While most student athletes spend their freshman year fighting for playing time, Wisconsin midfielder Kara Kabellis has fought her way to the top of the team leader board and to the front of the women’s soccer attack.

After scoring in each of the Badgers’ final two regular season games, Kabellis finished the regular season second in goals (6), shots (47) and shots on goal (21).

“We put her in positions where she can get those kinds of stats, and then she makes it work,” UW head coach Dean Duerst said. “It just shows her caliber of player, her ability to be an impact player for us at Wisconsin. It bodes well for the future for her.”

The talented freshman has seen action in every game this season, demonstrating the skill and poise of a veteran.

“She has stepped in from day one and established herself as an all-around player,” Duerst said. “She’s great in the air and great technically with the ball at her feet. In her rookie year, she is playing like an experienced player.”

Kabellis’ impressive first-year performance has drawn comparisons to some of Wisconsin’s all-time greats, including Kari Maijala, the program’s career leader in goals (47) and points (112).

“[Kabellis] has the hardness of some of the top backs we’ve had in the program, and the ability to score and hit a ball like Kari Maijala, who is one of the all-time leaders here,” Duerst said. “She is kind of a blend of a lot of the top players that have been here.”

Kabellis’ play has drawn recognition throughout the Big Ten.

“It has surprised coaches we have played against and coaches that have heard about her,” Duerst said. “When she gets recognition from other coaches, other media, other fans, that’s when you know that she’s doing a great job.”

Kabellis closed out the regular season on a tear, scoring against UW-Green Bay in the regular season finale and capitalizing on a loose ball following forward Katy Lindenmuth’s corner kick to score the deciding goal against UW-Milwaukee with six seconds remaining in the first half.

“I knew that there were only thirty seconds left when we had the corner, and I knew that I could probably catch them off-guard if we got a good kick in,” Kabellis said. “Katy (Lindenmuth) got it up there, it bounced around and I was just in the right place to put it home.”

Duerst will look for continued production from the freshman standout in the Big Ten tournament.

“Every player that steps on the field has to make an impact, has to do what they can do best within their role,” Duerst said. “Her role is a central midfielder, so she has to be able to defend and get forward. That will be important throughout the tournament for our team to be successful.”

Though she has never competed in the Big Ten tournament, Kabellis gained significant postseason experience at the club level as a five-time team MVP for the Windy City Pride. In seven years with the Pride, Kabellis led the team to four state championships, gaining valuable competitive knowledge.

“You learn to win,” Kabellis said. “You learn that whoever wants it more is going to win. It helped me not just with skills, but also with competing and the mental toughness you need to compete.”

Kabellis got an early jump on the competition, starting her soccer career at age four.

“Starting that early is when you learn the basic fundamentals, and you just have to keep building,” Kabellis said.

The talented midfielder built herself into a leader at the high school level, earning team MVP and all-conference honors all four seasons and taking conference MVP and all-state honors in her senior season.

Kabellis learned to adjust her game to a new coach and unfamiliar teammates in her four years as a member of the state Olympic Development Program team.

“You were playing with girls you didn’t normally play with,” Kabellis said. “It helps you be able to adapt to people you don’t normally play with. That’s definitely a good experience to have because you learn how to adjust to other people’s styles and incorporate your own.”

Throughout her career, Kabellis has remained committed to academics as an Illinois State Scholar and a member of the National Honor Society.

“[Academics] are very important,” Kabellis said. “They should be the most important thing. I try to concentrate on them even more than on soccer.”

In her freshman season, Kabellis has already established herself among the team leaders in scoring and has shown the potential to become one of the elite players in the Big Ten.

“She is one of the top players out of Illinois,” Duerst said. “I think she is going to be one of the top players in the conference from now on.”