UW Falls in Fierce Match Against Minnesota, 1-0
October 28, 2007 | Women's Soccer
After 90 minutes of competitive play, the Wisconsin women's soccer team was defeated, 1-0, as it was unable to find the back of the net against Big Ten Conference rival Minnesota. The loss dropped the Badgers to 6-10-1 overall and 2-7-0 in the conference, while the Gophers improved to 9-7-1 overall, and 5-4-0 in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin's first scoring opportunity came in the 23rd minute when Tricia Krombach (Appleton, Wis.) took a shot from 20 yards out which sailed just over top of the net.
In the 30th minute, Kaitlin Wagner took a free kick for Minnesota which was saved by Wisconsin's netminder, Jamie Klages (Coronado, Calif.).
Minnesota was able to capitalize on its next scoring opportunity when Lindsey Schwartz sank a header into the back of the net. The game-winning goal came in the 40th minute leaving the Gophers up 1-0 to end the first half.
Coming into the second half strong, Taylor Walsh (Madison, Wis.) took a free kick from 30 yards out for Wisconsin which sailed slightly right of the net. Although the Badgers were unable to capitalize on the scoring opportunity, they continued to fight for possession of the ball.
In the 85th minute, the Badgers attempted to tie the game when Sheri Ferron (Brookfield, Wis.) took a shot from the far right side which landed just outside of the net leaving Minnesota on top, 1-0 to end to the game.
'We needed to initiate things against them to cause them to back up and I do not think we did that,' head coach Paula Wilkins said. 'They (Minnesota) put a lot of pressure on us which made it hard to get numbers forward and to keep possession of the ball.'
The Badgers took eight corner kicks during the game, while the Gophers tallied six. Wisconsin was out-shot 12-to-8 by Minnesota.
Klages recorded two saves for the Badgers, while Minnesota netminder Lindsey Dare recorded zero.
Wisconsin will compete in its last regular season game on Friday, Nov. 2 as it hits the road to take on Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
'I am going to work as hard as I can to make sure our focus is on the next game at Northwestern,' Wilkins said. 'Every game is going to matter to us and we want to make sure that we represent Wisconsin as best we can every time we step on the field and I hope that the players buy into that.'
