It's do or die for the Wisconsin women's soccer team this week as they prepare to face the Northwestern Wildcats for the final spot in the Big Ten tournament.
Coming off two losses to Iowa and Minnesota last week, the Badgers fell to 3-6-0 in the Big Ten Conference and 9-8-1 overall. Northwestern is now 4-5-0 in Big Ten play and is 9-8-1 overall, which gives Wisconsin a tough matchup to keep its season alive.
For senior co-captain Taylor Walsh, who faced this situation in 2007 when the Badgers lost a bid to the Big Ten tournament in a game against Northwestern, this game could be the potential end to her career.
[The game] is just something that I can't think about during the week and come game day I think about it a lot,"" Walsh said. ""This game means a lot to me because it could be potentially the end to my season, and I think everyone on the team knows that.""
With a team of 12 freshmen, not all of the Badgers have the same experience with these kinds of games as Walsh or senior co-captain Jamie Klages. However, Klages said that the team is doing its best to not let that affect their game.
""I think with a young team you can get scared by the big game and having to win, but this is our last chance to get into the tournament and play in front of our home crowd, so we're just kind of focusing on things we can control - our play, our effort and our heart,"" she said.
With the need for a win riding on their backs, head coach Paula Wilkins said that the Badgers need to focus on unity on the field to be successful.
""The first part is that we need to be competitive in terms of competing 50/50 balls and not leaving the effort part a question,"" she said. ""We have got to start focusing on moving people forward and creating offensive opportunities.
Those are things we need to do to get ourselves back in focus in how we were successful against Michigan State.""
Klages said that despite facing a tougher team like Northwestern, the Badgers are concentrating on their game more than the Wildcats.
""We always talk about what the other team has and how we're going to adapt ourselves to it, but we're really focusing on trying to get our pace and our style,"" Klages said. ""I have full confidence in my back four, because they have been working their butts off this week.""
Wisconsin has played significantly better at home than on the road in Big Ten competition this season. The Badgers have scored just one goal away and seven at home. Additionally, they have allowed their opponents a total of 12 goals in away games, but at home have kept teams to a total of just four goals.
According to Wilkins, Northwestern has a very dynamic front six as well as a strong back four whom the Badgers will need to keep up with. Additionally, goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards made six saves last week in Northwestern's game against Minnesota, which will give Wisconsin something to fight against.
""I think they're a very organized team '¦We're going to have to match their ability to transition from offense to defense and be able to work hard for 90 minutes,"" Wilkins said.
Wisconsin will face the Wildcats Oct. 31 at the McClimon Soccer Complex at 7:00 p.m.
