The Wisconsin women's soccer team knew its weekend trip to California would provide a challenging early season test. But thanks to some solid defense, a pair of strong goaltending efforts and just enough offense, the Badgers passed with flying colors.
Wisconsin (2-1-2 overall) left the west coast unbeaten after knocking off UC-Santa Barbara 1-0 Friday night and playing No. 20 Pepperdine to a 1-1 draw Sunday afternoon. Taylor Walsh and Elise Weber each tallied a goal for Wisconsin over the weekend.
The Badgers got off to a strong start Friday when they put UCSB (2-2-2) in a 1-0 hole midway through the first half. At 23:20, sophomore midfielder Allison Preiss drove down the left side of the penalty box before centering a pass through heavy traffic to sophomore forward Taylor Walsh. Walsh took the pass, beat a Gauchos defender and drove a shot past goaltender Katie Wright.
""Taylor was once again cool and calm in an intense situation,"" UW head coach Dean Duerst said of Walsh's team-leading third goal. ""She was able to slide past the defender and beat the keeper to the far corner.""
After jumping out to the early lead, Wisconsin had relatively few offensive chances, but managed to hang on for a hard-fought win. The Gauchos actually outshot the Badgers 12-8 in the game and had a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks, but were unable to find the net. Senior goaltender and co-captain Stefani Szczechowski continued to play well in the absence of injured starter Lynn Murray, recording Wisconsin's first shutout of the season.
""We didn't play the prettiest soccer but we stayed tough, marked tight and didn't give [UCSB] any good chances to score,"" Duerst said.
On Sunday, Forward Elise Weber gave the Badgers another early lead, notching her first goal of the season. Weber received the ball off a Pepperdine goal kick, sprinted down the field and beat Pepperdine goalkeeper Kalya Stolte.
Wisconsin had Pepperdine (3-1-2) on the ropes until Pepperdine sophomore Rosanna Podesta was able to drive a shot from the left side past Szczechowski to even the score at 1-1.
After Pepperdine knotted the score, neither team was able to convert in the overtime periods. Szczechowki was strong for the Badgers once again, recording three saves.
Wisconsin will look to build off the momentum of their west coast trip when they host the Wisonsin Soccer Invitational next weekend.
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
