[media-credit name=’GREGORY DIXON/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Wisconsin women's soccer team has something to prove Tuesday night when it hosts Northern Iowa. The Badgers (3-3-1), coming off a tough home loss to in-state rival UW-Milwaukee, must prove they can play well for a full 90 minutes.

"A lot of it is mentality," head coach Paula Wilkins said. "We've got to go to each individual and make sure she is being as competitive as she can because every game counts and every game matters."

"We need to start ripping teams apart," junior goalkeeper Jamie Klages added. "We were the better team [Friday], and we just did not play like it."

Following Friday’s loss, the importance of winning Tuesday's match with the Panthers cannot be underestimated.

"It will be extremely important [to win]," Klages said. "Not only for our record and momentum going in to the Big Ten season, but also for morale reasons; it is always good to get that win right after a loss. I am confident that we will be able to do that."

Northern Iowa (3-5-1) enters Tuesday’s match having lost three times in four contests, including a 4-0 defeat to its in-state rival Iowa.

For the Panthers, the story of the season thus far has been the impressive play of freshman midfielder Chelsie Hochstedler. Through nine games, Hochstedler has scored six goals, including a game-winner in overtime against Air Force on Friday.

As Wisconsin prepares for the Panthers, it will focus more on the little things that can have a major impact on the game.

"We just did not do what we needed to do [Friday night]," junior forward Taylor Walsh said. "We need to play as a team more, and we have to focus more on the little things [such as] keeping our feet moving."

"We need to work on keeping possession," Walsh added. "Everybody needs to focus on her own personal, technical game; once we get our technical stuff figured out, we will be able to keep the ball longer and create more chances offensively."

Tuesday’s match will put UW’s short-term memory to the test and see whether the team can regroup and refocus after a tough loss to UWM.

"That is going to be kind of a gut check; we just let one slip by [against UWM]," Wilkins said.

Rather than completely wiping the game from their minds, however, the Badgers will use it as a point of departure, a lesson in this young season.

"If you do not learn from your losses, you are not doing a good job as a program," Wilkins said. "We are going to make sure that we learn from [Friday] and be better for the next game on Tuesday."

So far this season, Wisconsin has struggled on offense and relied upon the strong play of the defense and keeper Jamie Klages to keep the team in the game.

"We have to keep pushing ourselves," junior forward Tricia Krombach said. "We have the talent on our team, and we just need to keep developing it."

In addition to making changes on offense, UW will look to defend its home field after losing to UWM at the McClimon Soccer Complex last Friday. The loss snapped a six-game unbeaten streak at home for Wisconsin dating back to the 2006 season.

"I am extremely disappointed that they did not bring a competitive nature in front of their home crowd," Wilkins said. "We are going to change that."