The Wisconsin women's soccer team extended their winning streak to seven games last Saturday in a 2-0 win at home against Northern Illinois closing out their regular season with a 15-4-1 record. After Penn State snapped the Badgers' six-game winning streak to open the season Sept. 17, it seemed unlikely they could eclipse that streak by the end of their 20-game season, but they did just that.
One way to finish the year with a .750 winning percentage is to allow 20 goals in 20 games, but the Badgers countered with an offense that scored a total of 46 goals, which more than doubles their opponents' goals per game.
The Badgers offense was headed by senior forward Amy Vermeulen who led UW in points (33), goals (11) and assists (11). Sophomore forward Alison Preiss is tied for second on the team with 7 goals and-even more impressive-leads the team with four game-winning goals.
Wisconsin and their three offensive leaders will enter the Big Ten tournament seeded No. 6 when they take on No. 3 Michigan this Thursday. Head Coach Dean Duerst is hopeful his team-which has already faced Michigan-can pinpoint the Wolverines' weaknesses and expose them.
\The earlier game in the year ... we played one of our best matches in the season, and Michigan is right now at a position where they're not doing well,"" Duerst said. ""They've hit a bump in the road of their season...they're not scoring goals.""
Duerst will focus on containing the two Michigan forwards capable of picking up the scoring and handing UW a loss this week.
""What we did very well is we dominated through the midfield with Meuer, Kabellis and Brown just really stepping it up, kept the ball away from their two frontrunners,"" Duerst said. ""Everything for Michigan is those two front-runners. And when a team has that, you can shut that down.""
Despite all that Wisconsin has accomplished, they have yet to become mortal locks for an NCAA Tournament bid. Duerst likes his teams chances-though is reluctant to look past a Michigan team that should give his Badgers quite a test-for several reasons including perhaps the most impressive: his team's 10-0 non-conference record.
""You can't leave it up to a committee,"" Duerst said. ""Certainly what happens with kind of the number of goals that we're scoring in the year is important to a committee as well. The way that you finish your season is important to a committee. And I think that, you know, we would love to go on and just win three more games right now and then be assured and probably be playing at home in a first-round NCAA game.""
With Wisconsin having poured on the goals and finished the season with only one loss in the final month of the season, the Badgers can most likely rest on their laurels as far as a bid is concerned and play this tournament for pride and home-field advantage while they are at it.
