In another tough Big Ten matchup, Wisconsin (3-1-1 Big Ten, 6-4-3 overall) took down highly favored No. 11 Minnesota (4-1-0, 9-2-2) 1-0 Friday night at the McClimon Sports Complex.
Headed into the game Wisconsin was the clear underdog in the matchup against Minnesota, but from the first whistle it seemed as if the Badgers were the favorite all along.
At the beginning of the game it looked as it would be a defensive affair, as neither team managed a shot in the first 33 minutes. The pace of the game changed when freshman forward Steph Fabry was subbed in at the 23rd minute. From that point on it seemed as if the Badgers were dominating on both sides of the ball, as the offense started to make some good runs, resulting in good looks at the goal. Head coach Paula Wilkins quickly saw some things that she felt the offense could exploit in the Minnesota defense.
“We knew there were certain pockets that we wanted to find, and that we thought if we played quick enough we would be able to get out of that pressure,” Wilkins said.
The first opportunity came from sophomore forward Sydney McGinnis, who had a header that just barely went over the crossbar in the 33rd minute.
The deciding moment of the game came in the 36th minute when freshman midfielder Victoria Pickett was taken down in the box and the Badgers were awarded a penalty kick. Senior midfielder Kinley McNicoll put the ball into the back of the net on the penalty kick to put the Badgers up 1-0.
Coming out of the half the Badgers picked up right where they left off, getting another good opportunity to score with a shot from Pickett from the crossbar, and in the 65th minute McNicoll’s shot went just over the crossbar.
Wisconsin’s defense was dominant, giving up only four shots and one shot on goal against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers had scored 25 goals on the season but were held scoreless against the Badgers. Wisconsin finished the upset of Minnesota 1-0 for their fourth straight shutout.
Up next, the Badgers will take on Iowa at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Iowa City, Iowa.