INSIDE
WOMEN'S SOCCER
BY JEREMY WODAJO
@BADGERWSOCCER
SCHEDULE (8-2-2, 3-1-1)
LAST WEEK
Oct. 4
#11 Penn State
Oct. 6
Ohio State
COMING UP
Oct. 12
at Illinois
Oct. 18
#24 Nebraska
Oct. 20Iowa
Oct. 24Minnesota
Right on schedule: UW
peaking at halfway point
Badgers remain unbeaten on road in 2013
ith a much-deserved
two-day break from
training earlier this
week and a one-match weekend on the horizon, there is no
better time than now to take a
look back at the highlights that
have characterized the first
half of the 2013 season for the
Wisconsin women's soccer
team.
After dominating then
W
54
//
VARSITY October 10, 2013
14th-ranked Marquette in a
home exhibition, UW ran off
three straight road wins to
start the regular season, highlighted by Cara Walls' gamewinning score in the regularseason opener at UConn (Aug.
23) and a comeback win at Oregon (Aug. 30).
UW displayed its highoctane offense in a pair of
dominant road performances,
L, 1-2
W, 1-0
6 p.m.
7 p.m.
1 p.m.
7 p.m.
downing Illinois State (Aug. 25), 4-1, before taking down Loyola-Chicago (Sept.
11), 5-1, a few weeks later.
The Badgers have already accounted
for 28 goals in 2013, just 10 scores short
of their 2012 total with six matches to
go in the regular season. UW is also averaging 2.5 goals per game, which would
rank in the top 10 in school history if the
season ended today.
Taking all of this into account and
combining it with the fact that UW is still
leaning on Paula Wilkins' defensive focus (four shutouts in 2013), the results
become even more impressive when you
consider the youth of this season's team.
In the midst of UW's unbeaten road
record and top-25 national ranking, it
wouldn't be surprising that most people
have forgotten that this team is still the
Big Ten's youngest squad in terms of
upperclassmen and returning minutes
played. But being forgotten isn't something Wilkins is stressing over at the moment.
Currently in a tie for second place in
the Big Ten standings with four of their
next six regular-season matches at home,
the Badgers are in a good place and are
mainly concerned with one thing and
one thing only: continuing to win when
it matters the most.
