The Wisconsin women's soccer team (1-6-0 Big Ten, 5-9-1 overall) will be battling Iowa (3-4-0, 7-5-4) Friday night and Minnesota (3-4-0, 7-7-1) Sunday afternoon at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
If the Badgers win both of these games, their chances of making it into the Big Ten Tournament will increase.
According to Wisconsin's first year head coach Paula Wilkins, Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota are all competing to fill the open spots. Only eight of the 11 teams are invited to play in the tournament, so Wisconsin hopes not to finish in the bottom three.
We are in control of our own destiny,"" Wilkins said. ""We need to win all three of our remaining games to get in [to the Big Ten Tournament] and to gain the points to get ahead.""
Last weekend, Wisconsin fell to both Michigan and Michigan State on the road. Neither of these teams had earned conference wins prior to defeating the Badgers.
""I think there were, again, mental lapses in the game where we just gave up opportunities to both Michigan and Michigan State and they both capitalized on those opportunities that we gave them. It's the game of soccer,"" Wilkins said. ""I think the mental errors came to bite us in the butt and unfortunately it came at untimely times.""
As opposed to Wisconsin's difficulty on the road, the Badgers feel they are much more comfortable playing on their home field. Both Wilkins and her players stressed that playing in front of the Madison crowd gives them an extra spark, which is just what they need near the end of the season.
""We do well at home. We had a rough time on the road all season, so at least that is behind us now,"" junior forward Taylor Walsh said. ""We are desperate and we need to win.""
Even though Wisconsin has had a rough run in the Big Ten, leadership is only getting stronger. The Madison natives, consisting of senior captains Katy Meuer and Ann Eshun, along with Walsh, have shown consistency throughout the season.
Eshun and Meuer are described by teammates as being motivators who naturally know how to bring confidence to the field. Walsh shows her leadership by creating scoring opportunities for herself and assisting her teammates on offense.
""Leadership is just all over the place, freshmen even. People just kind of do what they need to do,"" Walsh added.
Both Iowa and Minnesota have been playing very well this season. Minnesota just gave Penn State its first conference loss last weekend and has been very dynamic all season by scoring a lot of goals.
Iowa, on the other hand, is very well coached. Teams have difficulty breaking down the organized Hawkeye defense because the players are disciplined and know where they need to be at all times.
""They both offer different situations, and they both are different in what they bring to the table,"" Wilkins said. ""We are going to have to be good on both days to be successful.""
Kickoff against Iowa will be at 7 p.m. Friday night at the McClimon Soccer Complex.
The game versus Minnesota will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.
It will be the final home game for Eshun, Meuer and fellow seniors Lynn Murray, Marissa Sarkesian, Shannon Terry, and Lauren Rudzinski.
