University of Wisconsin women’s soccer team entered the first round of Wednesday’s Big Ten tournament with the memory of last season’s tournament fresh in their minds.
After a strong start to the 2013 season, the team faltered in the final stretch of the Big Ten season and lost their opening round game of the Big Ten tournament 2-0 to Penn State. Following the loss, the Badgers would not make the NCAA tournament.
However, Wednesday’s match against Illinois in the first round of the conference tournament proved to be a different story than last season, as the No. 2 seed Badgers defeated the No. 7 seed Illini, 2-0.
The win marked the first time that UW has advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament since 2005.
“I was proud,” UW head coach Paula Wilkins said in a UW Athletics statement. “I think Illinois had a game plan, and our players were able to figure it out. I’m really proud of them for that. It says something to have two forwards up top who can finish their chances.”
And those two forwards Wilkins is referring to are seniors Cara Walls and Kodee Williams, two of the team’s leading goal scorers.
Both goals for the Badgers came in the first half Wednesday. Midway through the first half, junior midfielder Kinley McNicoll found a streaking Williams, who spun her way through the Illinois defense to put the Badgers up 1-0 in the 25th minute. It was Williams’ seventh goal of the season and her Big Ten-leading sixth game-winning goal on the year.
Only six minutes later in the 31st minute of the game, Walls put UW up for good, 2-0, after she scored past Illinois’ sophomore goalie Claire Wheatley. The goal was Walls’ team-high 12th of the season.
The Badgers held the Illini the rest of the way and recorded their 15th shutout – a team record – of the season, thanks to another stellar performance from Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Genevieve Richard. The shutout was Richard’s 13th of the season and tied her for second-most in a season in program history. Not even redshirt senior Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Jannelle Flaws could put one past the UW defense or Richard.
Wilkins points to a total team effort for the Badgers, who tied the Illini last Friday, in order to advance into the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament. It was a win that the team starting preparing themselves for at the end of last season.
“It’s mostly about this team,” Wilkins said in the statement. “Going back to what they did in the offseason, not just on the field but off the field as well, they’ve built a team culture. Even when you talk to kids on the bench, they’re as a part of this as anyone else. That’s a great thing.”
The Badgers will take on No. 6 Minnesota, who they beat at Minnesota Oct. 18, 4-1. The Golden Gophers defeated Michigan in double overtime Wednesday night to advance to the semifinals. Wisconsin and Minnesota will kickoff at 1 p.m. (CST) Friday from the Boilermaker Soccer Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana.
