The Badgers entered Saturday’s road contest with recent success away from home, going 4-1-1 in their last six road games, but were unable to get anything going in a 1-0 loss to Indiana (3-3-1 Big Ten, 10-4-2).
Wisconsin (1-3-3, 4-10-3) was outshot 17-5 on the day, including a 7-1 deficit in shots on goal, as its two-game point streak was snapped. The offense had been finding the back of the net with more consistency of late, but the Badgers have now been shut out seven times this year.
After a scoreless first half, freshman midfielder Austin Panchot provided the game’s only goal early in the second. The score came on an impressive sequence in the 52nd minute, as defender Grant Lillard sent a cross a few yards in front of the net to junior Tanner Thompson, who was able to head it over to Panchot for the goal.
The Badgers were able to buckle down defensively after that point, as they did not allow a shot on goal for the final half hour of play. They were not able to get much on the offensive side though, other than a corner kick later in the half, and never really threatened to get the equalizer. The Hoosiers secured their third straight win, moving all the way up from eighth to fourth place in the Big Ten standings.
Wisconsin will now return home to take on Northwestern in its regular-season finale. Despite having just one win in conference play, the Badgers sit just three points out of fifth place in the Big Ten. Kickoff is slated for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the McClimon Sports Complex.
