MADISON, Wis.--North Dakota State found itself nearly even with No. 18 Wisconsin with just under 10 minutes left in the game. “We were down just one goal and were starting to push for a good scoring chance late,” said head coach Pete Cuadrado. Despite a last surge, NDSU (1-3-1) fell to the Badgers 3-0 Friday, September 10 before a crowd of 561 at the McClimon Soccer Complex.

“We had a strategy going in where we tried to counter each of their attacks,” Cuadrado said of his team's efforts. “We had some great chances with that in the first half and to be down only 1-0 with not much time left showed how much we battled.”

The teams nearly went the entire first half without a goal. NDSU freshman Laura Hermanson had a one-on-one chance with Badger goalie Stefani Szczechowski at the 32nd minute mark, but was turned away. Earlier, Ashley Chandler had her shot blocked by Szczechowski in another Bison scoring opportunity.

With just over a minute and a half before intermission, Wisconsin senior Molly Meuer headed in a ball past Bison goalkeeper Katie Stombaugh to put the Badgers up 1-0 at the break.

North Dakota State was overmatched in shots in the first half 11-2 (21-2 overall), but kept the game close with defense. Stombaugh's three first half saves aided a fine defensive effort that gave the Bison optimism heading in to the second half.

The game remained 1-0 until UW's Amy Vermeulen did what she's been doing all season for the Badgers; she scored big goals. The forward converted her fourth and fifth goals of the season with just over a minute apart at 82:24 and 83:30 to put the game out of reach.

“If we could have put one of those two early chances away, it may have been a whole different game,” Cuadrado said. “Wisconsin (5-0-0) is a very established team and has been around for quite awhile. You have to definitely give them due credit.”

NDSU now travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa to square off with Northern Iowa on Sunday, September 12. The scheduled kickoff is 1 p.m. at the Premier Soccer Field.