Wisconsin drops season opener to top-ranked Notre Dame 

MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women’s soccer team opened its 2011 campaign with a 2-0 loss at the hands of top-ranked and defending national champion Notre Dame Friday night at Alumni Field in South Bend, Ind.

“I saw some real positive things and obviously some things that we need to fix,” head coach Paula Wilkins said. “One of the conversations that we’ve had is that we want to get better every half, and I thought we played better in the second half and better than we did against Marquette in the second half.

“Obviously you never like to see a loss, but Notre Dame is a very good team and Melissa Henderson is definitely one of the best forwards that I’ve seen in my 20 years of coaching in the college game.”

The Fighting Irish (1-0-0) kept the pressure up on the Badgers’ (0-1-0) defense in the 45 minutes. Goalkeeper Michele Dalton made seven saves in the first half though, doing well to keep the Irish off the scoreboard.

In the ninth minute she made a diving stop and collected a rebound off the post before deflecting away another shot in the 12th minute.

In the 26th minute, Melissa Henderson found herself open in the box, but Dalton made a point-blank save and later gathered a free ball as Henderson was unable to maintain control in the 35th minute.

“I think that’s what we expect from Michele,” Wilkins said. “She had a very good performance tonight. Obviously she gave up two goals but she faced and stopped some other difficult shots.

“In the second half we limited those, so that was a positive. I think being a leader as a senior, she rose to the occasion and she’s going to be called upon throughout the season to do that. She sets a good tone for the defense, knowing that she’s back there and they can be confident.”

Nearing halftime, Notre Dame was able to open the scoring. Off a pass from Henderson, Adriana Leon blasted a shot to the near post that sailed past Dalton as she dived to her right.

The Badgers had two good scoring chances of their own in the first half, but ultimately found the crossbar on both tries. Notre Dame outshot the Badgers, 8-2, in the first 45 minutes.

Wisconsin came out more aggressive in the second half as Laurie Nosbusch was able to register a shot on goal in the first minute, but Notre Dame goalkeeper Maddie Fox was able to make the save.

Notre Dame extended its lead to 2-0 in the 60th minute as this time Henderson was able to find the back of the net. Molly Campbell sent a ball over the top to Henderson inside the box and she finished it off by sending a header past Dalton.

Nosbusch had another good scoring opportunity in the 68th minute as she was able to separate herself from a defender in the box, but her shot to the far post went wide.

Coach Wilkins also thought that the Badgers’ fitness level could use improvement moving forward. However, the team was without four potential starters as Kodee Williams, Paige Adams and Alexandra Heller are nursing injuries and Alev Kelter was participating in the 2011 USA Hockey Women's National Festival.

“Getting those players back will give us more depth,” Wilkins said. “I think with the people we have experience-wise, where we struggled fitness-wise tonight, we’ll be able to get some people played in.

“I think as we get healthier and with the experience that we had here at Notre Dame, I think it brings a positive light to what we’re going to do. Our young players, like Cara Walls, Julia Roddar and Lauren Reid had some great experience and I think Monica Lam-Feist and Joana Bielefeld did well in the midfield. When we get more people healthy and we can move people around the field, I think it’s going to be an exciting.”

Freshman Julia Roddar also provided a couple late scoring opportunities. Her shot from the top of the 18-yard box following a free kick in the 78th minute landed on top of the net, and her header in the 81st minute was deflected by Fox off the crossbar.

“I liked her willingness to take it forward,” Wilkins said of Roddar’s performance. “Her work rate, I think being from Sweden, the heat hurt her a little bit. So we’re hoping it cools down pretty quick. I liked her ability to get forward and her work rate in terms of what she was trying to do. I think just with the experience of playing one of the best teams in the country is going to make her better.”

The Fighting Irish outshot the Badgers, 17-8, including an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. Notre Dame also recorded nine corner kicks, while the Badgers had one.

Dalton posted 10 saves in taking the loss, while Fox had three as she picked up the win.

As the Badgers look ahead to their next game, Wilkins believes that maintaining their composure on the ball will be important.

“Notre Dame was so quick and we didn’t have composure on the ball,” she said. “We were much better in the second half. We need more connecting pieces and we need to connect some more passes. We had some quality chances and I was happy with that, but creating some more of those with numbers getting forward will be key.”