A steady snow Saturday night in Madison led to an interesting night of soccer for the No. 9 Badgers. Even veteran head coach Paula Wilkins said she had never seen anything similar.
“I had games where it had snowed but they cleared the field and it stopped snowing,” Wilkins said. “It was the first time that it was a constant snow throughout the game and a good maybe a little less than an inch on the field. I had never had that before.”
Yet, the weather did not slow down Wisconsin as they rolled to a 2-0 win over DePaul to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Badgers notched two first half goals, both from senior Cara Walls.
The first goal came with 32 minutes left in the half on a cross from junior Kinley McNicoll, who dribbled up the left side of the snow-covered field and sent a beautiful pass to Walls. With several defenders around her, Walls leaped and headed the ball past the DePaul keeper Alejandria Godinez to put the Badgers on top.
Eight minutes later, redshirt senior Kodee Williams worked her way to the left side of the box and sent a pass to Walls, who slid and kicked it over the keeper’s head.
“I honestly thought the conditions weren’t that bad. Obviously, they weren’t ideal but I honestly thought they were going to be a lot worse,” Walls said.
DePaul’s high powered attack was a difficult matchup for the Wisconsin defense. The Blue Demons leading goal scorer, Abby Reed, had three great chances in the first half, all of which were stopped by redshirt senior goalkeeper Genevieve Richard.
With 27 minutes to play, Reed took a shot from point blank range in the box that Richard knocked down right in front of her, preventing any rebound chances.
DePaul earned another chance just two minutes later when Reed received a pass in the box, setting her up for a one-on-one breakaway. Reed attempted to find the lower left side of the net, but Richard was able to make the save with her leg.
“[Richard] came up huge I thought. If one of those goes in, its a different game,” said DePaul head coach Erin Chastain. “A couple of those chances were very early in the game, I think it would have set maybe a different tone. There’s a reason she was the Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year.”
The Blue Demons had one more great chance in the first half when Reed took a pass into the box and beat the Wisconsin defense, opening up another one -on-one with Richard. Richard again denied Reed with a diving save, knocking the ball away from the goal with her left hand.
Another stellar effort gave Richard her 16th shutout of the season. With this mark, Richard set the individual school record.
“I’m just glad I did my job,” Richard had to say.
After scoring two first half goals, the Wisconsin attack backed off in the second half and played a more conservative game. The Badgers' defense was smothering, holding the Blue Demons to just one shot on goal in the second half. DePaul never had a great scoring chance in the second half. Wilkins was pleased with the team’s overall effort.
“We knew we were going to be faced with some challenges they brought and it was well-proven in this game. I think with the conditions and their spirit it was a well fought game,” Wilkins said. “Huge respect to them. I’m just excited that we’re going to keep dancing with this group.”
The Badgers earned the right to leave the frigid cold and will travel to Tallahassee, Florida next week. They will take on Central Florida (17-4-0) November 21 at 3:30 p.m.
“I think the players are excited to be in a little warmer climate. It will be a good thing,” Wilkins said. “It’s definitely not going to be a vacation for us. They’re going to be focused and they have some goals in mind. It’s going to be very exciting.”
