University of Wisconsin junior forward Scott Lorenz managed a rare feat Sunday, scoring just the third goal this season allowed by No. 2 Northwestern.
But it wasn't enough for the Badgers, whose Big Ten Conference winless streak reached 11 matches with a 2-1 setback to the unbeaten Wildcats before a crowd of 788 at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
Northwestern (10-0-2, 3-0 Big Ten) took a 2-0 lead when sophomore Matt Eliason tallied his 10th and 11th goals of the season in the 32nd and 36th minutes, respectively, but the Badgers (5-5-2, 0-3-1) didn't cave.
UW narrowly missed several chances to score in the second period (including a ball by senior Victor Diaz that caromed off the near post midway through the half) before breaking through against Northwestern keeper Misha Rosenthal, who ranks second nationally in goals-against average.
Lorenz continued his hot hand, scoring his third goal in the last two games on a header in the 66th minute.
"(Rosenthal) made some clutch saves," said Lorenz, who has fired a combined 13 shots in the Badgers' last three contests. "He's a good keeper, and you have to do something special to beat him."
UW outshot Northwestern 8-7 in the second half and also had four corner kicks, forcing the action to take place predominantly on the Wildcats' half of the field.
"We threw everything we had at them and they handled it," Lorenz said of the Wildcats. "We had more chances in the second half but just couldn't finish.'"
Lorenz's score -- his team-leading sixth of the season -- came as the result of an outstanding sequence that saw defender Andy Miller launch a long diagonal ball to the feet of Austin Spohn, who then connected with Lorenz on a serve to the back post.
"The goal was really not important, it's more how the team played in the second half," Lorenz said. "We responded well when we got down by two goals."
The Badgers peppered Rosenthal with eight shots on goal, the most the Wildcats have allowed this season. Rosenthal, who entered the game No. 4 nationally in save percentage, finished with a season-high seven stops, while UW keeper Alex Horwath had five saves.
"We came out with the intensity and fight we needed to, and we dictated tempo more in the second half," UW coach Jeff Rohrman said. "The guys responded to the challenge we gave them at halftime and I was proud of the effort they gave in the last 45, but the game is 90 minutes long and we have to come out and play from the first minute."
The eight shots on goal marked the Badgers' second-highest tally of the season in that category, surpassed only by the 10 they racked up against Dayton on Sept. 7.
UW's next chance to snap its Big Ten winless streak comes Oct. 18 against Ohio State. First, the Badgers will face Marquette on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Valley Fields in Milwaukee.
"We've had a little bit of bad luck down the stretch, but the team's going to bounce back," Rohrman said. "We're a resilient group, so I feel good about how we're going to come out on Wednesday."
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