A year after appearing in the Big Ten Championship game, UW’s women’s soccer team has a huge void to fill if it hopes to return.
The loss of Kelly Conway, who started at goalkeeper for the last four seasons, has UW counting on a solid defensive line and strong senior play in 2003.
Tri-captains Bethany Heine, Jenny Kundert and Molly Meuer will provide the type of veteran leadership at their respective defensive, midfielder and forward positions that the team will need in order to make a return trip to the NCAA tournament.
“All three of them have spent an incredible amount of time on the field,” head coach Dean Duerst said. “All three are extremely physical players. They’re all very strong and tough on the field.”
As a junior last season, Kundert led the Badgers in points (31), goals (8) and assists (15), becoming the first Badger since 1993 to do so. Her offensive dominance on the field earned Kundert a first All-Big Ten selection as well as an All-Region selection. Posting five-point games against Michigan State and Iowa State, Kundert is the key to the Badgers’ offensive success this season.
Defensive midfielder Molly Meuer recorded just three goals and two assists in her sophomore season; however, she was always in the middle of the action. She will be joined in the midfield by junior Amy Vermeulen who was second on the team last season with seven goals, Sarah Capel, who started 24 games a year ago, and sophomore sensations Marisa Brown, Katy Lindenmuth and Erin Dubina. Brown was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team after starting 24 games and tying a team high with a five-point performance against Davidson. Lundenmuth was third overall on the team with 12 points, including five goals, and is looking to make a bigger impact in 2003, while Dubina led all freshmen, racking up three assists and playing in 23 matches.
Alongside Bethany Heine, anchoring the Badger defense will be senior Elly Patterson, who appeared in all 25 matches for UW last season. Heine recorded the first two assists of her career in 2002, while Patterson’s stay-at-home style of play should help the Badgers’ new goalkeeper this season.
In goal this season for UW will be junior Lisa Mattiacci, who hasn’t started a game in two seasons with the Badgers. Having played less than 50 minutes in her career, Mattiacci will be counting on what she has learned from the sidelines to help her compete this season. Michigan prep star Stefani Szczechowski could see a significant amount of playing time if Mattiacci struggles this year.
Szczechowski joins a freshman class of 12 that includes just three Wisconsin natives. The recruiting class, largely from the Midwest, will have a chance to make an impact over the next couple of seasons as 10 upperclassmen graduate.
Last season, the Badgers lost just four of their last 15 games and took their third runner-up trophy in nine Big Ten seasons. UW’s season eventually ended in a 2-1 overtime loss to Pepperdine in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“We need to use the way we finished last season as a launching pad to this season, knowing that all the games are that competitive and that close,” Duerst said.
In the team’s first exhibition game of the year, Jenny Kundert and Marisa Brown scored goals to lead a second-half comeback over their teammates in a 2-1 intrasquad scrimmage. The Badgers’ regular season will begin against California Aug. 29.
The Badgers should benefit from their early-season schedule as they play six games in a row at home, including the first two games of their Big Ten season. UW will also have the opportunity to close out its season at home, as it hosts the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 1994.
