The Wisconsin women's soccer team will be traveling to Northwestern Friday night, playing in what may be their last game of the 2007 season.
Even if the Badgers (2-7-0 Big Ten, 6-10-1 overall) defeat the Wildcats (3-4-2, 8-6-4), a Big Ten tournament spot is not guaranteed. Only eight of the 11 Big Ten teams will qualify for this tournament and Wisconsin is currently ranked among the bottom three.
Last weekend at the McClimon Soccer Complex, Wisconsin defeated Iowa but then fell to Minnesota. The team worked hard but could not get a break on offense. The Badgers were not able to capitalize on any of their shot attempts, making offensive play frustrating.
Obviously, [the Minnesota game] was a tough loss and not the result we wanted. We gave it a hard effort, but mistakes again got caught up with us,"" Wisconsin senior defender Ann Eshun said.
Eshun, along with senior midfielder Katy Meuer, have been the captains for Wisconsin this whole season.
Wisconsin head coach Paula Wilkins said among many team goals, consistent improvement across the season was the most emphasized. Wilkins agreed with Eshun in the sense that her team has been improving. However, mental mistakes were a major problem in Big Ten conference play.
According to Wilkins, the main thing Wisconsin needs to work on prior to its game against Northwestern is ""finishing, finishing and more finishing after that.""
The Badgers have not been as strong offensively as their opponents. Wisconsin has been out-shot 143 to 205 and has only 14 goals to its opponent's 23.
Junior forward Tricia Krombach leads Wisconsin in total points with 10. She has four goals and two assists on the season. Junior forward Taylor Walsh follows closely behind Krombach with nine total points, four goals and one assist.
On the season, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents by only one goal. They also have out-shot their opponents.
Senior forward Kelsey Hans leads Northwestern in points with eight goals and four assists. Classmate Shannon Schneeman also has eight goals.
""We are looking at the big picture and how we want to be defined as players,"" said Wilkins. ""I am going to work really hard to make sure our focus is on the next game, Northwestern. Every game is going to matter to us, and we want to represent Wisconsin as best as we can every time we step onto that field.""
