The UW women's soccer team snapped a four-game losing streak Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 victory on the road against a very strong Michigan squad. The Badgers, with goals by senior midfielder Katie Lindenmuth and junior midfielder Allison Priess, defeated the Wolverines 2-1 to earn their first Big Ten win of the season, and improved their overall record to 6-6-2.
Wisconsin struck first Sunday afternoon when senior forward Amy Vermeulen played a ball across the box to Lindenmuth, who needed only one touch to put the Badgers on the board first. The goal marked Lindenmuth's first of the season and, at the 21-minute mark of the first half, Wisconsin found itself ahead 1-0. Although Michigan outshot the Badgers 5-3 in the half, the Wolverines only took two shots on target, both of which sophomore goalie Lynne Murray turned away with relative ease.
In the 74th minute, Michigan's Therese Heaton scored her seventh goal of the season. Heaton netted the ball in the left corner to bring the score to all square.
But the game didn't stay deadlocked for long, and the Badgers reacted quickly to Heaton's score.
\For them to tie it late in the game and for us to be able to overcome that and score the game-winner was huge,"" Duerst said. ""That is what our team needed, not only the win, but for our mentality.""
Vermeulen again played a spectacular cross into the box and this time, instead of a volley for a goal, Priess headed the ball past Michigan keeper Madison Gates. Scored in the 77th minute, the Badgers only had to maintain the one goal lead for 13 more minutes to clinch victory.
""It was a very exciting victory,"" head coach Dean Duerst said after the game. ""We really needed this win. We came out with a lot of fight and intensity.""
-uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
