GOAL Y
ORIENTED
Cara Walls is just a sophomore, but she's already proven herself a leader when it comes to scoring for the Badgers
BY MIKE LUCAS • UWBADGERS.COM
ou can understand why Wisconsin women's soccer forward Cara Walls might be impacted by the clutch play of 23-year-old Alex Morgan, who led Team USA to a thrilling win over Canada in the semifinals of the Olympics and evolved not only into a gold medalist but a "goal'' medalist. Morgan, who played collegiately at Cal-Berkeley, is one of the
elite goal scorers in the world. Walls took note of her success in London be- cause she plays the same forward position and because "obviously she's so tal- ented and I want to do what she does — I want to score goals.'' Walls got off to a fast start in her first season with the Badgers by leading the
team in goals (9), points (19), shooting percentage (.281) and game-winning goals (4). She was the first freshman to lead UW in goal-scoring since 2001, and her nine goals were the most by a UW freshman since 1997. "I always tell her that she can be special,'' said sixth-year Wisconsin coach Paula Wilkins, "and I've been trying to make her believe that.'' The message is starting to resonate with the 19-year-old Walls who said Wilkins has taught her "to believe in myself and to believe in my teammates.'' Taking it another step, Walls said Wilkins has also stressed that "things aren't
always going to go my way or the team's way, but you have to stick with it and persevere and it will work out.'' Words to win by — especially since the Badgers are looking to rebound from
36 » VARSITY AUGUST 9, 2012
