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For the second straight season, the University of Wisconsin women’s soccer team failed to reach the Big Ten Tournament, losing 1-0 to Northwestern on Friday.

Although the Badgers needed other help last year, they entered Friday’s match with the Wildcats knowing a win would secure a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. Despite the urgency of the situation, Wisconsin was unable to find the back of the net.

“If you have to lose and go out, it’s the best way,” senior goalkeeper Jamie Klages said. “Everybody played with so much heart, and you could just see all the emotion on the field. We played well, and it just didn’t go our way. I’m proud of my team for fighting really hard.”

For the Wildcats, a tie or win would get them into the conference tournament, and they came out just as hard as the Badgers, hoping to prolong their season. Junior Alicia Herczeg scored the eventual game-winning goal for Northwestern in the 81st minute.

“It’s obviously disappointing,” UW head coach Paula Wilkins said. “I think from how they played in the game, though, you can’t ask for too much more.”

The Badgers were lead offensively by freshmen Erin Jacobsen and Meghan Flannery, each putting up a shot-on-goal. Senior Taylor Walsh also added a pair of shots, and sophomore Taryn Francel had one shot.

With the season ending Friday, the Badgers finished with a 9-9-1 record overall and 3-7 in Big Ten play. Both records are improvements over last season’s marks of 6-11-1 overall and 2-8 in the Big Ten.

“[The season] had its ups and downs,” Wilkins said. “I thought we could’ve been a little more successful in a couple games … but I think we built a little cornerstone for the future, and I think that’s important.”

Friday night also was senior night for Wisconsin, who will graduate four seniors from this year’s team: Klages, Walsh, Sheri Ferron and Tricia Krombach. It was an emotional night for the four seniors, especially for the Badgers’ two senior captains, Klages and Walsh.

Klages, a transfer from Nebraska, started all but two games for the Badgers over her two seasons at Wisconsin.

“As the weeks go on and I’m not having to get up to go to practice, I think that’s when it will hit me that it’s truly over,” Klages said. “My two years here were unbelievable. This team and this program is great, and I’m really glad I came here. There’s no better program that I would rather be at, and I’m so happy I’m here.”

For Walsh, the story is a little different. The Madison native spent five years with the program and was the last remaining member of the 2005 Wisconsin squad that won the Big Ten Tournament title.

“I don’t really know how to sum up five years,” Walsh said. “Every year here has been so different. These girls are more than just my teammates; they’re my best friends in college. I’m just going to miss them more than anything.”

Wilkins, who coached the four seniors for two years, praised their efforts as leaders of not only the team but also the program she is trying to build.

“I only knew them for two years … but I couldn’t ask for more from those guys,” Wilkins said. “Other than Taylor (Walsh), these guys sort of transplanted here, and I couldn’t ask for anything from them but to help the program go forward.”

With help from the leadership of their seniors, the Badgers’ freshmen dominated all statistical categories this season.

Leading the way offensively for Wisconsin was freshman Laurie Nosbusch. Nosbusch lead the Badgers with 21 points, 58 shots, 29 shots-on-goal and seven assists. She also finished one goal behind Walsh for the team lead.

Also among the leaders in every category were Jacobsen and fellow freshman Leigh Williams. With so many freshmen contributing for Wisconsin, the future of the program looks bright.

“I think every year they’re going to continue to get better,” Walsh said. “Paula’s got a really good thing going, and they’re just going to keep going with it.”

With the season wrapped up, the next thing for the Badgers to do is take a look back at the season and see what they need to do to prepare for next season. Last year’s offseason focus was conditioning, and Wilkins expects this year to be similar.

“It’s going to be the same thing,” Wilkins said. “I think that and some better defending stuff [will be our focus]. [We’ll] go back to the basics again with some stuff; I think that’s where we need to start.”