Box Score 
In front of a season-high crowd of 844, the Big Ten opener lived up to the hype packing the Mac on Friday night. After an intense game that ended only after two overtimes, the Wisconsin Badgers (4-4-2) battled hard against the No. 15 Purdue Boilermakers (5-2-2) which ended in a 1-1 tie.
'The crowd was great tonight,' said head coach Paula Wilkins. 'The emotion at the end of the game really helped us. Hopefully they enjoyed it and they keep coming back.'
The game also served as a reunion for junior Taryn Francel who welcomed little sister Tayler, a freshman defender on Purdue. Ten of the sisters' family members also made the trip from California to see the match-up.
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Click here for a sportid=140&storyid=19131"> --> feature on the Francel sisters by Julie McKay of the UW Athletic Communications office.
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The first half was a defensive battle as the Badgers and Boilermakers were unable to convert any of their shots. Purdue led in shots 5-3 with Wisconsin's Michele Dalton making two big saves to keep the game scoreless.
A regrouping at halftime proved to be valuable for the Badgers as they came out aggressive in the second half. Monica Lam-Feist hit a shot that was nudged out the endline by a diving save from Purdue 's goalkeeper, Jenny Bradfisch at 39:20.
Lam-Feist's shot set up a corner kick for UW that would result in the Badgers ' lone goal of the night. Meghan Flannery, who took the corner kick, placed the ball right in front of the goal which was punched by Bradfisch and fell to the back of the net. It was Flannery's first goal of the season.
'I thought we came out the second half and did a much better job,' said Wilkins. 'We put them under a lot of pressure but then we couldn't keep it up.'
The two teams battled back and forth until Purdue was able to knot the score in the 78th minute. Vanessa Ibewuike served the ball from the corner to the 18-yard box. Katie Leinert found the ball placing it just inside the near post to make the score 1-1.
If the game wasn't physical enough, the intensity only continued to rise as the clock winded down. The two teams amassed a total of 32 fouls at the end of regulation as Purdue outshot Wisconsin 17-7 going into overtime.
The Badgers survived the first overtime with the score still tied as Purdue led in shots 4-0. Dalton stepped up making two big saves to bring the game into double overtime.
Wisconsin's defense took control of the second overtime keeping Purdue down to one shot. Alev Kelter had the closest shot of either overtimes at the 107th minute of play from the right side that was denied by Bradfisch who had three saves in the game.
After a hard fought battle, Wisconsin earned its first tie against a ranked opponent this season, after dropping the last three. At the end of the game the two teams had accumulated 37 fouls, a season-high for Wisconsin.
Purdue outshot UW 22-9, with Dalton making six saves. Bradfisch had three saves in the contest.
The Badgers continue Big Ten play when they return to McClimon on Sunday, Sept. 27 to take on 19th-ranked Indiana at 1 p.m.
Julie McKay
Wisconsin Athletic Communications
