The Wisconsin women’s soccer team will attempt to continue its dominance of non-conference opponents Friday in South Bend, Ind., where the Badgers face the Dayton Flyers in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Badgers are returning to the national tournament after a one-year hiatus. This will be the seventh time that the ladies have earned a spot in the tournament under head coach Dean Duerst and the 13th time in school history. Wisconsin’s 13 appearances are more than any other Big Ten squad.
“It’s exciting because they’re a team we haven’t played before this year,” said coach Duerst. “We’ve won all our non-conference games and that would be one of our new goals, is to beat all our new non-conference opponents.”
The Badgers (15-5-1) went 10-0 in non-conference this season, while the Flyers (20-1-0) enter the game riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 20 games. The Flyers haven’t lost since their opener against the No. 9 Florida Gators.
“I think we built a lot of momentum at the end of this season and our players feel great. I think that will be a focus,” said Duerst. “Obviously they find ways to win games and they’ve been in some tougher games too. [But] they’ve had some easier teams, so they have some confidence rolling into this too.”
Both teams have earned their impressive runs on the strength of their offense and the reliability of their defense. Both squads average better than two goals per game, while allowing less than one goal per game.
Wisconsin will lean on junior striker Amy Vermeulen, who leads the team with 11 goals and 11 assists for the year. Balancing out the Badger attack will be fellow strikers junior Katy Lindenmuth and sophomores Allison Preiss and Kara Kabellis, who all have more than five goals on the season.
The Flyers will also be looking to a junior, striker Reba Sedlacek, to lead their offensive charge. Sedlacek leads her team in goals with 14 and is third on the team with 6 assists. Fellow Flyers, including junior midfielder Katie Lowstuter, who leads the team with 11 assists, junior midfielder Alicija Bredlo and freshman defender Courtney Sirmans, who have five goals apiece on the season, will supplement Sedlacek for the Dayton offense.
“It’s a great challenge for this group of kids. I think we’re ready to step up and play anybody,” said Duerst. “One of the things about our players right now is that they are confident in their game and they are willing to take that next challenge.”
The next challenge for the winner of the Badgers/Flyers match will be the winner of Friday’s late match in South Bend pitting the Eastern Illinois Panthers against the fourth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A Notre Dame win would force either the Badgers or the Flyers to play the highly touted Irish team on their home pitch, a fact that hasn’t escaped Duerst.
“You just can’t do anything about it,” said Duerst. “Last year Michigan went in there and beat them, so Big Ten teams have been able to go into South Bend and get an NCAA win at their home place.”
Eastern Illinois (13-5-2) earned its fourth-straight NCAA appearance with a guaranteed bid after defeating Samford in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament 3-2. This will be the second time Eastern Illinois and Notre Dame have faced each other this season, with the Irish defeating the Panthers 3-0 in South Bend.
“It’s funny because even their coach said it is just one game at a time, and I have a feeling their players are going to overlook Eastern (Illinois) a little bit. That would be normal,” said Duerst.
The winners of the Wisconsin/Dayton and Eastern Illinois/Notre Dame matches will meet in South Bend for the final match of the sub-regional Sunday.
