Box Score FAIRFAX, Va. --- UC Irvine women's soccer's postseason run ended Friday afternoon at George Mason Stadium falling, 3-0, to Wisconsin.

BRISK START
UCI and Wisconsin took the field for the NCAA Second Round match at George Mason University on a chilly and blustery day. The play on the field mirrored that with two physical, defensive squads muscling up for each possession and every ball. It was Wisconsin (10-5-6) that found the first breakthrough with the luxury of an early foul setting up a free kick near the top of the box. A pair of badgers disguised the set piece before revealing Natalie Viggiano who blasted a shot into the upper right corner with nothing keeper Glo Hinojosa could do putting the Anteaters behind, 1-0, in the 22nd minute.

The Badgers quickly added to their lead getting possession back in the attacking third. Viggiano kept the possession and sprinted to the endline before firing toward the box right onto Joyelle Washington to redirect the ball back on frame and in to make it 2-0 in the 26th minute.

"We just didn't get into our rhythm," noted head coach Scott Juniper following the match. "Part of that was our side being a bit off and not playing as strong as we had been over the past few weeks, but also going up against a really strong Wisconsin that put us under huge amounts of pressure everywhere."

MAKING A RUN
The Anteater (16-6) offense looked to pick things up in the second half after just one shot off target. Scarlett Camberos took charge with an early shot, and after the defense denied a corner kick, UCI was off to the races again.

UCI's best opportunity to get back in the match came in the 59th minute. Chloe Ragon led the attack through the middle and fed Camberos out on the wing bearing down on goal. Her first shot was turned away on an athletic effort by keeper Jordyn Bloomer, and the rebound fell to Camberos, but was returned as well keeping UCI off the board and two goals back.

The Badgers would seal UCI's fate back on the other end continued to search for a decisive blow. Maia Cella got to the left side of the box in the 72nd minute and shuffled a pass into the box threading through multiple bodies and popping out to a wide open Izzy Verdugo at the far post slotting it off a defender and by a diving Hinojosa for the 3-0 advantage.

FINAL SCORE: WISCONSIN 3, UC IRVINE 0
The loss ends UC Irvine's season in the NCAA Second Round and a 16-6 overall record while halting team streaks of seven straight wins and eight straight road wins.

Hinojosa followed up a career-best seven-save match against UCLA with six saves in Friday's game. The first-half strike ended her and the defense's shutout streak at 544:57.

Camberos finished with a game-high four shots and three shots on target as the offense put up seven shots to Wisconsin's 14.

"When you come off a win against a team like UCLA, the next team you face is going to do anything but take you lightly," coach Juniper continued praising the day's action and his team's efforts throughout 2021. "Fantastic this season, this team has written a very big page of their own history in UC Irvine women's soccer. The coaching staff is grateful to them for choosing UC Irvine and giving us the opportunity and pleasure of coaching them. We had players that played some seasons as individuals that came together as a group and learned to play together. It's the balance they found between how hard they want to compete and remembering to have fun doing it. This is a group that has managed to find that balance better than any other group."