LOS ANGELES – For the second-straight year, the Wisconsin women's soccer team has advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 as the No. 3 seeded Badgers defeated Duke, 1-0, on Friday night at Wallis Annenberg Stadium on the UCLA campus.
It was a scoreless first half, but Wisconsin (16-3-2) outshot Duke (9-4-7), 3-2, and had a 2-1 corner kick advantage.
In the 78th minute,
Dani Rhodes struck the game-winner for the Badgers, fighting past a group of Blue Devils defenders and landing a shot in the bottom left corner of the net. This marks Rhodes' 13th goal this season for the Badgers and her ninth game-winning effort, which ranks second in the NCAA this year.
Jordyn Bloomer was a brick wall for 90 minutes, making four saves for the Badgers. Bloomer has earned her 12th shutout this season and 20th overall. She holds the 13th ranking in the nation for goals against average.
Notes to Know
- Wisconsin's overall NCAA tournament record is now 20-20-2.
- The Badgers advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history and the second consecutive year.
- Wisconsin now has tied up the overall series with Duke, 1-1 after dropping the first matchup against Duke in 1997.
Straight from the Pitch
UW Head Coach Paula Wilkins
On the win
"I think the biggest thing is that they trust in the game plan and they've been disciplined in the game plan. One of the biggest things is that they brought the physicality that they needed to against Duke. That shows the resiliency of what they can do. I was really happy with the day, the discipline they had playing wise, and the physicality they brought to the game".
On Dani Rhodes
"I think her goal was incredible. It was a little bit against the run of play at that time. It shows you how important she is to the program and having said that, I think I've said this several times, but you need a hot goal scorer and a good goalkeeper and at the very end,
Jordyn Bloomer puts up a big save. I think that we're doing the right things at the right time in the NCAA tournament."
On reaching the Sweet 16
"Anytime a team gets to this level, to be in the top 16 teams in the country is very hard. I think we still have to prove ourselves a little bit further as we go along. I know the players expect it and when we train that's what we expect, but this is something that they should be very proud of. We'll celebrate for the next couple of hours, and then we will focus on the next game.
Up Next:
The Badgers, the No. 3 seed in their region, will take on host and No. 2 seed UCLA on Sunday in a 6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT) match on Sunday in the round of 16. The game can be seen online for free on Pac-12.Com.
