No. 3 Virginia falls to Wisconsin 1-0 on Thursday

A tight battle with limited scoring opportunities for both sides fell the way of the visiting team on Thursday night as No. 3 Virginia (3-1-0) fell to Wisconsin (4-1-0) by a score of 1-0 at Klöckner Stadium.

Virginia put together 10 shots to the Badgers’ seven shots, but the most crucial shot of the night came in the 69th minute when Wisconsin’s Dani Rhodes found the net to give her team the victory.

The Cavaliers return to action on Sunday afternoon, hosting the Richmond Spiders at 2 p.m.

“Congratulations to Wisconsin, they played a very good game,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “They took us out of our game, for sure. That was the difference in the game. We didn’t play enough quality soccertonight to generate the kind of chances we needed to win the game. It’s disappointing since we were at home and it was a good opportunity for us, but we have more opportunities. My hope is we can squeeze as much out of this game as possible from a learning standpoint and process it for the games coming up, especially the oneon Sunday.”

It was a defensive battle in the first half with neither team able to manage many opportunities in the offensive third. Both squads managed four shots in the half with both keepers making two saves on those shots.

Virginia got three shots on frame, with two being saved by the Wisconsin keeper, Clem, and one being blocked as a defender stepped in front of the shot taken just outside the six-yard box.

Laurel Ivory (Surfisde, Fla.) also posted two saves, including an impressive play in a one-on-one situation where the freshman punched the ball up over the net to keep the Badgers off the scoreboard.

Wisconsin got the lead in the 69th minute when the Badger’s Dani Rhodes got loose as the defender went down as the two battled for the ball running down the left side. Rhodes dribbled into the box and took the shot just inside the six-yard box, a rolling shot on the ground that went in past the near, right post.

The Cavaliers sought to mount a rally down the stretch, firing off four more shots while Wisconsin continued to execute on defense. Two of the Cavaliers’ shots were blocked, while the other two sailed wide and the Badgers picked up the victory. Wisconsin would not take another shot in the match after the goal.