Spartans Fall to Wisconsin
10/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 22, 2010
Michigan State women's soccer battled the Badgers under the lights of McClimon Soccer Complex Friday night (Oct. 22), and came away with a heartbreaking 2-0 loss. The Spartans are now 3-2-1 in conference play, 9-4-2 on the season.
The first goal of the evening came in the 22nd minute from a combination effort by Wisconsin's co-captains. Junior Laurie Nosbusch put the Badgers up off a pass from senior Taryn Francel. The goal was Nosbusch's sixth of the season, and Francel's first assist.
Wisconsin improved their lead to 2-0 off of a header in the second half. Sophomore Lindsey Johnson served the ball from around the midfield and Nosbusch headed it into the upper right corner of the Spartan net. Nosbusch recorded her second goal of the competition in the 64th minute of play.
Michigan State stuck with Wisconsin offensively through the entirety of the contest. With the Spartans outshooting the Badgers 18-11, the loss certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort. Defensively, junior goalkeeper Jill Flietstra kept MSU in the game by stopping three attempts from the Badgers in 90 minutes played.
"Today was a great fast-paced, end-to-end game. We gave up a goal early on, but I thought we responded well," said head coach Tom Saxton. "We played as hard as we could and we did outshoot them. Now we just need to regroup and move on."
Saxton will look for his 200th career win when his team travels to Minnesota on Sunday (Oct. 24). The matchup is slated for 1:00 p.m. (EST) at the Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium and will be aired on the Big Ten Network.
