The Wisconsin Badgers women’s soccer team (5-3-3) began their three-game slate with their 500th win in program history against Minnesota (8-2-0), but their trip out West to visit a pair of California schools did not prove to be as fruitful.
Minnesota
Wisconsin hosted Minnesota on Sept. 22 at the McClimon Soccer Complex in a border battle where the Badgers handed the Gophers their first loss of the season on a lone goal scored in the 15th minute.
The goal came from defender Peighton Steffen, a transfer from Creighton University. It was Steffen’s first goal with the Badgers after her shot on goal was blocked by BYU earlier in the season.
Minnesota outshot Wisconsin in the first and second half, though none of their two shots on goal made it past goalkeeper Drew Stover, who kept a clean sheet. Despite the Gophers overpowering the Badgers in terms of corner kicks, with eight compared to Wisconsin’s four, their attempts proved futile against Stover.
What the Badgers lacked in overall shots they made up for in accuracy with a little more than 30% of their shots on goal.
UCLA
Wisconsin's Stover led a complete shutout against the UCLA Bruins in a 0-0 draw during the first stop of the Badgers’ trip to the West Coast. The Badgers handed UCLA its first draw in conference play and the first in the two teams' match-up history.
Stover truly proved as a standout for the Badgers. The Junior goalkeeper’s saves made up for the inability of the Badgers to get through the Bruins’ defense. UCLA had six shots on goal throughout the game, all of which Stover was able to block, keeping the score at 0-0.
The Badgers’ offense struggled, amassing only two shots total with none of them on goal. Both attempts came from senior Ashley Martinez, a notable offensive force from the Badgers. But even Martinez was unable to come close to finding the back of the UCLA net. The Bruins had seven corner kicks throughout the game while the Badgers had none, adding to their offensive weaknesses throughout.
This is the first game in the history of the two teams that Wisconsin has not lost to UCLA, and it also handed the Bruins their first draw during conference play.
USC
After a scoreless first half, it seemed the Badgers might be able to pull off a shutout against the third-ranked team in the Big Ten. A series of goals by USC in the second half, however, proved impossible for the Badgers to overcome during their 0-3 loss on Sunday.
USC, who was ranked 24th in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, outshout the Badgers in both halves. Fifty percent of those shots were on goal. While Wisconsin's Stover was able to save five of those shots, the goalkeeper allowed three goals that eventually gave USC the win.
Again, the Badgers struggled to put up shots against USC. While shots had been a strength of the team in the first half of the season, they have struggled to put up a significant number of shots in their last few games. In total, the Badgers had eight shots for the game, none of which were on goal.
Wisconsin also struggled to capitalize on the four corner kicks they were granted in the first half, as USC only had one. The final nail in the coffin was a penalty on defender Ella Ottey in the 87th minute, for which USC was granted a penalty kick that they turned into a goal.
This game was the teams’ first meeting in 20 years, the last time being a 1-0 Badgers win.
The Badgers are now 5-3-3 for the season and 1-2-2 for conference play, which puts them at fourth in Big Ten standings. Next Sunday, the Badgers will return to Madison to host Nebraska, currently the lowest-ranked team in the Big Ten.
Gabriella Hartlaub is the former arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has also written state politics and campus news. She currently is a summer reporting intern with Raleigh News and Observer. Follow her on Twitter at @gabihartlaub.
