PALO ALTO, Calif. – Wisconsin women's soccer marched through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament with ease, skating past Memphis and Hofstra. The Badgers were matched up against No. 1 seed and defending champs, Stanford on Sunday afternoon and fell 1-0.
 
The Badgers (14-4-4 overall, 6-2-3 Big Ten) had a game plan and executed it well, holding Stanford (20-0-2, 10-0-1 Pac 12) to just one goal after the Cardinal put 13 goals on the board in its last four games.
 
Stanford's goal came off a header in the 36th minute from Jordan DiBiasi, assisted by Jaye Boissiere and Alana Cook. The shot hit Wisconsin keeper Jordyn Bloomer's hands and bounced to the back of the net.
 
In the last 10 seconds of the game it looked as though Wisconsin may even the match up and send it into overtime. Bloomer took a kick just outside midfield which landed in the box and, after bouncing a round a bit, hit the feet of forward Dani Rhodes who was unable to find the back of the net.
 
There were other chances for Wisconsin throughout Sunday's match coming from four corners, one of which landed at the feet of midfielder Victoria Pickett who put up a one-touch shot wide and high.
 
Wisconsin's sweet 16 appearance in the Tournament was just the second appearance in program history and making the tournament in general was the seventh time under head coach Paula Wilkins.
 
The Badgers season also brought four All-Big Ten honorees, six wins against teams in the top 100 RPI and individual, as well as team records, in goals against Hofstra.
 
Straight from the pitch
Head coach Paula Wilkins
 
On being in the sweet 16 against Stanford…
"One thing we can take away from this game is that we had a good game plan and this game came down to moments. Obviously the goal in the first half was a moment they were able to score on, and I thought we had two good moments at the end to tie it up. It just showed to these players and this team what it can do. I'm obviously very disappointed about it for the seniors and everything they've done for us. We just need to take a deep breath and look back on this season and not let the sting of the game hurt us so badly."
 
On the message at the end of the game…
"That I'm proud of them. Every player, whether they played every minute or no minutes, really made this program and team the way it was. There were so many different challenges for each individual person but at the end of the day they moved this program forward again and that was this goal for this year. They set the standard high again, and it's always hard to say goodbye to the ones who will leave, so just to keep their heads held high and be proud."
 
Junior defender Grace Douglas
 
On the atmosphere on the field…
"We're a team that loves opportunity in the end. The fact we were playing the No. 1 team in the nation didn't matter. The fact we were in the Sweet 16? We had never been there before and that's what we were focused on. They have a gorgeous stadium, loud fans, our fans were there too, honestly at the end of the day it was the best atmosphere we could think of because we love competition and we love those really good games against really good teams."