Story Courtesy of Western Michigan Athletic Communications

MADISON, Wis. -- Despite dominating for long stretches of the game, the Western Michigan women's soccer team fell to Wisconsin, 3-2, on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Abby Smothers and Meredith Vance found the back of the net for the Brown and Gold, while Reagan Sulaver made four saves in net. The Broncos finish the season with a 16-4-1 overall record and 10-1-1 MAC mark. WMU broke the program's single-season record for wins and won both the MAC regular season and tournament titles for the second consecutive season.

FIRST HALF
The Broncos played strong defense in the opening portion of the first 45 minutes, clearing multiple balls out of dangerous areas. Eventually, the offense got going toward the net, and they were able to breakthrough.

Abigail Baldridge floated a ball into the box that hit the head of Avery Peters. Her pass went to Smothers, who buried a shot just inside the right post to give the Brown and Gold a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

Both teams struggled to find much offense down the stretch of the half, and Western Michigan carried a lead into the halftime break.

SECOND HALF
Both teams brought the energy in the second 45 minutes, as the Badgers opened the half with a pair of corner kicks. WMU did well to clear the ball away from trouble. However, in the 58th minute, the referees reviewed a penalty in the box and awarded Wisconsin a penalty kick. UW scored to tie the game.

After a pair of saves from Sulaver, WMU was awarded a free kick thanks to a Wisconsin handball. The Broncos put the ball into trouble, but it eventually went out for a goal kick. A little bit later, UW was awarded another free kick near the box. After the ball bounced around, the Badgers converted the chance to go up 2-1 in the game.

Wisconsin added another goal in the 80th minute, but the Broncos would control play from there. Thanks to a nice pass from Peters, Vance was able to rip a shot into the back of the net to make it 3-2 with under 10 minutes to play.

Down the stretch, the Broncos would threaten multiple times, including a Mira Pierre-Webster shot that went just over the bar in the 86th minute. With seven seconds remaining, the Brown and Gold were awarded a free kick in dangerous territory. Drew Martin floated a ball into the box that bounced around and was cleared away from the goal.

Wisconsin finished off a 3-2 win to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.