The UW Women's soccer team faces a tough road challenge this week, heading to Ann Arbor on Friday to face Michigan and then making the short trip to East Lansing for Sunday's contest against Michigan State.
The Badgers (5-3-1 overall, 1-1-0 Big Ten) are coming off an up and down weekend as they defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 2-0 last Friday but could not pull off the weekend sweep as they lost 1-0 to a pesky Purdue squad on Sunday.
While Michigan has been a powerhouse in the Big Ten the last couple years and Michigan State has been in the middle of the pack, it seems this year is the opposite.
\It's almost like they're flip-flopped this year in what they're doing and who they are,"" UW head coach Dean Duerst replied.
Predicted to finish 2nd in the Big Ten, Michigan (1-4-3 overall, 0-1-1 Big Ten) has been anything but impressive this fall.?? The Wolverines opened up the Big Ten season with a 0-0 tie at Illinois and continued their woes losing to Northwestern 1-0. Michigan has been unable to score recently and has been shut out for two consecutive games.?? Even with their underachieving record, UW knows they cannot be overlooked.
""Michigan has run on teams for the past couple of years, they've been top two or top three in the Big Ten every year,"" said senior midfielder Jenny Kundert, ""I think a lot of teams are underestimating them.""
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Michigan State (5-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 Big Ten) has so far excelled past expectations. Considered to be an average team, the Spartans have proven to be dominant at times this season, and seem to be a team that will hover around the top of the Big Ten standings. MSU defeated Northwestern 3-0 last Friday and then lost to Illinois 1-0 on Sunday. A team known for speed and power, Michigan State proves to be a challenging prospect for the Badgers. Duerst feels that Michigan State's success can be attributed to their ability to score a lot of goals.
""You're seeing Michigan State score a bunch of goals and that really hasn't been their forte,"" commented Duerst.
One of the Badgers main weaknesses, and a problem that the team addressed all week at practice, is their inability to take advantage of opportunities. In the loss to Purdue, UW out shot the Boilermakers 14-7 in addition to having a 12-3 advantage in corner kicks.
""After this Sunday, the Purdue game, we couldn't finish any chances so we've been doing finishing and breakaways all week,"" Kundert said.
Duerst agrees that finishing has been a problem, but also feels that being more aggressive could help that problem. ""We certainly know we need to finish more with all those chances we got, but we can become a better attacking team by getting in behind people a little more.""??
While Michigan and Michigan State bring solid teams to the field, Duerst believes UW's destiny lies in their own hands.
""I think that really this game is about us. It's about us making a statement for who we are,"" said Duerst. ""We're really hungry for a victory, we're going into that game thinking 'here we go, let's take it to them.\
