The University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s soccer team — 6-3-4, 2-2-3 in the Big Ten — recorded a huge upset against the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes x— 10-1-3, 5-1-1 in the Big Ten — Thursday, Oct. 10, winning 2-1.
Coming into the game, the Hawkeyes were on a four-game winning streak and undefeated this season.
In the two games before Thursday, against USC and Nebraska, the Badgers allowed five goals, losing 3-0 to the Trojans and drawing 2-2 with the Cornhuskers, thanks to a 90th-minute equalizer from UW defender Hailey Baumann. For the Badgers to take home a win against the Hawkeyes, they had to show up defensively.
The Hawkeyes were first on the scoreboard, slotting home a penalty kick in the 18th minute, but Badger goalkeeper Drew Stover fought hard in front of the net, making two saves.
Offensively, the Badgers were able to follow suit. Aryssa Mahrt, who had one goal and one assist in Big Ten play coming into the game, scored one of the two goals made against Iowa, with defensive midfielder Maia Richters scoring the other.
The team found numerous goal-scoring opportunities by poking holes in Iowa’s defense but were unable to take advantage of the chances in the first half. That changed in the second half, when the Badgers brought the heat offensively, both goals being scored only minutes apart. Mahrt converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute, with Richters following in the 76th minute.
The Badgers now sit tenth in the Big Ten standings with four games remaining, with their next game coming Oct. 13 at Indiana.