|
 The University of Wisconsin women's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to six matches on Sunday afternoon, but the Badgers' 0-0 tie with Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., all but ended their shot at the Big Ten Conference championship.
UW (8-5-5 overall, 4-1-4 Big Ten) is tied with Penn State for second in the conference with 16 points, but the Badgers have just one game remaining — next Monday at Northwestern — while the Nittany Lions (9-5-2, 5-1-1) have three games left and leader Ohio State (13-2-2, 6-1-1) has two to play.
“We played well defensively limiting their opportunities, but we are disappointed we didn’t get the result we wanted," UW coach Paula Wilkins said in a news release.
"Today our youthfulness showed by the lack of patience near the end of the game, but I have to give credit to Michigan for doing a great job defending. This is a good lesson for our players, having to play on the road for the second day and learning what we need to do to get the results we want.”
It was the second scoreless draw of the season for UW, which set a program record with its eighth overtime game of the year — the Badgers are 2-1-5 in those matches. Sophomore goalkeeper Michele Dalton finished with three saves in her sixth shutout of the season for UW, which outshot the Wolverines (5-7-5, 0-2-5) by a 23-11 margin.
The Badgers had two great chances to get on the scoreboard in the second half. Freshman midfielder Alev Kelter took a pass from sophomore forward Laurie Nosbusch inside the 6-yard box but shot wide in the 66th minute, and freshman midfielder Monica Lam-Feist had her shot from in close stopped by Michigan redshirt freshman keeper Haley Kopmeyer in the 70th.
The Wolverines, led by former UW coach Greg Ryan, nearly won it in the final seconds of regulation. A free kick by junior Jackie Carron from near midfield found sophomore Courtney Mercier, whose header went just over the crossbar with 4 seconds remaining.
Kopmeyer made five saves in her fifth shutout for the Wolverines, who have tied five of their past six games — including three 0-0 draws. UW, which is 3-0-3 in its past six matches, was shut out for the fifth time this season after scoring in eight consecutive matches since a 6-0 loss to Stanford in its non-conference finale.
|
