The Wisconsin women's soccer team was in action over the weekend, earning a pair of wins against North Dakota State and DePaul.
Wisconsin vs. North Dakota State
The last time these two teams met, the Badger women's soccer team (3-2-1) was able to soundly defeat the Bison of North Dakota State (2-3-1).
That was 2004, and the 2009 meeting was a different story.
Although the Badgers still finished with a win, they did it in a much less convincing fashion, staving off the Bison for a 1-0 victory.
The Badgers were able to dominate possession for almost the entire first half. The team had many chances from crosses into the box and five shots, including one by Freshman Alev Kelter that went just over the crossbar near the middle of the first half. Wisconsin also had five corner kicks in the first half compared to North Dakota State's one.
Unfortunately, the Badgers were unable to convert any of those.
Head Coach Paula Wilkins credited the Bison defense for keeping them out of the net.
""Credit to them, I thought they did a good job defensively,"" Wilkins said. ""They beat us to a lot of balls and won a lot of the 50-50 and second balls.""
Kelter was also ready to praise the Bison defense, mentioning that ""they played a tough game. It's a physical game and it was a great battle.""
It wasn't until the 31st minute that Wisconsin finally got their golden opportunity. Kelter was able to evade two defenders with a flick into the box before she was taken down and a penalty kick was called.
Senior captain Krista Liskevch coolly put the ball out of North Dakota State keeper Kalani Bertsch's reach and into the top right-hand corner of the net.
The Bison weren't without their chances, though.
Poor touches by the Badger defense and failure to clear the ball resulted in a few scares in which the Bison were able to get a few shots off. Fortunately, those sailed high and wide of the Wisconsin goal.
Wilkins said she was pleased with the team's defense defense overall.
""Defensively we've done quite well not giving up any goals. It's the focus of our team and we pride ourselves on that,"" she said.
The second half was more evenly matched.
The Bison were able to get a shot off from six yards out two minutes into the half that flew over the crossbar. Just twelve minutes later, they had a ball that landed on top of the goal.
Failure to capitalize on those or creating a sure-fire chance like a penalty kick was the difference in the game, according to Wilkins.
""The difference is getting that PK,"" she said. ""Creating that opportunity was the difference and that's the game of soccer, to be honest.""
Although the Badgers got the result they wanted, Wilkins said the main issue, is increasing scoring.
""We need to get more people in the attack and have more composure. We as a team demand better and should work on connecting more passes and being sharper,"" she said.
Asked what could be done to help improve their attack, Kelter said, ""I think we just need to keep working together and work on connecting passes. Keeping our defense solid and work it out wide and have confidence in the box.""
Wisconsin vs. DePaul
On a day that was already hot and sunny, the Badger women's soccer team (4-2-1) turned up the heat on the Blue Demons of DePaul (4-2-2), defeating them 2-1 in a come-from-behind victory at the McClimon Complex.
A team mostly known for its solid defense, the Wisconsin offense was what stood out this game, scoring twice in the final fifteen minutes of regulation.
For the first few minutes of the half, the two teams appeared evenly matched.
Both were able to make it past each other's lines of defense but couldn't to create real scoring chances.
The first real chance for either team came in the eighth minute when the Badgers received a corner kick. The ball connected with the head of Alev Kelter and was redirected to the six-yard box as both teams scrambled to reach it.
DePaul keeper Claire Hanold was able to keep the Badgers from scoring as she saved an almost point-blank shot by the Badgers.
A mere four minutes later, DePaul had their first goal-scoring opportunity with a shot that hammered the right goal post.
Wisconsin could have had more scoring chances in the first half – and the game – had it not been for errant last passes or touches. That's something that they have been working on, according to head coach Paul Wilkins.
""What we've been doing all last week in training is working on the final pass and I really think our movement in the final third has to be better,"" she said. ""We tried different formations to try and get more people up there but I think it's going to come down to decision-making and movement off the ball.""
It wasn't until the second half that both teams turned it up a notch and started creating legitimate scoring opportunities. With fifteen shots between the two teams, there were plenty of scoring opportunities for both the Badgers and the Blue Demons.
DePaul tallied a goal in the 10th minute of the second half off a free kick that curved into the upper-left-corner of the goal from about thirty yards out to make it 1-0.
Wilkins said that's when her team started to pick it up.
""When they scored I actually thought we started playing a little bit better, which I thought we needed to do a little bit earlier,"" she said.
Wisconsin used its corner kick advantage of eight to DePaul's two to put them ahead late in the game. The duo of Sophomore Meghan Flannery and Kelter helped spark the Badger offense as both goals in the seventy-sixth and eighty-ninth minutes, respectively, were a Flannery-to-Kelter connection.
Kelter gave all the credit to Flannery after the game.
""She makes it easy and puts the ball in and all I had to do was tap it in,"" she said.
With just 1:30 left in the game, all Wisconsin had to do was clear the ball out of its back third and let time run out for its first come-from-behind victory of the season.
As the Badgers get ready for the Stanford Tournament in Stanford, Calif., there are a few things the team can work on, senior defender Whitney Owusu said.
""I think we can all work on our 1-v-1 defending and then just keep going up and attacking, helping out and supporting everybody,"" Owusu said.
Wisconsin will try to continue its winning streak against Santa Clara on September 18th and No. 3 Stanford Sept. 20.
