Sept. 4, 2011
Wisconsin 2, Cincinnati 1
Gettler Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio | |
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| 1st | 2nd | Final | | Wisconsin | 1 | 1 | 2 | Cincinnati
| 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | Goalkeepers | Min | GA | Sv | | WIS | Michele Dalton | 90:00 | 1 | 3 | | CIN | Kristina Utley | 90:00 | 2 | 4 | | | Stats at a Glance | WIS | CIN | | Shots | 10 | 14 | | Shots on Goal | 6 | 4 | | Saves | 3 | 4 | | Offsides | 2 | 1 | | Corner Kicks | 6 | 7 | | Yellow Cards | 0 | 2 | | Red Cards | 0 | 0 | | |
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• Final Stats | Final Stats 
MADISON, Wis. -- After working through a pair of lightning delays, the Wisconsin women's soccer team extended its winning streak to four games with a 2-1 victory over Cincinnati Sunday afternoon at Gettler Stadium.
Laurie Nosbusch scored the equalizer, her second of the year, in the first half, while Alev Kelter's goal in the second half gave the Badgers a win.
"On the road, in a tough environment, with rain delays and lightning delays, I thought the team did well to get a victory on the road," head coach Paula Wilkins said.
| Fast Facts | | • Badgers extend win streak to four matches | | • Nosbusch tallies second goal of season | | • Game stopped twice due to lightning in the area | |
The game was originally scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. (CT), but did not start until 11:34 a.m. due to lightning in the area. Once underway, only 1:29 elapsed off the clock until another lightning strike forced an additional delay of 35 minutes.
"I thought we were a little bit slow," Wilkins said of the Badgers' start. "I think it attributed more to Cincinnati for the tone they brought to the game right out of the blocks. I thought the first time that we started, we looked good for the minute and a half that we were out there, but trying to ramp that back up again was challenging.
"Give credit to this team, though. We had a hard game on Friday night against Dayton. Both of these wins were in challenging environments; today was played on turf on a small field, while the other was on thick grass on a small field so we really had to do well against both of those."
Following the second delay of the contest, the game continued without further stoppages as Wisconsin improved to 4-1-0 on the season and the Bearcats dropped to 2-2-2.
The win was the Badgers' first come-from-behind victory of the year as Cincinnati got on the board first. Sunday's game also marked the first played on artificial turf, after playing the first four on natural grass.
"The ball traveled much faster and some of the touches were off because of the speed that the ball was getting to us and balls getting over the end line," Wilkins said of the playing surface. "Cincinnati has a bit of an advantage playing on that since they are used to the surface, but I thought the team responded well."
Following a corner kick in the 28th minute, there was a scramble in front of the net and Emily Hebbeler was able to sneak the ball past UW goalkeeper Michele Dalton for the goal that gave Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.
The Badgers answered back though in the 35th minute as Laurie Nosbusch tallied her second goal of the season. The senior forward capitalized off a poor goal kick by Cincinnati goalkeeper Kristina Utley to notch the equalizer.
Nosbusch's goal highlighted a day full of strong play from the Badgers' upperclassmen.
"We had a great performance from Laurie Nosbusch," Wilkins said. "She was really a difference in the game today with her goal but also with some of the other stuff that she was doing. Michele also came up with some big saves to keep us in the game, so I thought we had great leadership from our two seniors.
After reaching halftime tied at 1-1, Dalton made a pair of diving stops to keep it tied.
In the 52nd minute, she made a diving save to her right, just getting her fingertips on the ball and forcing it out of play. Nothing came of the ensuing corner kick.
Later, on a low strike in the 67th minute, she made a diving stop to her right to keep it tied at 1-1.
The decisive goal came for the Badgers in the 69th minute.
Off a corner kick from Meghan Flannery, Nosbusch attempted a header but it was blocked by a Cincinnati defender. A scrum ensued in front of the net and Kelter was able to get a foot on it to score her first of the season.
The Bearcats held a 14-10 advantage in shots for the game, including a nine-to-six mark in the second half.
Dalton finished with three saves for UW, while Utley stopped four shots.
The win over Cincinnati capped a weekend that also saw the Badgers beat Dayton on Friday night.
"I think any time you go on the road against two quality opponents, one that will probably win their conference and another that will do well in the Big East, that's always a positive that you can build on," Wilkins said. "I think it teaches the players something. Today, Cincinnati brought a different element that we hadn't seen before in our previous games. I think that will prepare us for the Big Ten."
The Badgers return to action next week Thursday, Sept. 8, at Northern Illinois.
