies and the Badgers were 4-0 and looking to continue their streak through the weekend. Wisconsin’s combination of savvy scorers and disciplined defenders proved to be too much for Washington to handle, as the Badgers dominated 4-0.
It started with a 10th minute, unassisted goal by redshirt senior forward Kodee Williams on a beautiful chip over the keeper, but her teammates were eager to join in on the scoring. In the second half, they were able to do just that, adding three more goals by three different scorers.
One of the biggest contributors was junior Kinley McNicoll, who scored a goal of her own in the 48th minute before assisting on the next two goals via crosses to junior defender Brianna Stelzer and senior forward Cara Walls.
It was more of the same for Wisconsin on Sunday against Portland. Entering the game, Portland was ranked 22nd despite a 2-2 record after facing tough opponents early on in the season.
After their big win against the Huskies, the Badgers came out firing on all cylinders, racking up 11 shots in the first half and connecting on three of them for goals. It started right away with a ninth-minute cross from Williams to Walls that found the back of the net, and they kept the pressure on from there.
McNicoll was set up for a 25th minute penalty score that was able to elude the goalkeeper. Just over 10 minutes later, Williams was able to help another teammate, redshirt junior midfielder Marisa Kresge, score as Kresge finished a cross from Williams that deflected off a defender.
This may prove to be a season-defining weekend for the Badgers as they came into Washington and absolutely dominated two strong opponents.
The girls are 6-0 as they begin Big Ten play this weekend and they are showing no signs of slowing down.
