Wisconsin Badgers women’s soccer fell to the Washington Huskies 2-1 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at Energizer Park in St. Louis last Thursday. The top-seeded Huskies scored two goals near the end of the first half and never looked back as Adee Boer’s goal in the 84th minute was not enough for Wisconsin to start a comeback.
Wisconsin defender Kiara Gilmore was forced to leave the game in the 50th minute after getting booked for a red card when she pulled Washington attacker Alex Buck down by her jersey. The penalty forced the Badgers to play a player short for almost all of the second half while trying to even the game.
The Badgers had a ton of opportunities, as they outshot the Huskies 12-9, but simply couldn’t execute on them or connect many passes in the final third. Washington had a couple great chances built up through their tenacious defense and all-conference attackers Buck and Jadyn Holdenried.
They turned their chances into two goals within two minutes of each other near the end of the first half to take a commanding lead. Samiah Shell scored the first goal in the 38th minute. Buck and Holdenried were both credited with an assist. The next Huskie goal came from Big Ten all-freshman Maylen Montoya, the first of her college career.
Washington head coach and Big Ten Coach of the Year Nicole Van Dyke pointed to her team’s depth after the game. “We don’t have one that scores 20 goals, but we have a lot of kids that work really hard and find the back of the net,” Van Dyke said.
The game was highlighted by its physicality, drawing seven yellow cards and two red cards by the final whistle. Two of the yellow cards and one of the red cards were given out after a scuffle in the 88th minute. The scuffle was initiated by Wisconsin’s Jadea Collin after Shell pushed down Ashley Martinez for a hard foul. As Shell kept running with the ball, Collin tripped her from behind, which Shell took offense to, resulting in some pushing and shoving. A couple players also came off Washington’s bench to stop the fighting. Collin and Shell were each given a yellow and Washington’s all-conference defender Maya Loudd got a red card for coming off the bench and engaging with Collin physically, which meant she had to leave the game but Washington could still play at full strength.
Washington’s strong, hustling defense foiled the Badgers for most of the game until Boer broke through on a beautiful shot right outside the 18-yard box into the top right corner of the goal. Unlike all her other goals this season, this one was not a game-winner.
This was Washington's second win this year against the Badgers. Washington played like the best team in the Big Ten and proved it in the Big Ten Tournament Championship, besting Michigan State on penalties 4-1 on Nov. 9.
Meanwhile, the Badgers will look toward Selection Monday to see where they stand in the NCAA tournament.
