After returning home from a two-game road trip at Michigan and Michigan State, the Wisconsin women’s soccer team is looking to regain its success at Thursday night’s match against Minnesota.

Last Friday the Badgers (7-3-1, 2-0-1 Big Ten) were able to pull off a win against Michigan State with a score of 2-1 to snap the Spartan’s eight game-winning streak. Freshman forward Cara Walls put both goals away for Wisconsin.

However, on Sunday the team was unable to score against Michigan despite a dominating performance, leaving the game at a 0-0 tie.

“We were kind of disappointed because we felt like we deserved to win,” senior forward and captain Laurie Nosbusch said. “We’re not down, but we’re not the most excited. We’re ready for a win on Thursday.”

A failure by the team to score a goal against Michigan adds to a season-long struggle to finish chances. This has cost the Badgers wins at Michigan and against Central Michigan. The team is determined to make the outcome of Thursday’s game reflect its play and end up in its favor.

“I think it is sometimes the luck of the draw in soccer,” head coach Paula Wilkins, who was disappointed with the loss on Sunday, said. “To be a little bit better and create more of those [opportunities] will be important for us.”

The ability to finish those chances will be the determining factor against Minnesota (4-6-1). The Gophers suffered their first Big Ten loss Sunday to the Spartans 3-0 and have had a marginal season with only four wins so far.

Minnesota plays with good energy and brings physicality to each match but has failed to translate that into victories so far this season. However, they were able to pull off a 3-2 victory over Michigan last week, something the Badgers failed to do.

“Minnesota is a great team. … The pace of the game is going to be challenging,” Wilkins said. “They transition very well, and I think we are going to have to match their intensity.”

In preparation for the battle Thursday night, the Badgers are trying to let their legs recover and are centering the attention on tactical strategies. During practices they focused on set plays, the formations each team uses and how they can use it to their advantage.

The key will be if the Wisconsin offense is able to break down the Gophers defense and keep up with its aggressive play. Creating opportunities as well as taking advantage of mistakes made by the opponent’s defense were the main points stressed at practice.

“They always bring great energy and go at you 100 percent,” Nosbusch said. “So to play 90 minutes at that level is always a challenge.”

If the Badgers are up to the challenge, a win Thursday night would continue them down the path toward a Big Ten championship. The team is currently tied with Ohio State for first place.

“We’re doing well in the Big Ten, and we control our own destiny, so if we keep winning we will win [the conference],” Walls said.

Walls hopes to continue being successful on the field in leading her team to victory. After the two goals against Michigan State, she was named Big-ten freshmen of the week Monday. She leads the Badgers in scoring this season with six goals thus far. But she points out that her success only comes from the help of the rest of the team.

“We need to have a good team effort,” Walls said. “If we all do that and all play together I think we will get the win.”