Although the results may have not been what they wanted, the women's soccer team can take solace in the fact that they accomplished two important goals in the non-conference season.

They have begun to fill in some offensive gaps and seem to be adequately prepared for the Big Ten season ahead.

It's been well documented that the women's soccer team lost an exuberant and highly skilled group of seniors last season, a group that led them to a Big Ten Tournament Championship and a NCAA berth.

The freshmen were on full display Friday night against No.12 Missouri, although Wisconsin would have preferred to showcase their freshman talent with their best senior player on the field. Due to senior captain Kara Kabellis missing Friday's game, the freshmen women were forced to play extra minutes and step up their level of play.

Two of the freshmen recruits certainly showed their potential.

Midfielder Whitney Owusu, played the full 90 minutes and did everything from fighting for loose balls to even saving a couple of potential Missouri goals.

"Whitney [Owusu] was tremendous," head coach Dean Duerst said after the Missouri game. "She really utilized her speed, strength and saved some shots on goal. She did the job we expected that she could do."

Even though her name didn't appear in the box score, Owusu was one of the most active Badgers on the field.

"We'd seen glimpses of [her defense] this year," Duerst added. "But in a match-up where the opponent has some athleticism and speed, all of a sudden you see Whitney push it into another gear. You want to have those freshmen playing like experienced veterans, and that's what she gave us."

Not only have the freshmen given a boost to the team's performance on the field, they have driven the upperclassmen to step up their game as well. With the Badgers having 28 players on their roster, 18 of them returning players, playing time is at a premium. Thanks to the athletic freshmen class, Badger practices have a game-type atmosphere with all players challenging one another.

"Everyone has stepped up so far [this season]," Liskevych said. "Quality in practice is high and there's a lot of competitive spirit out there. Everyone is challenging for spots and [to] be their best. All the freshmen have come in and played the best we can."

The other goal the women's soccer team hopefully accomplished this non-conference season is that they are prepared to play in the rigorous Big Ten conference. Wisconsin's seven non-conference games this season have challenged the Badgers in a number of areas.

The Badgers played three ranked teams — No.10 California, No.12 Missouri and No.22 Pepperdine — and traveled to some tough soccer venues, Nebraska and Santa Barbara. While most teams schedule out-of-league games to boost their win totals and shift different players around, the Badgers made their schedule against tough competition so they wouldn't be surprised with the type of physicality that Big Ten teams display.

"Having good games non-conference definitely helps Big Ten preparation because every game is hard," assistant captain Allison Preiss said. "The more challenging the games are before, the more ready we will be."

The other challenge with the Badgers schedule is they played a number of teams with different styles. While some teams Wisconsin has played have relied on their offensive attack to win games, other schools have focused on solid defense and goaltending.

"We faced a lot of different styles so far and that will prepare us for conference," Duerst said. "The speed and athleticism of some of the teams will help us as well. We've had to make certain adjustments within all these games."

Even though their record may not be what they hoped, the women's soccer team has developed chemistry between its young players and veterans, which could prove to be a deadly offensive attack on the field. With the challenging schedule that awaits, the Badgers feel they are ready to compete and defend their tournament championship.

"We have not always come out with the results we've wanted so far but when you come out in the Big Ten, that's just going to make us stronger," Liskevych said. "Were going to remember all these times that we couldn't pull it off, and we're going to want it even more."