DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 16 Wisconsin women's soccer team continued its winning ways on the road on Thursday night, shutting out Drake, 3-0, at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
It was all about No. 15,
Dani Rhodes, in the 15th minute as the sophomore broke through once again to give the Badgers (6-1-0 overall) the 1-0 lead after beating the Bulldogs' (3-3) goalkeeper with a shot to the far post. The tally was Rhodes' fourth of the year while
Victoria Pickett picked up her first assist of the year on the game's opening goal. Rhodes has scored in four of the last five games and matched her career high for goals in a season (4).
Rhodes wasn't the only sophomore sensation of the night. With about 14 minutes left in the first half, sophomore
Camryn Biegalski scored the first goal of her career off of a rebound on a corner kick from freshman
Lauren Rice that was saved by Drake's goalkeeper.
In the second half, junior
Emily Borgmann slipped the ball past the Drake keeper one last time to secure the 3-0 victory with an assist from freshman
Maia Cella.
Wisconsin had complete control of the first half, using its speed to fire off 11 shots and 10 shots on goal. UW continued its offensive firepower in the second half and ended with the advantages in shots (22-7), shots on goal (19-3) and corner kicks (11-1).
Senior
Caitlyn Clem recorded two saves in 53 minutes of action before sophomore
Jordyn Bloomer took over in net in the 54th minute, recording one save in the first game of her career.
During UW's five-game winning streak, the Badgers have outscored their opponents 11-1 as six different Badgers have found the back of the net during the run.
Straight from the Pitch:
Head Coach Paula Wilkins
"I'm excited based on having two good results last weekend. You know we're talking about how our focus and effort in this game, especially being on the road on a Thursday, with this young group, and I thought they did a good job in terms of their focus and preparation and getting a result on the road. I think this game will give us some more things that we need to work on, preparing and getting ready for Minnesota and start of the Big Ten."
"I think it goes down to our leadership. I think you have to look at Caitlyn (Clem) and Alexis (Tye) and Becca (Harrison). Just having them be focused all the time and be understanding of our goals, I think that's a constant conversation they're having with the younger players. Honestly, the younger players are bringing a great energy to the program also, as you can see with the results. They're excited and they're hungry so I think they're a great complement for each other."
Up Next: The Badgers return home for a Border Battle against Minnesota in the annual "Pac the Mac" Game on Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. CT.
