On Tuesday evening the Wisconsin (3-3-1) women's soccer team lost a match against in-state rival Marquette (5-1) in Milwaukee. While this outcome may have been a bit discouraging to the team, senior goalkeeper Kelly Conway accomplished an individual effort of amazing scope. Conway recorded her 313th save of her collegiate career, surpassing former UW goalkeeper Heather Taggart's mark of 310 set in 1991.
\I beat the record of an amazing goalkeeper"" a modest Conway said Wednesday night.
Conway attributed much of her record to the more offensive nature the game has taken in the past 11 years. Head Coach Dean Duerst doesn't seem to share the same down-to-earth opinion as his star keeper. Duerst thinks that Conway is ""somebody that can set a record just because of her intensity and focus that has come from training.""
While this record is certainly a remarkable achievement, both Duerst and Conway were more excited to talk about the start of the Big Ten schedule at Indiana (3-2) this Friday. The Badgers have played three games since last Friday, perhaps taking a physical toil on the team.
""We definitely haven't had as much time on the field that we would have liked to prepare for this [Indiana] game, so we have to concentrate on the mental aspect while we let our bodies recover"" Conway said.
One of those mental aspects heading into Friday's game against the Hoosiers may be the tense nerves of some of the younger, less experienced players. The Badgers have nine freshmen on the roster, highlighted by Evanston, Ill., native Marisa Brown. Brown, who plays midfielder this season for the Badgers, has two goals, one assist and five points on the season. Adjusting from the prep level to NCAA Division I is a factor among the younger players, but Brown insists that ""once you get used to [playing at the college level], you get more confident."" As far as the actual game goes, Duerst emphasizes that the Badgers need to finish more consistently when given the opportunity to score. Duerst asserts that UW is getting the chances it needs to score goals, but just can't seem to seal the deal and find the back of the net. Aside from Tuesday's game against Marquette, UW hasn't been shutout this season and has only had one team score two goals on them in a game. Adding credit to Conway and a defense that Duerst says is ""solid.""
Offensively, Duerst thinks of his squad as a ""multi-dimensional team"" with five of his players getting off 10 or more shots and another 11 pulling the trigger at least once this season. It seems that balance is the name of the game for the Badger offense this fall. This balance, along with more consistent finishing touches and a defense that has yet to yield should lead to more notches in the ""W"" column. Friday is the Big Ten opener for both teams, so emotions and tensions should certainly run high. Adding to this heated state is the fact that the Hoosiers beat UW in Madison last year, putting a little more importance on this year's match in Bloomington, Ind.
""When that [being beat in Madison] happens, you really want to beat those guys."" Duerst said.
