STANFORD, Calif. – The Wisconsin women's soccer team fell to a worthy opponent in No. 2 Stanford, 2-1, on the road on Thursday night. Senior Micaela Powers helped the Badgers to cut Stanford's early 2-0 lead late in the game but UW (1-2-2) dropped its second contest of the season as the Cardinal improved to 4-0.

"I think it's really important, especially headed into the Big Ten season, to play a team like Stanford," head coach Paula Wilkins said. "One of the things we said headed into this game was that we knew that Stanford would show us things that other teams this year hadn't yet shown us. We felt it would be a very good learning experience.

"Even from the first half to the second half, I thought some of our players showed some really good resilience and the capability of learning really fast and that's really exciting. The one thing I said to the team at the end of the game is that we have to make sure to take this experience and not take a step back again. They set the standard of what speed we have to play at and we have to keep it there."

The Cardinal struck quickly, scoring both of its goals nearly just one minute apart in the 10th minute and 12th minute of the game. Stanford's Andi Sullivan had the assist on the first goal, which was scored by Kyra Carusa, and netted the second goal off of a penalty kick for her first goal of the season.

Wisconsin's goalkeeper Caitlyn Clem was tested plenty more after the Cardinal took a two-goal lead, but she and the Badger defense were able to hold Stanford off as she recorded a season-high six saves on the night.

"I thought the two freshmen on the one side, Payton (Wesley) and Camryn (Biegalski), did a great job of attacking and I was really happy with those guys," Wilkins added.

But it was Powers who brought the Badgers back into the game in the 80th minute of the match. With time winding down, Emily Borgmann crossed the perfect pass to Powers who headed in the shot, cutting Stanford's lead to 2-1. It was Powers' second goal of the season, already making it the most season goals she's had in her career.

Stanford outshot Wisconsin 12-5 with eight shots on goal compared to UW's three. The Cardinal also held the advantage in corner kicks, outbidding the Badgers 8-5. Lavelle had the second-most shots in the game at two behind Stanford's Ceci Gee who fired off three.

"The players talked about the leadership on the team after the game. Even two goals down, Rose and Kylie kept them plugging away, and I think that was the first time I truly saw them compete," Wilkins said. "That makes me excited and the challenge moving forward is that is the level they have to bring every game. That's a challenge but with the inexperienced team that we have, they are starting to show the talent and we have to bring that more consistently."

Wisconsin is back in action in the Golden State on Sunday as the Badgers take on Santa Clara at 2 p.m. CT.