COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Wisconsin women's soccer team took down the No. 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big Ten Semifinal on Thursday night, 3-1.
Aryssa Mahrt,
Emma Jaskaniec, and
Maia Richters capitalized to advance the team to the championship on Sunday, Nov. 5.
How it happened
The big stage did not faze the Badgers, who took on the No. 15 Cornhuskers at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. It was a battle between two of the top teams in the country in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals.
The Badgers had an eye for goal early, with it only taking 16 minutes for Wisconsin to put one in the back of the net.
Maia Richters crossed in a low driven ball from the left side of the field that found
Aryssa Mahrt in the box. Mahrt hit it first time into the back of the net with her right foot.
Nebraska created most of its opportunities off long crosses and the signature flip throw of Jordan Zade. Sure enough, the Cornhuskers goal came from a long-cross that fell to Nebraska's Sarah Weber, who put it into the bottom left corner.
The score was tied, 1-1, going into the second 45 minutes.
The Cornhuskers kicked off to start the second and kept possession early in the Badger's half.
Emma Jaskaniec shifted the momentum back in Wisconsin's favor and had two great looks at goal but was called for offsides. However, the third time was a charm, capitalizing in the 52nd minute. The Badgers had the lead back, 2-1.
The second goal was assisted by Mahrt, who contributed to two of the three Badger goals in the match. Despite not receiving any conference recognition this year, Mahrt played a crucial role in the semifinal win. She extends her stats on the season to five goals and seven assists.
Nebraska tried to respond with a handful of shots on goal, but goalkeeper
Erin McKinney stopped them all.
Possession midway through the half was in favor of Wisconsin, while the Cornhuskers took a grittier approach to get a goal back.
Maia Richters used this to her advantage, off a splendid
Izzy Verdugo cross, and slipped the ball past the keeper in the 74th minute.
With the win, the Badgers now have a 2-1-1 record against nationally ranked teams this season.
Next up
The Badgers will face eight-seeded Iowa in the Big Ten Championship on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m. (CT). The Last time the Badgers played for the title was in 2021 against Iowa.
