Women’s soccer forward Marla Froelich walks the UW campus expecting to be awoken from the lifelong dream that has become her reality. The idea of playing collegiate soccer at Wisconsin once seemed far off, but now Froelich enjoys every second of that very opportunity.
“I have pictures of myself when I was about three years old running around in Wisconsin gear head to toe,” Froelich said. “My first distinct memory was about in third grade, when I decided I wanted to go to Wisconsin to play soccer. It’s been my dream to come here and play soccer, and it’s amazing that I’ve been able to do it.”
The dream began in kindergarten, when Froelich joined a soccer team coached by her father, who played for the UW football team in the early 1970s.
“I started playing soccer in kindergarten and my father was my coach (from) kindergarten through sixth grade,” Froelich said. “I had tee ball and softball amongst all that, but soccer was definitely my passion since day one.”
Froelich developed her soccer talent at Iowa City West high school, where she led the team in scoring for three seasons and was named team MVP three times. The standout forward took first team All-Conference honors all four seasons and first team All-State honors three seasons.
Despite her impressive high school performance, the Badgers did not recruit Froelich; however, she fought hard in preseason workouts and made the team as a walk-on, exhibiting the determination that has come to define her Wisconsin career.
“I was terrified my first day here at training,” she said. “I had no idea if I was going to make the team or not, and I didn’t know anybody. I wasn’t the most skilled. I think it was my work ethic and attitude that got me a position on this team.”
Froelich’s struggle did not end there. After earning a roster spot as a walk-on, the former high school standout began the battle for playing time. In her freshman season, Froelich saw action in just 11 games and earned only one start. As a sophomore last season she played in 16 games, again earning just one start.
This season began with Froelich again watching from the sidelines as the Badgers opened the year with a 2-1 loss to California, but the resilient forward got her chance in the second game of the year and turned in an impressive performance, scoring her second career goal in a 3-1 victory over St. Mary’s.
Since then, Froelich has seen action in 14 consecutive games and has become a fixture in the starting lineup.
“It’s pretty special,” Froelich said. “I’ve worked hard and I feel like I’ve done what I could for this team. I feel like I’ve earned it.”
After successfully breaking into the lineup in her junior season, Froelich has emerged as a leader. The adversity of her first two years left her with valuable experience that she has shared with her younger teammates.
“I feel like I’m stepping into a leadership role,” Froelich said. “As a freshman, I was kind of quiet, but now with the experience you see the little things that you were told as a freshman and [that] you can tell the freshman.”
Froelich’s leadership qualities and passionate play have impressed head coach Dean Duerst and earned Froelich consistent playing time for the first time in her collegiate career.
“Marla (Froelich) is a personality in that she’s emotional in the way she tries to get the team going,” Duerst said. “You need players like that and players like that need to exert themselves. She’s been a great model of work ethic and heart. You know you’re going to get that out of her every game.”
Froelich has shown the same admirable work ethic in the classroom. A National Honor Society member and electrical engineering major, Froelich has found time for academics as well as athletics.
“I knew that I wanted to come to Wisconsin whether or not I made the soccer team because academics are important to me,” Froelich said. “It’s always been important to me to maintain a high GPA. Soccer and studies are number one in my life.”
As the Badgers close out the regular season and look ahead to the Big Ten Tournament, Duerst expects continued determination from his resilient forward.
“We’re counting on her big time,” Duerst said. “We can’t afford to have anybody not give 100 percent, and she always does.”
In UW’s three remaining regular season games, Froelich will look to demonstrate the unyielding mentality that has characterized her career.
“Just keep going,” Froelich said. “Do everything you possibly can. Be physically exhausted when you leave the field because you have to have done everything in your capability to help the team.”
Since coming to Wisconsin in 2001, Froelich has overcome tremendous adversity. From fighting her way into the lineup as a walk-on to tackling a demanding engineering workload, nothing has come easy for the determined forward. But through it all, she has come out in the place she wanted to be — on top.