Lady luck hasn’t been on the Wisconsin women’s soccer team’s side this year. Unfortunate bounces and deflections have aided in the woes of the Badgers’ offensive production all year long.
And last weekend was no exception.
Against sixth-ranked Penn State, the Badgers best opportunity first saw Lauren Schmidt’s shot bounce off the crossbar. Then the ball ricocheted to Sarah Capel, whose header was met by the PSU goalie immediately.
It was the same story against Ohio State. Natalie Roedler rifled three shots on goal against OSU, only to be turned away each time.
“Unfortunately that’s been the story of the season,” said UW head coach Dean Duerst. “These are situations that you will face in life: adversity. It’s something in which you just have to grow from and use it as experience.”
The defensive unit of UW has done its part in keeping opponents off the scoreboard and providing the offensive unit with games that aren’t out of reach. With six overtime games, three ties and fives games decided by less than one goal, the Badgers’ record could be altered significantly if balls had only bounced differently.
“This year has been a frustrating (one) for us,” said junior keeper Kelly Conway, who recorded her fourth shutout against OSU. “Everyone is frustrated.”
As the season winds down, UW must now search for new motivation for the rest of the season.
“Now its like can we play a different role,” said Duerst. “Can we be a spoiler role? Can we find ways to beat teams now that we’re underdogs? (They need to) keep their heads and hearts in it. They’re going to stick with it and get through it. We’re in it together.”
Hurting Sister Act: UW was without the services of their sister act last weekend. Both Kelly and Jenny Kundert were no-gos in the last two games due to injuries sustained in the past few weeks.
The younger, Jenny, sustained an ankle sprain, while the elder, Kelly, got the short end of the stick and was wounded in the contest against Iowa. Kelly was on the injured reserve after colliding on a scoring play with the Hawkeye’s goalkeeper.
“Kelly has a double whammy,” said Duerst. “(She suffered) a sprained ankle and knee on the play in which she scored.”
Frontline Action: The Badgers had a different defensive look Friday when senior goalie Jodi Zilinski stepped into the goal box and saw her first action of the season.
Conway found herself being a spectator for the first time after allowing a pair of goals to PSU. Duerst pulled her late in the second half against Penn State in favor of Zilinski, and in just under 14 minutes of play the senior keeper made three saves in her only appearance of the year.
Four-peat: Penn State earned its fourth consecutive regular season Big Ten title Sunday with a 1-0 victory over Northwestern, extending its conference winning streak to 30 games.
“When you get one or two (championships), people think you’re lucky,” said junior All-American Christie Welsh. “When you win three or four, you’re building consistency.”
PSU will lose only four players to graduation from the 1998-99 recruiting class that made four straight appearances in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
“These four seniors changed the program and have had a major impact,” PSU head coach Paula Wilkins said.
