The men's and women's soccer teams both have a tough fall schedule ahead of them. The women's team will look to duplicate last season's mark when they went 10-0 in non-conference games en route to an impressive 16-6 overall record. The men's team put up a 9-10 record for the season, but the numbers are misleading considering the strength of the Big Ten, which boasts last year's national champion Indiana Hoosiers.
The 2005 women's team must play eight teams that appeared in last year's NCAA tournament, but the tough schedule does not seem to intimidate the team at all and they look at it as a good challenge to test their experienced team.
\We have a very experienced team, so this schedule will be a great way to challenge them,"" head coach Dean Duerst said. ""The crucial thing is not to over-schedule, but yet at the same time, to have a strong enough schedule that it helps you later in the season, especially come NCAA selection time.""
After a six-match winning streak to begin last season, the Badgers are confident they can produce similar results, considering they have seven seniors to accompany a flurry of new talent. Senior Amy Vermeulen will be returning to lead the charge after putting up 35 points last year with 12 goals and 11 assists. In the goal will be returning freshman Lynn Murray, who will work with the defense to cut down on second half scoring, during which the Badgers allowed more than three times as many goals than in the first half of their games.
Look for senior Marissa Brown to control the middle of the field and be a key part of the success of this year's squad. She was named co-captain and co-MVP last year and will need to be a leader on and off the field for this team to avenge its loss last year to eventual champion Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Unlike the women's team, the men's team will rely on youth and enthusiasm to propel them to a higher level of competition. It has no seniors and has seven new players added to this fall's roster.
The men's team will spend most of September on the road before coming back to play Northern Illinois University. October holds three tough in-state rivals, UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay and Marquette, whom the Badgers swept for the first time last season since 1992. October also sees a lot of action at the McClimon Soccer Center when the Badgers' first Big Ten opponent, Ohio State, visits Oct. 2. Two weeks later the National Champions come into town. Two weeks after that the 2004 Big Ten tournament champions Michigan State visit Madison.
The men's team will have to find another scorer with the graduation of former senior Nick Van Sicklen, who continued his offensive success in 2004 with 12 goals and seven assists, good enough to lead the team in both categories. Junior Jed Hohlbein will have to play a large role in picking up the extra slack after putting up nine goals last season, more than double the next highest scorer.
Besides the need for offense, the defense, which was generally solid last season, will have to step it up and cut down on second half shots by opponents who outshot UW by almost 40 percent.
The fall should be exciting for both teams. The women are fired up, ready to pick up where they left with a group who lost in a 1-0 game in the last minute of their season, and the men ready to take on their arduous journey with a young team that just missed the postseason last year.
