Looking to hold off third-place Michigan in the standings, the No. 12 Wisconsin women’s soccer team (15-2-1, 9-2-1 Big Ten) will travel to Champaign, Illinois to take on the Illini (10-7-1, 5-6-1 Big Ten) this Friday for their final match of the regular season riding a four-game winning streak.

While conference leader No. 3 Penn State (16-2, 11-1 Big Ten) clinched the regular season title last weekend following a 2-1 victory over Iowa Sunday, the Badgers can still clinch the second seed in the Big Ten Tournament with a victory over the Illini Friday.

Despite a blistering start to the season with a 9-2 record over their first 11 games, Illinois has cooled-off significantly since their victory over Ohio State in late September. In their past seven contests, the Illini have posted a dismal 1-5-1 record, falling victim to several Big Ten powerhouses including Penn State, Rutgers and Michigan.

Wisconsin redshirt senior forward Kodee Williams, who is coming off of a storybook ending to her regular season career at home, emphasized the importance of staying levelheaded going into each conference game, as the Big Ten has been an unpredictable conference all season long.

“As always, it’s going to be a tough game, [Illinois] has one of the leading scorers in the country,” Williams said. “We’re going to keep doing the same in our preparation and hopefully keep playing like we’ve been playing.”

The star forward, Williams, is referring to Illini redshirt senior Jannelle Flaws, who currently leads the Big Ten in goals with 17. While she currently finds herself in a two-game scoring drought, Flaws has scored in 53 percent of her team’s goals this season.

Williams might not have as many goals as Flaws, but when she does score, she certainly makes them count. Of the six goals that Williams has scored so far this season, five of them have been game-winners for the Badgers, tying her for the lead in the Big Ten.

The other player with five game-winners: Williams’ fellow senior, forward Cara Walls.

Walls and Williams’ efforts are due largely in part to the effectiveness of Wisconsin’s midfield all season long. By acting as a facilitator on offense and drawing multiple defenders at once, sophomore Rose Lavelle will look to shred the Illini defense like she has been doing all season, finding open lanes and racking up a team-high nine assists. Complementing Lavelle has been junior Kinley McNicoll, the attacking midfielder who currently leads the team with 23 total points.

The Wisconsin defense is having a remarkable season of their own with 11 shutouts. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Genevieve Richard will aim to extend Flaws’ scoring drought to three straight games. Coming into Friday’s match, Richard leads the Big Ten in virtually every goalkeeping statistical category and has allowed just seven goals in 18 games to the tune of a .899 save percentage.

Following her back-to-back shutout performances at home over the past weekend, Richard earned her third Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award of the season. To ensure that she stays sharp over the final stretch of the season, Richard said her main focus is maintaining her health and keeping a mental edge.

“I think it’s just trying to focus on the quality of my work and making sure I’m consistently focused,” Richard said. “I think that’s going to be the key player in the tournament when you get tired and it’s mostly about focus and mistakes that can make you lose again.”

Playing a huge role to the success of Richard this season has been the experienced, intelligent play of Wisconsin’s back line, anchored by junior Brianna Stelzer and redshirt senior Alexandra Heller. The lack of turnovers and consistent recognition of plays by the defense to shut down opposing offenses has helped contribute to the Badgers’ exceptional .39 goals-against average on the season.

As UW head coach Paula Wilkins closes out the most successful regular season of her eight-year tenure in Madison, she acknowledged that despite the team’s success, there’s always room for improvement.

“I think they know that we’re still working on things and making them better. We’ve been talking about adjustments in practice,” Wilkins said. “I think it comes from good leadership from our older players and some of our younger players, to be honest. I think this group is the most focused I’ve had here at Wisconsin going into this part. They’re excited and know that they put the work in. That really gives them the confidence.”

Friday’s regular season finale for the Badgers is slated to start at 7 p.m. from the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium.