MADISON, Wis. – The Western Michigan women's soccer team earned a 1-1 draw against Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. The result moved the Broncos' record to 2-1-2 on the season.
Jen Blitchok netted her league-leading sixth goal of the season in the second half to help the Broncos earn the draw.
Lauren Boafo made six saves in her first start of the season.
FIRST HALF
Neither team could find much offense in the first 45 minutes, as there were just six total shots in the half. Wisconsin got the game's first shot just under six minutes into the half, with Boafo handling the chance.
The offensive struggle continued as the game moved to the middle portion of the first half. Boafo made her second save of the afternoon in the 25th minute to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
Down the stretch, Western Michigan's offense came to life, and Blithcok started to find some space in the Wisconsin defense. With under five minutes to play in the opening half, Blitchok's first shot of the game missed just left of the net.
With time winding down, Blitchok got her head on a crossing pass and sent the ball toward the net. Wisconsin goalkeeper Drew Stover made a diving save on the shot to keep the score tied at 0-0 heading into the second 45 minutes.
SECOND HALF
Wisconsin came out aggressive to open the second half, but Boafo and the WMU defense were up to the task. Boafo made a pair of nice saves to keep the score tied 0-0. Following those two chances, the Broncos got two looks of their own. Thanks to a pair of corner kicks,
Emily Pagett and
Jenna Blackburn each had looks on net saved by Stover.
A few minutes later, Pagett had yet another look. However, this one missed wide left of the net. Not too long after that, Wisconsin found some open space in the attacking end. The Bronco defense was able to clear the ball off the line to keep the game tied at 0-0 about 13 minutes into the second half.
In the 61st minute,
Abby Werthman continued to help WMU's offensive attack. She took aim at the net off of a free kick and had her shot miss wide right of the goal.
Just a couple minutes later,
Drew Martin made a great defensive play before getting the ball to
Maya Dean. Dean then found a streaking Blitchok in the middle of the field. Blitchok knew exactly what to do with the chance and she fired a shot by Stover to give the Broncos a 1-0 lead midway through the second half.
Wisconsin would respond a few minutes later, with Aryssa Mahrt beating Boafo to tie the game at 1-1 in the 69th minute. Following the goal, Western Michigan went back on the attack, with Blitchok having a bicycle kick miss just wide left.
Down the stretch of the final half, both teams had opportunities. However, Wisconsin had the best chance, getting a penalty kick with less than two minutes to play in the game. The Badgers hit the post on that chance, and Western Michigan went down the field for one more opportunity to attack.
With under 10 seconds to play, Werthman had the game's final look tipped over the bar by Stover. The two teams finished the game tied 1-1.
UP NEXT
The Broncos will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 8 at Detroit Mercy. The game is set to begin at 1 PM.
