MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women's soccer team battled to a heartbreaking 1-0 loss against No. 16 Penn State at the McClimon Complex Sunday afternoon.
 
"These games (against ranked Ohio State and Penn State) really taught us a lot," head coach Paula Wilkins said. "I think any time you play with some of the best teams in the country, you learn what your weaknesses are. I think we're going to make a jump after playing these teams. We're going to be even better in all the details and all the execution."
 
After Penn State's Laura Suero netted the lone goal of the game in the 72nd minute, the Badgers had many opportunities to clinch an equalizer as senior Micaela Powers took four corner kicks in a span of 14 minutes, however, the Badgers were unable to find the back of the net.
 
The first half of the match saw both teams on an equal playing field as they were even on shots (3) and shots on goal (1).
 
Both Powers and junior Sydney McGinnis came through for the Badgers for the first-half shots, but both of Powers' attempts were wide and McGinnis' shot was saved by the Nittany Lions' goalkeeper, Amanda Dennis.
 
The Cardinal and White kept things suspenseful in the second half, receiving plenty of good looks at the Penn State goal, but had to walk away from the game empty-handed.
 
The game was a physical one, with both teams combining for 19 total fouls throughout the match.
 
"The biggest thing we talked about was reading the game and being able to pressure people," Wilkins said. "The biggest thing we learned from Ohio State is that we didn't want to let people turn. We were able to change up some things to counter what Penn State was doing and that was a positive."
 
Despite the loss, Wisconsin won the statistical battle 10-4 on shots and 5-1 on corner kicks.
 
Junior goalkeeper Caitlyn Clem tallied three saves on the day while Penn State's Dennis logged two.
 
Powers led the team in shots with four, while McGinnis and senior Rose Lavelle each recorded two.
 
Lavelle, McGinnis, and sophomore Emily Borgmann each tallied one shot on goal apiece.
 
"We're just going to get at it this week and get ready to go this weekend," freshman Camryn Biegalski said. "We started out like this last year and ended up winning a Big Ten Championship. So I think from here on out its grind time and I think we can win out."
 
 
The team hits the road this weekend as they travel to Purdue to take on the Boilermakers on Friday, Sept. 23. The match is set to begin at 6 pm.