The Wisconsin women’s soccer team (5-5-1 Big Ten, 10-6-2 overall) finished off their regular season on a high note Saturday, overpowering Northwestern (1-9-0, 3-14-2) 3-0 at McClimon Soccer Complex.
In a game that would determine if the Badgers would qualify for the Big Ten tournament, the team knew they needed to come out with fire from the start.
“We needed this one to get into the Big Ten tournament and we know we’re a better team than what we’ve been showing the last couple of games,” junior forward Cara Walls said. “We know we’re better than some of the teams that are in there so it was a big deal for us to come out and get this win today.”
The Badgers struck early and often, scoring first in the 12th minute on a shot by sophomore midfielder Lindsey Holmes, her first goal of the season.
Wisconsin struck again 20 minutes later when Walls blasted the ball past the Northwestern keeper, notching her team-leading ninth goal of the season.
The Badgers tallied their third and final goal of the match in the 80th minute off of a cross by freshman midfielder Rose LaVelle that was finished off by sophomore midfielder McKenna Meuer.
According to head coach Paula Wilkins, it was the high-stakes nature of the game that brought out the intensity the team had been missing in their last few matches.
“Any time you go into postseason you have to think that this could be your last game and you have to go in with that urgency," Wilkins said.
This match marks the first time in the team’s last seven games the result has been decided by more than one goal, which, according to Walls, is something the team has been working on.
“Scoring goals has kind of been an issue for us in the last couple games so to get out there, we came out with a lot of confidence so it was a really good feeling,” Walls said.
The Badgers finished sixth in the final Big Ten standings and will face off against No. 3 Penn State Wednesday. The two teams met earlier in the year, with Penn State winning the match by a score of 2-1. This marks the fifth consecutive year the Badgers have made the tournament and Wilkins knows they must focus on each game like it will be their last.
“The goal is to take it one game at a time. We’re happy to get in there, the Big Ten has been such a competitive conference, most games have gone down to just one goal,” Wilkins said.
Saturday marked the last time senior midfielder Alev Kelter and senior midfielder Nicole La Petina would play on their home turf.
“The biggest thing is Alev brings a lot of leadership, Nicole also brings that leadership, but in a different way,” Wilkins said. “[La Petina] is the person behind the scenes that makes things work, and even with this game today, they got the team excited to play.”
Coming out with a win on Senior Day made Kelter’s last home game all the more memorable.
“It was for sure an experience and to have us pull through on senior day means a lot," Kelter said. "Our team was just so cohesive this year and I love them so much and it was just really an honor to play our last game with them.”
