KK Panella’s first career goal was bizarre to say the least.
In the opening minute of Sunday’s game against the University of Indiana, the freshman midfielder lofted a ball from outside the box. It then hit the cross bar and appeared to cross the goal line.
Panella — along with the rest of the Wisconsin women’s soccer team — celebrated as if it did, but play went on for at least 30 seconds before the referee confirmed the early goal.
The Badgers did not step off the pedal in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Indiana to earn their second Big Ten win of the season, propelling them at the very top of the Big Ten leaderboard.
No. 14 Wisconsin continued to find early goals. They scored their two of the game in the first 20 minutes to stave off an Indiana team looking to bounce back after a 3-0 loss to Ohio State University last weekend.
Wisconsin shut down any chances of allowing that to happen as Panella scored less than 33 seconds into the game to give them a 1-0 lead. Panella’s goal was the fastest goal the Badgers have scored since 2016.
The early goal for the Buffalo, New York native seemed fitting as Panella has started every game for Wisconsin this season. She has played 90 minutes in most of the games, contributing in the midfield both as a creator and ball recoverer.
After the first goal, the Badgers pushed for another. They played with a high defensive line and created multiple chances through the middle. In the fourth minute, Indiana caught Wisconsin’s defense a little too high up the field on a break away. But, goalkeeper Drew Stover got to the ball well before Indiana could get a shot off.
In minute 22, it was none other than senior captain Erin Connolly who doubled Wisconsin’s lead to put the game away early in the first half. After an Izy Traub corner kick, Connolly got the end of a deflection, beat her defender and blasted the ball into the back of the net with her left foot to score her second goal in two games.
The Badgers led the Hoosiers 2-0 at halftime.
Wisconsin came out with similar urgency in the opening minutes of the second half, earning back-to-back corner kicks, but could not convert on either of Traub’s services this time.
Traub is leading the team with eight assists in her freshman season, and much of that success comes from set pieces. The Badgers have earned 57 corner kicks this season and with multiple options in the box, including 5-foot-11 senior Hailey Baumann, set pieces are a key part of their offense. On Sunday, Wisconsin had seven corner kicks compared to Indiana’s four.
The rest of the game went back-and-forth, with Wisconsin in the driver's seat. The Badgers outshot Indiana five to two in the second, but neither team found the back of the net.
Following a 2-0 win at home against Indiana, the Badgers continue conference play with a three game road trip starting on Thursday, Sept. 24 against University of Maryland.
Maryland (3-5-1) is coming off a 2-0 loss to Pennsylvania State University and is looking for their first win in the Big Ten on Thursday. With momentum on their side, Wisconsin will look to keep the early goals coming and continue to advance in the NCAA rankings.
Shane Colpoys is the former sports editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has written in-depth on the Wisconsin women's hockey team beat, and she is now a senior staff writer covering state news.
