Wisconsin women’s soccer faces first test in road game series

The Wisconsin Badgers found themselves in unfamiliar territory on Sunday — chasing a tying goal in the final minutes. 

Despite a late push from the Wisconsin women’s soccer team offense, it was their opponent, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, who had the final say at Yurcak Field on Sept. 27, scoring one late in the game to steal a 3-1 victory over the Badgers. 

The finish handed the Badgers their first loss in the Big Ten Conference and first loss since their opening game against Texas Christian University (TCU). Wisconsin entered Sunday’s game tied at top of the Big Ten standings after beating University of Maryland 1-0 on Thursday to start their East Coast road trip.

Here are the takeaways from Wisconsin’s two games this weekend. 

Set pieces prove key for Wisconsin against Maryland 

In Thursday’s game, the Badgers earned four corner kicks and six free kick opportunities in their 1-0 win over Maryland.

With multiple threats in the box for freshman Izy Traub to deliver the ball, set pieces have been an integral part of the Badgers’ offense and key to their goal scoring production. In Sunday’s 3-1 loss, Rutgers had five corners and held Wisconsin to two. 

In fact, the first and only goal in Thursday’s win ensued following a Traub corner kick in the 25th minute. Jane Rodgers beat her defender out wide and put a dangerous cross into the box. The ball deflected off of the Maryland goalkeeper and landed in front of a wide open Taylor Gordon to give Wisconsin the 1-0 lead and bank Gordon’s third goal of the season. 

Before Gordon’s goal, neither team could gain control of possession with most of the Badgers’ chances coming from dangerous crosses into the box.  

This win put the Badgers at the top of the Big Ten Conference regular season standings and extended a then-unbeaten streak. After Sunday’s loss though, Wisconsin sits in second place tied with Northwestern, Penn State and Washington. 

Wisconsin faces first test against a high-powered offense

Eager to get their first Big Ten win of the season on Sunday, Rutgers came out firing at Wisconsin’s defense. 

In the opening minutes, Rutgers’ forward Ashley Baran curled a shot past goalkeeper Drew Stover and over the crossbar, sending an early message to a Wisconsin defense that had yet to concede a goal in Big Ten play this season. Both teams traded early chances on net until Baran got on the end of a far post cross that was just out of Stover’s reach to put Rutgers up 1-0 in the 10th minute of the game. 

Wisconsin responded six minutes later with a goal from Traub, who blasted a free ball from outside the 18-yard box. As the team’s leader in assists, Traub scored the first goal of her career to tie the game at 1-1 in the 16th minute. 

Wisconsin outshot Rutgers seven to three in the first half and looked to build on that momentum in the second. A series of self-inflicted wounds from a Wisconsin defense that had only conceded five goals in 10 games helped Rutgers find the back of the net. 

Rutgers’ Julia Joseph’s attempted cross into the box ended up in the back of the net to retake the 2-1 lead with 30 minutes left in the game. This was the first time the Badgers have trailed since their opening game against TCU on Aug. 13.  

Despite efforts to find an equalizer in the pouring rain, Wisconsin couldn’t find the final connection on Sunday. Rutgers scored a deflating goal in the 86th minute in similar fashion to their second. Rutgers earned a foul right outside Wisconsin’s 18-yard box. Lillia Calvert’s lofted free kick took an unpredictable curve, Stover appeared to bobble the ball, but couldn’t control it before it found the back of the net to seal the 3-1 win for Rutgers. 

Wisconsin will continue their road series against Nebraska in Lincoln on Oct. 1. The Cornhuskers are 1-2-2 in the Big Ten coming off a momentous 1-0 win against No. 20 University of Michigan and a 3-2 thriller loss against No.1 Michigan State. 

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