Box Score

 

The Badgers earned their second win of the season off the foot of Erin Jacobsen Thursday night at the McClimon Soccer Complex. The Badgers (2-1-1) defeated Northern Illinois (1-2-0) in a tough 90-minute battle.

Aggressive play by the Huskies gave the Badgers a chance to make their mark on the scoreboard as they gained a 25-yard free kick in the 29th minute of play. Jacobsen, a sophomore midfielder capitalized on the opportunity to solidify her first goal of the season to give the Badgers a 1-0 halftime lead.

'We decided we were going to kick it and they weren't ready for it, ' Jacobsen explained after senior Krista Liskevych ran over the ball on the free kick.

Continued aggressive play by both parties left the Badgers and Huskies with four and seven fouls respectively in the first half. Although the Huskies dominated the foul score, the Badgers outshot the Huskies 9-1 leading into the second 45 minutes of play.

Goalkeeper, Michele Dalton finished with one save for her second shutout of the season, as the UW defense dominated the Huskies offensive attempts. Although Jacobsen may have been the one to find the net, she credits the defense for holding NIU to three shots.

'They have been playing outstanding,' Jacobsen explained, 'They have been playing really hard. We as an offense just need to score some more goals and we will be great. We are improving every day.'

NIU's keeper Lindsey Curnock came up with six saves for the Huskies, holding the Badgers to just one goal. The Badgers had multiple scoring opportunities including a shot off of freshman Monica Lam-Feist that Curnock pushed over the crossbar. Lam Feist led UW in shots with four and connected on goal three times but couldn't find the back of the net.

'It is great to get the result we did against a very tenacious opponent, ' head coach Paula Wilkins explained. 'Northern Illinois was very well organized. It was good to see a goal early on in the match and I am very excited about our defense. They consistently do well getting numbers behind the ball and limiting opportunities for our opponents. We are continually a building process and are looking forward to a great opponent against Tennessee.'

Wisconsin outshot NIU 15-3 while tallying 10 corner kicks to the Huskies' four.

The Badgers hit the road to Minneapolis, Minn. to face Tennessee on neutral ground Sunday, Sept. 6 at 11:30 a.m.

 

Allison Metcalf

Wisconsin Athletic Communications