Facing their second Big Ten opponent of the season, NIU women’s soccer was defeated 3-0 on Thursday in a road battle with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers (5-0).
“We conceded three goals, three sloppy goals in a way as well, which kind of led to some frustration,” said NIU women’s soccer head coach Michael O’Neill. “But they were very deserving of their lead after the first half, just in terms of the overall pace of play and the areas that they were getting into.”
Beginning Mid-American Conference play Sept. 14, the Huskies finished non-conference games with a 2-3-1 record.
“We had a very tough non-conference schedule, one of the toughest we’ve had in a long time, and I think that’s allowed us to become a little bit more battle tested on a night like tonight,” O’Neill said. “Even, just to tell if you have kind of cemented that thought to us, the staff, as you know, hey, we’re going to have to raise our game, and the MAC is going to be no different, to get wins and compete.”
The Badgers opened up the scoring in the 10th minute when sophomore midfielder/forward Jenna Baumann found the back of the net off an assist from graduate student defender/midfielder Ashley Martinez.
A 13th minute goal from Wisconsin sophomore forward Brooke Allen doubled the lead for the hosts, just minutes after Baumann drew first blood for the Badgers .
The game remained 2-0 until the 39th minute when sophomore midfielder Anya Gulbrandsen scored the third goal for the Badgers, putting the Huskies down 3-0 at halftime.
NIU utilized two goalkeepers throughout the match, with each playing a half. Senior goalkeeper Amy Stineman allowed 3 goals while saving three in the first half and sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Pearson recorded 1 save in a scoreless second half.
The Huskies got out-shot 11-1 in the first half, and a total of 14-5 come full time. NIU created only 1 shot on goal, in comparison to the seven created by the Badgers. The Huskies out-shot Wisconsin in the second half, creating four opportunities at the net.
“When I looked at the stats, it (the 11-1 shot differential) wasn’t a surprise to me,” O’Neill said. “So how we changed that was just trying to be a little bit more offensive in the second half, not to concede too much possession territory, become a little bit more on the front foot, that would then hopefully cut it off the source a little bit more, and we were able to do that.”
Senior forward Kelsi McLaughlin led the Huskies with 2 shots, while junior defender Jordin Kadiri created the only shot on goal.
The second half saw a change in pace for the Huskies, keeping a clean sheet and limiting the Badgers to just 3 shots.
When asked about the halftime message that sparked the second-half changes for the Huskies, O’Neill emphasized a “nothing to lose” mentality.
“When the opponents take the lead and you’ve got nothing to lose, it kind of takes the shackles off a little bit,” O’Neill said. “So I just wanted to encourage them to be brave, to be courageous in possession, out of possession, a little bit more forward thinking in our approach to the game,” O’Neill said. “I think they kind of embraced that, you know, and they worked extremely hard. I’m really proud of their effort and energy.
UP NEXT
The Huskies kick off Mid-American Conference play at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14 at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex when they take on the Miami University Redhawks. Live stats for the game will be updated on SIDEARM Sports.
