 |  | 11 Wisconsin 1, Minnesota 0
Boilermaker Soccer Complex • West Lafayette, Ind. • Attendance: 343
Final Stats | Final Stats  |  | |
| | 1st | 2nd | Final | Minnesota
| 0 | 0 | 0 | Wisconsin
| 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | Goalkeepers | Min | GA | Sv | | MINN | Hobbs | 90:00 | 1 | 9 | | WIS | Richard | 90:00 | 0 | 0 | | | Stats at a Glance | MINN | WIS | | Shots | 6 | 22 | | Shots on Goal | 0 | 10 | | Saves | 9 | 0 | | Offsides | 1 | 3 | | Corner Kicks | 3 | 10 | | Yellow Cards | 0 | 0 | | Red Cards | 0 | 0 | | |
Nov. 7, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- One of the goals since the beginning of the season for the Wisconsin women's soccer team has been to win a Big Ten championship.
While the regular season crown went unclaimed, consider it a setback. There's a new title the Badgers have been in pursuit of, which they're now in position to take.
Behind a 1-0 shutout, Wisconsin defeated Minnesota in the semifinals of the 2014 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday and advanced to the championship match of the league tournament, held at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex.
McKenna Meuer scored in the ninth minute and put Wisconsin ahead 1-0 early. From there, the second-seeded Badgers (17-2-2) went on to shut out the sixth-seeded Gophers over the final 81 minutes of the game and closed out their victory.
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin advances to first Big Ten tournament final since 2005, which was the last time they won a conference tournament title. | | • The Badgers recorded their 16th shutout of the season to earn a program best 17 wins this season. | | • UW outshot MINN 22-6; won corner kicks 10-3. | |
With the win, Wisconsin advanced to the final of the Big Ten tournament where it will face Iowa on Sunday. It's the first time a Badgers team has gotten to the conference tournament final since 2005.
That season, UW brought the title back to Madison.
"When we realized we couldn't [win a championship] in points, they then said that they wanted to get the highest seed they possibly could to win the tournament," UW head coach
Paula Wilkins said. "I'm really proud of where they are. Now, we just need to take a step back and refocus again for Iowa.
"Enjoy enjoy this moment as it is and then go for it."
Meuer's goal marked her second of the season, after she finished off a great assist from
Brianna Stelzer to score in the box. It was the first assist of Stelzer's career.
It was the second goal of the season for Meuer and the eighth of her career. The junior midfielder from Madison, Wisconsin, had also scored her first goal of the season earlier in the season at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex in a 1-0 win over Purdue back on Sept. 28.
Wisconsin outshot Minnesota 12-2 in the first half alone, with nine of those shots standing as shots on goal. Keeping the game close was Minnesota goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs, however, who made seven saves in the first half to keep it a one-goal game at the break.
The Badgers kept pressing throughout the second half and went on to finish the game outshooting Minnesota by a 22-6 margin. UW had more shots on goal (10) than MINN had shots (6).
Not to be overlooked was the Wisconsin defense, which frustrated and limited the Gophers (11-9-1) all afternoon. The Badgers held Minnesota to just six shots. UW did not allow the Gophers a single shot on goal.
In net for Wisconsin, Genevieve Richard earned her 14th shutout of the season and moved into sole possession of second place in school history for shutouts in a season. Thanks to another impressive effort by the Badgers and their defense, the fifth-year senior goalkeeper was never once called on to make a save.
As a team, the Badgers recorded their 16th shutout of the season--a program record.
"You have to go back to the defense," Wilkins said after the win. "It's team defending. It's not even just the back four or Genevieve, it's all of them. That's what I'm really proud of. They always say, 'Defense wins championships.'"
Wisconsin and its defense will have a chance to claim a championship on Sunday, when they face Iowa at 2 p.m. CT in the finals of the Big Ten tournament.
