The Wisconsin women's soccer team (2-1-1), under the command of first-year head coach Paula Wilkins, claimed its first two wins of the season this weekend by defeating both UC-Santa Barbara (1-3-0) and Boston University (2-2-0) in the Wisconsin Invitational Tournament at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
I think it is always great to get wins on your home field, in front of your home crowd, but also to build the confidence of our team right now; that is what's important,"" Wilkins said.
Junior Taylor Walsh and senior Shannon Terry led the Badgers offensively, each scoring two goals on the weekend.
Sunday's contest against Boston University was a hard-fought battle for both teams. Neither scored in the first half of play, spurring aggression and frustration on both sides of the field. Finally, with 23:20 left on the game clock, Walsh scored the only goal of the contest off a pass from sophomore Whitney Owusu. The Terriers desperately tried to come back, but Wisconsin's defense would not budge.
Wisconsin's junior goalkeeper Jamie Klages only had to make two saves on the game, both coming in the second half.
Even though those two saves against BU were important, her biggest save of the weekend came Friday evening against UCSB with 15 seconds left in the game to secure the Badger victory 3-2.
Walsh scored the first goal of Friday's game approximately 38 minutes into the first period. Freshman Kellyn Flanagan was awarded the assist on the shot.
UCSB answered with a goal of its own with only 14 seconds remaining in the first half. The Gauchos' senior midfielder Romy Barber received control of the ball behind the Badger defense when Wisconsin deflected the pass in front of the goal. From there, it was a one-on-one play between Barber and Klages, in which Barber triumphed.
With 22:48 left in the game, Wisconsin was charged with a pushing foul that put the Gauchos on the penalty kick line. Kathleen Prieto of UCSB picked up the goal on the penalty, pulling her team ahead 2-1.
Wisconsin rose to the occasion late in the game, tying the score when Terry knocked in a goal off a double header from a free kick taken outside the 18-yard box. Senior Ann Eshun and Owusu shared the assist on the play.
Less than two minutes later, Tricia Krombach noticed Terry had seperated from the defense and passed her the ball. Terry quickly gained control of the ball and scored goal to advance the Badgers by one point.
""One thing that coach Wilkins always tells us is to believe that we are going to win and just never stop believing that we can do it,"" Walsh said. ""If any of us had our heads down, it was only for a second, and then we told ourselves we could do it and we did.""
UCSB attempted to put the game into overtime, but the Badgers' defense held, and Klages earned her only save on the game within the last 15 seconds.
""Obviously I'm happy I could help my teammates win the game, but if it wouldn't have been for Shannon [Terry] scoring her two goals late in the game, we wouldn't have come out on top,"" Klages said.
Wilkins added, ""I think Jamie [Klages] got that save for the crowd. Usually she gives me gray hairs, but this time it stayed colored.""
Next weekend, the Badgers will be traveling to Brigham Young and Northern Arizona with hopes of picking up their first road victory of the season.
