Fresh off a pair of impressive road victories, the UW women’s soccer team looks to rack up two more wins this weekend as they host North Dakota State (1-2-1) Friday night and then Boston College (2-1) Sunday afternoon.
UW notched a 2-1 victory over Missouri last Friday and then succeeding in holding off Baylor for a 3-2 overtime win en route to a Nike Tiger Invitational championship.
The Badgers have started games strong this season, and this will be a key to success this weekend.
Against Missouri, freshman forward Taylor Walsh scored 5:06 into the game. Then junior midfielder forward Amy Vermeulen sealed the victory with her header at the 27:47 mark. From that point, the defense took over, and Missouri never posed a serious threat.
“Quick scoring may not happen all the time, but we’re certainly going after teams right away,” head coach Dean Duerst said.
Goals were harder to come by against Baylor, as the Badgers struggled to find their offensive weapons early. Wisconsin trailed 2-0 until senior forward Marla Froelich scored UW’s first two goals. Froelich’s clutch scoring provided the momentum the Badgers needed to secure the overtime thriller.
“We found out a little bit about ourselves in how our team adjusts to adversity,” Duerst said. “As a team, we’ve been able to execute our game plan well so far this season, but we have to be humble as it is still early in the year.”
After playing four straight road matches, the squad is happy to play at home for the first time.
“No matter who the opponent is, we’re excited for the home opener,” Duerst said. “Coming home is a relief. In that sense, we get to show, I think, our Madison crowd what we’re about.”
The Badgers will soon feel right at home. The weekend begins a four-game home stretch, with several crucial Big Ten opponents arriving this weekend. The Badgers boast a 4-0 record heading into their contest with North Dakota State, their best start since the 1991 season when they finished as the national runner-up.
North Dakota State is a team unfamiliar to Wisconsin. As they adjust to their first season in Division 1 play, the Bison will be a heavy underdog coming into Madison. In fact, the new team may have heavy legs this season as they play all their matches on the road.
Despite not knowing North Dakota State’s style of play, the Badgers are confident about the early season tilt.
“Even though we haven’t seen North Dakota State before, our players adjust well to new teams as we proved during the last two weeks,” Duerst said.
The Boston College Eagles are another new opponent for the Badgers but should provide a stiffer test. Boston College opened its season with a 1-0 loss to Boston University but has since rebounded to record back-to-back 3-0 shutouts over Holy Cross and Hartford.
The Eagles also have multiple scoring threats, with six players having scored goals this season.
“We know Boston College is going to be, player-for-player, a tough opponent,” Duerst said. “We have to make sure to contain some individuals and force them to deal with our strengths.”
Boston College features two Wisconsin natives: goalkeeper Kate Taylor and midfielder Heather Ferron. The Eagles will have an extra incentive to pick up a win in Madison as a homecoming present.
Duerst hopes this game can drive the team toward the same goal they strived for last season: an NCAA tournament appearance.
“Our kids are hungry to be in the NCAA tournament, knowing last year, I think, we were just right there on the edge,” Duerst said. “Last year, we had a better team overall and just didn’t find a way to get there. This year’s team has the leadership to drive us there.”
