After a rough weekend in California, the Wisconsin women's soccer team regrouped and continued its unbeaten streak at home with a tie against No. 15 Purdue (5-2-2) and a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 19 Indiana (8-3-0).
Friday was ""Pac the Mac"" night, and fans did just that with a season-high crowd of 844 showing up to watch Wisconsin (5-4-2) take on Purdue. The first half didn't see many scoring opportunities, but each team had one major chance to get on the scoreboard.
The Badgers' best opportunity came when they had a shot blocked by Boilermaker goalkeeper Jenny Bradfisch from six yards out in the 20th minute. Purdue's chance came when one of their players ripped a shot from 25 yards out that was deflected by the fingertips of Badger sophomore goalkeeper Michele Dalton onto the crossbar and out of play.
Wisconsin came out controlling the tempo in the second half and scored seven minutes in. Sophomore midfielder Meghan Flannery curved the ball in just inches too high for Bradfisch on a corner kick to put the Badgers up 1-0.
After 22 shots, Purdue scored in the 78th minute when sophomore forward Katie Leinert redirected a cross from freshman forward Vanessa Ibewuike. Neither team made any real threats in the 20-minute sudden-death overtime period, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
After the game, head coach Paula Wilkins said she was not satisfied with the game.
""I felt we came out in the second half and did a much better job,"" she said. ""We scored that goal and put them under a lot of pressure, and then we sort of fell apart.""
The Badgers did not fall apart against Indiana Sunday afternoon, however.
With a hat trick from sophomore Laurie Nosbusch, Wisconsin was able to hold off a late Indiana comeback and preserve a 3-2 victory. It was a breakout game for Nosbusch, who scored her first three goals of the season against a talented Hoosier team.
""[The hat trick] felt great. It's obviously my first goals of the season, so it was great that they came in a game when we actually needed them and helped our team get a win,"" Nosbusch said.
Indiana sophomore forward Carly Samp almost spoiled Nosbusch's day when she tied the game at 2-2 with less than 10 minutes left in the match. But with just under three minutes remaining, Nosbusch scored on a rebound after Indiana goalkeeper Lex Dickison blocked an initial shot by freshman Monica Lam-Feist.
Wilkins said she was pleased with the overall performance of the team this weekend.
""Anytime you get to play against good teams like Purdue and Indiana and get a result you've got to be happy,"" she said. ""Obviously for this young group to come back and battle on the second day, I think we can build on that.""
Wisconsin will host rival Minnesota Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the McClimon Sports Complex.
