The No. 13 Badgers (9-2-1 Big Ten, 15-2-1 overall) picked up two hard-fought wins over the weekend in their final homestand of the year.
Wisconsin defeated then-Big Ten title contender No. 17 Rutgers (7-4-1, 11-4-1) Friday 1-0. Two days later, the Badgers battled to earn another 1-0 win against Maryland in double overtime. The weekend’s effort was highlighted by two clutch goals from senior forward Kodee Williams, both headers.
Friday’s match against Rutgers, which was also Senior Night, was a fight to stay alive in the conference championship hunt. With both teams tied at 22 points and trailing Big Ten leading Penn State by two points, the winner would still have a shot at the title, while the loser’s chances would be extinguished.
The first half began as a back and forth battle for possession, with neither team gaining much of an advantage. Fifteen minutes into the half, Wisconsin hit the gas pedal, creating a flurry of offensive chances.
Williams had three great scoring chances within a three minute span, including a point blank attempt off a pass from sophomore midfielder Rose Lavelle, that Williams missed just wide right of the net.
Shortly after that miss, Williams capitalized off a feed from freshman midfielder Becca Harrison in the 25th minute. Harrison made an attempt at a cross from the right side of the field which was kicked away by Rutgers defenders. However, she hustled after her own pass, regained control of the ball in the box, turned and fired a second cross to Williams, who headed it into the back right corner of the net.
The second half proved to play out an entirely different script than the first half as it was Rutgers turn to apply the offensive pressure.
“Rutgers is a tough team and we knew that coming in,” Williams said. “By the end of the second half, we were just trying to play solid defense.”
The Wisconsin defense buckled down, snuffing out several chances before they even reached redshirt senior goalkeeper Genevieve Richard.
Nonetheless, Richard, who was making her 42nd start in goal for the Badgers, came up huge in the second half, accumulating save after save. She finished with six in the game, with five of those coming in the second half.
With five minutes left in the game, Rutgers entered desperation mode and unloaded chance after chance against the Wisconsin defense. But the Badgers’ back line, including redshirt senior defender Alexandra Heller, resisted the strong pressure. Richard made two saves in the waning minutes of the contest, including catching an attempt from inside the box with three minutes to play. She captured her Big Ten leading 10th shutout.
“I think they knew what was at stake and it’s the sign of a mature team,” said head Coach Paula Wilkins of their effort.
Unfortunately, Wisconsin’s regular season conference title hopes were dashed on Sunday, as Penn State (11-1-0, 16-2-0) defeated Iowa (7-4-1, 12-5-1) to clinch the title.
That didn’t stop the Badgers from pulling out a second gritty win in Madison, marking the eighth home win on the campaign. This is the first time Wisconsin has won eight home games since 2000.
The Badgers defeated a pesky Maryland team (3-4-5, 5-6-6) that has a knack for ties, which Wilkins mentioned was a testament to the Terrapins tough defense. As the game went on, Maryland looked poised for an unprecedented seventh tie on the season.
Wisconsin’s defense turned in another stout performance, holding Maryland to just three shots on goal, all which were stopped by Richard, as she earned her 11th shutout.
“We didn’t give up anything defensively, which I’m proud of,” Wilkins said. “At this time of the year you want your team to feel like they can get through anything. I think a hard game on Friday and a hard game on Sunday against two very good teams was a good thing.”
Offensively, Wisconsin was able to put up eight shots on goal, but could not find the back of the net until the 103rd minute. Lavelle sent a corner kick to Williams, who scored another header to win the game.
“I don’t want to say it’s the highlight of my career, because it’s not done yet, but for sure it’s up there with my top moments in soccer,” Williams said. “It’s so funny, because I have literally never scored a header goal in my whole life and this weekend I scored two.”
In her final homestand, Williams came up clutch twice for Wisconsin, propelling the Badgers to two victories and continuing to raise the confidence of the team.
The Badgers have one regular season game remaining next Friday as they take on Illinois on the road. Wisconsin will look to extend their winning streak to five games as they head into postseason play.
