The Wisconsin women’s soccer team (4-5-1 Big Ten, 9-6-2 overall) is looking to make their final stand in their last game of the regular season against Northwestern (1-9-0, 3-13-2) Saturday afternoon at McClimon Soccer Complex in a game that will determine whether or not the team qualifies for the Big Ten Tournament.
“This is a huge game because it determines if we move on in the postseason or if we’re going to end our season a lot earlier than we would have hoped,” freshman defender Kylie Schwarz said.
The Badgers are currently in a tie for seventh in the Big Ten standings with Illinois and Iowa, with the top eight teams qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers must win to get in.
After starting the season strong and being ranked in the top twenty nationally, Wisconsin has fallen into a rough patch, losing four of their last five matches. According to Schwarz, the team is looking to rebound with a win Saturday, which would qualify them for the postseason.
“One of our big goals was to make it to the Big Ten Tournament and hopefully qualify for the NCAA tournament,” Schwarz said. “We dug ourselves a bit of a hole halfway through the season but I think that this group of girls and this team has what it takes to come out of that hole and fight back and hopefully accomplish both those things.”
Even though Northwestern comes in with only one victory in the Big Ten, they have the potential to upset the Badgers.
“I think Northwestern is an underrated team and I don’t think that their record shows what kind of caliber team they are,” Schwarz said. “They’ve either outshot all of their opponents or they’ve hung in with all the really good teams. So I think we have to go in and not overlook them and just try and play our game.”
According to sophomore midfielder Kinley McNicoll, the Badgers are putting their all into this last match, and hoping to come out strong offensively.
“We’re going to play with the intention that this is our last game,” she said. “We’re really going to test their back line and create a lot on offense and try and get a couple goals.”
Saturday is also Senior Day, marking the last home game for seniors Alev Kelter and Nicole La Petina.
“We’re really close with both of them, the teams going to try our best to win that last home game,” McNicoll said. “This game means a lot for the seniors because its their last game, but we’ve got a lot to play for and there’s a lot on the line.”
