After starting the year off with four straight wins at the McClimon Soccer Complex, the Wisconsin women’s soccer team is hitting the road for the first time, as the Badgers head out west to a tournament in Seattle.
Wisconsin will go up against Washington (4-0) in its first Husky/Nike Invitational game Friday night, and finish the tournament Sunday afternoon taking on the Portland Pilots (1-2). Dartmouth College will also be participating in the four-team tournament, but will not face the Badgers.
The last time Wisconsin made an appearance in the Husky Invitational was 2010, when midfielder Kodee Williams was a rookie. Williams is one of the only players still on the roster from that season.
“I went to this [tournament] my freshman year. It was really exciting,” Williams said. “It’s definitely nice to get some out of conference play.”
Williams has been off to a tremendous start this season, with two assists already under her belt, along with an overtime goal against Tennessee a couple weekends back, proving herself to be a clutch player. But the fifth-year senior said that she, along with the rest of the roster, is going to be exposed to a very new kind of soccer this weekend.
“The style of soccer is different out there,” Williams said. “They’re a lot more tactical and use smaller players, whereas the Big Ten is known for being a pretty physical conference.”
Head coach Paula Wilkins added that a tactical team is typically more aggressive on the ball and boasts a strong offense.
“They can hold the ball individually and keep possession well, so we have to be really good at team defending,” Wilkins said. “They’re a little more attack oriented, whereas I think sometimes the Midwest is a little more defensive oriented.”
The attacking style of play has worked well for Washington so far this season, as they have defeated top contenders such as Kentucky and Pittsburgh. One specific offensive threat is senior forward Jaclyn Softli who has been the key player in each of those wins, scoring four of the team’s eight total goals so far this season.
Wilkins said when an opponent has standout players like Softli, it’s important to keep an eye out for them, but to not lose sight of others on the field.
“Obviously when someone scores a bunch of goals, we’re going to have to spend a little more time focusing on them,” Wilkins said. “But [Washington] has a good group of attacking players, so if you focus in on just one, somebody else will exploit you.”
And if the Badgers have proved anything this season, it’s that they don’t underestimate any one player or team. In just the first four games, the Wisconsin bench already looks like a completely different group from last year, when they finished with a 10-7-2 record.
The key in these early victories, according to both Wilkins and Williams, has been a focus both on and off the field that allows them to adapt to each team they play. Wilkins pointed out that against Tennessee back in late August, her squad took a defensive approach to counter Tennessee’s strong offense, but last weekend, against two weaker opponents, the Badgers stepped up and attacked the ball more, leading to 5-0 and 3-0 victories.
What’s more, this taste of success has not resulted in Wisconsin lowering its defenses; the focus is still there, each practice and game, and has only left the roster hungry for more.
“We’re not content with our start,” Williams said. “We know that we have bigger teams to play and bigger battles to win.”
And the Husky/Nike Invitational is definitely a good time for the Badgers to have that mentality. Both teams they’ll face, especially Washington Friday night, will pose a challenge that the team hasn’t yet seen.
“Obviously we don’t expect to win every game 5-0 and 3-0 like we did this weekend,” Williams said. “Portland and Washington will definitely be some of the teams that will be able to put our backs up against the wall, and hopefully we can step up to that challenge.”
