Aug. 26, 2011
Wisconsin 2, 23 Washington 1
McClimon Complex • Madison, Wis. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | Final | | Washington | 0 | 1 | 1
| Wisconsin
| 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | Goalkeepers | Min | GA | Sv | | WASH | Jorde LaFontaine-Kussman | 90:00 | 2 | 6 | | WIS | Michele Dalton | 90:00 | 1 | 2 | | | Stats at a Glance | WASH | WIS | | Shots | 7 | 15 | | Shots on Goal | 4 | 8 | | Saves | 6 | 3 | | Offsides | 2 | 1 | | Corner Kicks | 4 | 9 | | Yellow Cards | 1 | 0 | | Red Cards | 0 | 0 | | |
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• Stats | Stats 
| Photos 
| Walls Interview 
MADISON, Wis. -- It may be a new season, but the Wisconsin women's soccer team is continuing its dominance at home.
Freshman Cara Walls scored the first goal of her career, while senior Leigh Williams added her first since 2009 as the Badgers topped No. 23 Washington, 2-1, in front of 449 fans at the McClimon Memorial Track/Soccer Complex on Friday night.
| Fast Facts | | • Badgers push home unbeaten streak to eight games | | • Walls, Williams record first goals of season | | • Nosbusch notches first two assists of season | |
With the win, the Badgers (1-1-0) extended their unbeaten streak at home to eight games dating back to last season, going 5-0-3 in that span. If it were not for a goal off a free kick with 27 seconds left for Washington (0-1-1), it would have been Wisconsin's eighth straight shutout at home, as well.
"I was really happy with the energy that we came out with," head coach Paula Wilkins said. "Putting people under pressure and going together defensively as a group was something that we talked about.
"The players brought a really good energy to their home field and I was happy with that, especially against a quality opponent like Washington. They're a team that went to the (NCAA) Elite Eight last year and had a lot of starters coming back. It was big for us to be able to set the tone right away, which was something we hadn't done in the past early in the season."
Senior goalkeeper Michele Dalton recorded two saves to notch her first win of the season and the 20th of her career.
"I think everyone bought into team defending," Wilkins said. "I thought the back line was organized, and we won a lot of 50-50 balls in the air that maybe against Notre Dame we didn't do so well to compete with.
"I thought their mentality to go and win those tackles was good. There were some ebbs and flows to the game, but for the most part we controlled a lot of that."
The Badgers were the aggressors in the first half, outshooting the Huskies, 7-2. In the 37th minute, the persistence paid off.
Senior Laurie Nosbusch dribbled the ball into the far corner before dropping it off to freshman Lauren Reid, who sent a cross into the box. After a scramble, Washington goalkeeper Jorde LaFontaine-Kussman got her hands on the ball but ended up deflecting it right to Walls -- who buried it home.
"I think it's great," Wilkins said of Walls' goal. "I think, for the first game against Notre Dame, she had big eyes, but today she looked very confident on the ball. When she's dynamic she's very, very good and we've been encouraging her to do that.
"I think with the complement of playing with Laurie, those two have found each other pretty well and were able to open up spaces. She scored a knock-down goal, a scrappy goal and it's a huge credit to her, but we were able to keep it in the front half so it's very promising."
The second half saw more of the same as the Badgers held an 8-5 advantage in shots.
In the 55th minute, Williams notched the game-winner.
Nosbusch crossed the ball into the box and Williams blasted a shot to the far post past a diving LaFontaine-Kussman. It was Williams' first goal since scoring in the NCAA tournament against Arizona State on Nov. 13, 2009. Walls was also given an assist on the play.
The 15-7 advantage in shots for Wisconsin Friday night was in stark contrast to its 2-0, season-opening loss to No. 1 Notre Dame. In that contest, the Fighting Irish outshout the Badgers, 17-8.
Wilkins said after the season-opener that her team needed to be more confident on the ball, and she liked what she saw against Washington.
"There was a big difference," she said. "We talked about watching video and doing a lot of things. They connected a lot more passes, especially in the front half of the field.
"You could see people getting around the corner and enjoying themselves in the front-third, whereas last time we seemed scared to do that. There were some great individual possessions I was really pleased with and now there's no excuse for them to not be able to do that again in the future."
The Badgers return to action on Sunday when they host in-state foe Green Bay at 2 p.m.
