While the Wisconsin vs. Ohio State match-up this weekend on the gridiron gets all the attention, another match-up between the two schools will be just as pivotal in determining where a Big Ten conference title will end up.
That match-up will be played in Columbus and on the pitch, as the Wisconsin women’s soccer team heads on the road to play the No. 24 Buckeyes Friday night.
For the Badgers (6-3-4, 3-0-2), getting a victory in Friday night’s game will likely be crucial if they hope to win the conference title. Currently, the Badgers are behind the first-place Buckeyes (10-2-1, 4-0-0) by one point in the standings – although Ohio State has played one less conference game.
With such a small amount of space separating the two sides in the conference standings, the Badgers obviously realize the importance of Friday’s game.
For head coach Paula Wilkins, the most important aspect of Friday’s game will be keeping Ohio State’s extremely balanced offense in check. The Buckeyes offense includes seven players who already have six or more points on the season, including three playmakers that coach Wilkins was quick to point out – Paige Maxwell (13 points), Tiffany Cameron (12) and Lauren Granberg (6). In contrast, the Badgers only have one player with more than six points on the season in Laurie Nosbusch, who has eight.
“I think that’s what makes Ohio State really dangerous – is they have several good players,” Wilkins said. “Right now, I think Paige Maxwell has been a dominant player in scoring some big goals for them in the Big Ten. But you can’t look past Tiffany Cameron or Lauren Granberg or anybody to that matter, they’ve created a bunch of different chances and scoring different ways on set pieces off the run of play.”
Wilkins then added that for Wisconsin to win this game, their defense with have to be exceptional again – especially on set pieces, an area of the game which Ohio State thrives on.
“So for us, I think we have to be an overall good team defense again and be especially good on set pieces,” Wilkins said.
If there is one defense in the nation that is capable of shutting down the Buckeyes’ powerful offense though, it is certainly the Badgers. The team managed to put the clamps on Illinois star freshman Vanessa Dibernardo in their Sunday draw with the Illini. Most notably though, they also established a new program record for consecutive shutout minutes with 902 during the game.
For senior defender and captain Taryn Francel, setting the school record for consecutive shutouts with her teammates is what has helped make this season already so memorable.
“It’s really exciting,” Francel said. “We tied Illinois and I was obviously upset but it was neat to leave a mark, and I contributed to that. So that’s a good feeling – knowing that I get to leave having a record here with the defense that I’ve been playing with since I’ve been here. It’s a really good feeling.”
Moving forward though, Wisconsin will have to bring its best game this weekend as it heads to two of the Big Ten’s toughest opposing venues in Penn State on Sunday following Friday’s match at Ohio State.
According to Francel, both Ohio State and Penn State can be intimidating for opponents, but it’s not something the road warrior Badgers shouldn’t be accustomed to.
“The atmosphere at Ohio State I would say, with the fans and everything, and the really big stadium and playing a night game there, that’s gonna be a lot harder – because you have a lot of people at the game,” she said. “Now, Penn State’s venue is gorgeous. It can be intimidating when you walk in because they have Big Ten championship stuff everywhere.”
“But, I think that’s something that we all look past. And it kinda makes us more excited to get in there and beat them at their home field.”
Interestingly, those very Big Ten championship banners which Penn State hangs so proudly in their stadium have as much to do with current Wisconsin coaching staff as anyone else. All three of the current Badger coaches have large Penn state ties, as assistant coach Patrick Farmer started the Nittany Lion program and Badger head coach Paula Wilkins was the Penn State head coach from 2001 to 2006 – a time in which she lead the Nittany Lions to Big Ten and national prominence.
For Wilkins, returning to Penn State certainly brings upon some emotion. Still though, she’s adamant that her focus now solely relies with the Badgers.
“For me, it’s a bit emotional – I won’t lie about that,” Wilkins said. “But, as the years pass and I really become connected with these players here (at Wisconsin), it’s not as emotional anymore.”