After advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament this weekend by defeating UW-Milwaukee 2-1, the Badgers were defeated in Milwaukee Sunday by third-seeded rival Marquette in a penalty shootout.
In their opener against this weekend in Milwaukee, the Badgers got on the scoreboard quickly. After just 26 minutes, freshman midfielders Catie Sessions and Kodee Williams combined in the attacking third before Williams sent a cross into the area. Junior forward Laurie Nosbusch headed toward the far post to notch her 10th goal of the season and to put the Badgers up 1-0.
Milwaukee equalized in the 67th minute on a long shot from outside the area, but it took the Badgers just 30 seconds to answer and secure the victory. Junior midfielder Lauren Cochlin sent a cross from the right wing towards sophomore midfielder Monica Lam-Feist, whose hard shot was blocked by the keeper. Williams followed up to guide the deflection into the net and book UW's spot in the second round.
On Sunday, the Badgers matched up with Marquette (16-4-3) for a place in the final 16 of the NCAA tournament. Wisconsin fell behind in the 11th minute on a header following a free kick, but UW would fight back with two rapid goals in the second half.
Following a scrum in the box on a Wisconsin corner kick in the 66th minute, Lam-Feist found an opening and ripped a hard left-footed shot from 25 yards out to equalize. Just one minute and eight seconds later, Lam-Feist fired converted on another hard shot, this time from 20 yards out after a shot by sophomore defender Lindsey Johnson was blocked.
However, Marquette tied the score at 2-2 just 40 seconds later to cap a crazy three-minute stretch. The wind seemed to be a factor in the 68th minute as a Marquette forward was able to head over Wisconsin redshirt junior goalkeeper Michele Dalton to put the two team's in a deadlock and send the match to extra time.
The Badgers withstood a dangerous Marquette attack through the two overtime periods, even seeing a Marquette goal called back for offside. Wisconsin converted its first four penalty kicks in the ensuing shootout, but could not put away its fifth and final kick with an opportunity to win. In the first sudden death phase of the shootout Marquette scored while the Badgers failed to convert, and the game ended 5-4 on penalties in favor of Marquette.
The Badgers finish their season 11-4-4, and will lose just two players to graduation in the offseason– defender Taryn Francel and forward Darcy Riley.
