Madison, Wis. - Mayme Conroy's
first career hat trick and the 31st hat trick in Nebraska soccer history came
at just the right time as Conroy's third goal of the game powered the Huskers
to a 3-2 overtime win over the Wisconsin Badgers. After taking a 2-0 lead in
the game, the Huskers (6-7-1, 3-3-0 Big Ten) won their first overtime game of
the season just over one minute into overtime to drop the Badgers to 1-4-1 in conference
play.
The
Badgers outshot the Huskers, 13-11, on the night, but Nebraska made its shots
count with seven of the 11 shots coming on goal.
Conroy
opened the scoring right at the 13:00 mark her ninth goal of the season on an
assist from freshman Katie Kraeutner. Kraeutner served the ball from the end
line to the front of the goal and Conroy timed her header to deliver the ball
past UW goalie Genevieve Richard.
Conroy
struck again just over 10 minutes later at 24:14 to give NU a 2-0 lead. The NU
sophomore blasted a shot at Richard, who initially made the save, but wasn't
able to corral the ball, allowing Conroy to get off another shot on the
rebound.
The
Badgers struck right back in less than a minute at 24:47 to cut NU's lead in
half on Cara Walls fifth goal of the season and then tied the game, 2-2, at
42:46 on Lindsey Holmes first goal of the year.
After
the two teams each allowed two goals over the first 43 minutes of play, the
defense buckled down for more than 45 minutes to force overtime.
Nebraska,
who was 0-3-1 in overtime games entering Friday, made sure it didn't drop its
third overtime game during Big Ten play with Conroy's goal at 91:03. Junior
Stacy Bartels left the ball for Conroy, who buried the game winner at the far
post from 20 yards out.
The
win keeps the Huskers in the mix for the Big Ten Tournament and they will have
a chance to improve their standing even more with a pair of home games against
Penn State and Ohio State next weekend at the Nebraska Soccer Field. The
Huskers and Nittany Lions open play on Friday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m., before the
Buckeyes visit Lincoln on Sunday, Oct. 14 for a Noon game.
