Two weeks ago, it would have been easy for the Wisconsin women's soccer team to give up. Mired in a slump that saw the Badgers sitting in the cellar of the Big Ten standings and losers of six of their last seven games, confidence was hard to come by for Wisconsin.
But that's all in the past. Now, things have turned around so dramatically for the Badgers that many in the Wisconsin camp have actually begun floating the idea of a possible NCAA tournament bid.
After securing a berth in the Big Ten tournament with a 1-0 win at Northwestern Friday afternoon, Wisconsin (3-6-1 Big Ten, 10-8-2 Overall) returned home Sunday to close out the regular season with a decisive 2-0 shutout of Colorado College. The win was the fourth straight for Wisconsin, making it their longest winning streak of the season.
'This was a big win for us ... This was a game that could determine us going to the NCAA tournament,' head coach Dean Duerst said. 'We needed 10 wins, and hopefully more than 10 wins. You never know what a committee is going to do. Sometimes that 10th win can put you over the edge.'
On an afternoon when the Badgers honored six seniors playing in their final regular- season home game, it was a trio of younger players that did most of the damage Sunday.
After a scoreless first half, Wisconsin junior midfielder Kara Kabellis drilled a shot into the top-left corner of the net at 64:00, putting the Badgers on top. With the goal, her seventh of the season, Kabellis moved into a tie with senior forward Amy Vermeulen for the team lead.
At 84:28, a pair of Badger freshmen hooked up to put the game out of reach. Taylor Walsh made a series of nice moves on the right side of the penalty area to beat several Colorado College players before crossing the ball to teammate freshman forward Sandy Jorgensen. Jorgensen headed the ball on goal, and it dropped just over the head of Tiger goalkeeper Geneva Sills and into the net. The goal was Jorgensen's second of the year, while Walsh picked up her first assist.
On Friday night, the Badgers used another freshman to knock off Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Midfielder Elise Weber knocked in her fifth career goal at 70:50, off an assist from Vermeulen. Vermeulen's assist was the 26th of her career, tying her for the most in Wisconsin history.
'Right now we're playing our best soccer,' Duerst said. 'One of your goals is that you're playing your best soccer toward the end, which is very important in terms of confidence. Right now our team confidence defensively is there.'
Indeed, the Badgers have been rock-solid defensively over their four-game winning streak, outscoring their opponents 12-2 in that stretch. Sophomore goalkeeper Lynn Murray has spearheaded that effort, recording shutouts in each of the last two games.
'It's really helping our team's confidence right now,' Murray said of the shutouts. 'As long as our defense stays strong, I'll do my best to stay with them.'
Wisconsin will now shift its focus toward the Big Ten tournament. The Badgers, seeded seventh, will open against second-seeded No. 24 Purdue (7-2-1, 11-6-1) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
