Wisconsin had never lost to in state rival Green Bay, coming into the night 15-0-0, and that streak stayed intact thanks to a 2-0 victory at Aldo Santaga Stadium. Both goals came in the first half and the Badgers took complete control of the possession in the 2nd half to ice away the game in blustery conditions in Green Bay.
The win stopped a nasty losing streak and could provide the Badgers some confidence as they head into the 2nd half of Big Ten play.
"We want to do the details right, get back to what we do," Head Coach Paula Wilkins said post game. "This game was going to be important for us as we head to the last half of the Big Ten. We're excited to get the win and get ready for Northwestern."
It was really a game dominated by the midfield play of the Badgers, who were able to combine well with the fullbacks to keep a lid on the Phoenix and it showed in the stats, Wisconsin out shot Green Bay 21-4 on the night as a team.
After taking most of the possession and pushing play for the better part of the first 10 minutes of action the Badgers made the most of chances inside the box. Just minutes after a Cara Walls header went wide of net it was a blast from 25 yards out off the boot of Kinley McNicol that gave the advantage to Wisconsin on the scoreboard, going up 1-0 in the 12th minute.
It was McNicol's 3rd goal of the season to go along with her 4 assists on a nicely placed upper 90 shot that Green Bay goalkeeper Katy Pilarzyk couldn't possibly reach.
"There were three or four great little combination plays in the midfield, just little small passes," Wilkins said. "It just opened her up to get a shot from distance and it's something Kinley has been able to do all year."
However, Green Bay responded nicely by putting pressure on Wisconsin from the edge, but junior goalkeeper Genevieve Richard was up to the task, holding on to anything coming into her six yard box.
Wisconsin nearly gave up their lead on a bad clearance from Richard but the ensuing shot went wide.
However, it was the Badgers that would capitalize just a few minutes later on a bad clearance from the GB keeper who slipped while attempting to get it out of her end.
Paige Adams was there to clean it up and knocked home her 5th of the season to put the Badgers up 2-0 in the 31st minute of the half.
Things slowed down considerably in the 2nd half as the Badgers really took control of the possession in the game. In fact the Badgers out shot the Phoenix 10-1 in the half, but only forced three saves from Nastacia Behle, who replaced starter Katy Pilarzyk in the 2nd half.
"We wanted to be able to do that, wish we would've created more chances," said Wilkins. "But the ability to keep some passes and pull some people out. Wanted to face forward a bit more, but give credit to Green Bay and what they did."
Despite the score line it was a rough first half for Badgers goalkeeper Genevieve Richard, making just her 3rd start of the season. She struggled clearing the ball and making passes out of her end, something head coach Paula Wilkins addressed after the game.
"Yep, you know we really want our goalkeeper to play with her feet," Wilkins said. "She (Richard) did make some mistakes, some indecision stuff, not really technical. It's her 3rd game this season. I'm glad Green Bay didn't capitalize on them, but I think it was good for her to see that stuff."
Wisconsin improves their record to 8-5-1 overall and up next will be a home weekend slate against the rivals to the south in Northwestern and Illinois on Friday and Sunday respectively. Friday's game kicks off at 7pm at the McClimon Complex
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