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 The final tuneup for the University of Wisconsin women's soccer team before the Big Ten Conference schedule starts ended in stunning fashion.
Senior forward Chelsi Abbott chipped a shot over Badgers senior goalkeeper Michele Dalton from the 6-yard box off a free kick in the 89th minute as Central Michigan surprised UW 2-1 in a non-conference match Wednesday night at the McClimon Complex.
"I'm kind of speechless right now," coach Paula Wilkins said in a news release following the Badgers' second straight loss after a five-game winning streak.
"I think the one thing we talk about is that our details haven't been very good. For us to be successful, we need to be on all cylinders doing things right, whether it's clearing the ball up the field or defending properly or doing certain things."
Both goals for the Chippewas (6-1-1) came off set pieces taken by senior Liesel Toth. She rifled a free kick from 30 yards out past the UW wall and Dalton for her first goal of the season in the eighth minute.
"Give credit to Central Michigan," Wilkins said. "What they do, they do really well, in terms of battling for set pieces, and obviously that worked for them."
The Badgers (5-3-0) had a 16-9 advantage in shots and put 11 shots on goal compared to just four for Central Michigan, but junior keeper Stefanie Turner and her backline stymied the home team throughout. Turner made eight saves and Chippewas defenders twice cleared balls off the line.
"Stef was immense, making a huge save in the first half that really kept us in the game," Central Michigan coach Neil Stafford said in a news release. "I was really happy with Stefanie's performance today."
UW finally broke through in the 67th, fittingly on a set piece.
Sophomore defender Catie Sessions played a long free kick from near midfield into the box, where senior striker Laurie Nosbusch (Mequon Homestead) tracked it down and slotted a shot past Turner for her third goal of the season. It was Nosbusch's 26th career goal, moving her into a tie for fifth place in program history with Jackie Billet (1992 to '95) and Heather Willihnganz (1993 to '96). Nosbusch ranks seventh in career points with 69.
But in the end, the Badgers saw their nine-game home unbeaten streak (6-0-3) end with their first loss at McClimon since a 2-0 setback against Cincinnati on Aug. 29, 2010.
And it means UW heads into its Big Ten opener against No. 21 Penn State (6-2-0), Wilkins' former team, on Saturday in a slump. The Badgers beat the Nittany Lions 3-2 last fall for their first win in State College, Pa., and just their second win in 21 all-time meetings (2-15-4). Kickoff Saturday is set for 1 p.m. at McClimon.
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Wilkins was one of the featured coaches at Monday's weekly UW Athletics news conference. Here's a link to her interview (non-embeddable video).
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