The Department of Athletics at the University of Wisconsin and the women's soccer program are proud to announce its Top 25 moments in Wisconsin women's soccer history. Former players, coaches and staff will come together for a 25th anniversary reunion celebration Oct. 7 at the Kohl Center.
Top 25 Women's Soccer Moments (in chronological order)
1 January 1981. The UW Athletic Board votes to grant intercollegiate status to the Wisconsin women's soccer club for the 1981 season. Craig Webb would be the program's first head coach.
2 Sept. 16, 1981. Wisconsin defeats Beloit 18-0 in the program 's first official varsity match. Eighteen goals remain a school record.
3 1981. Karen Lunda is the program's first All-American. She still holds season records for goals (22), assists (18) and points (62).
4 Sept. 4, 1983. Mary Brackett records Wisconsin's first hat trick with three goals against Lindenwood in the season-opener. In 25 seasons, 11 players have tallied 17 career hat tricks.
5 Sept. 21-Oct. 19, 1985. Wisconsin serves up a 10-game winning streak, a program-best.
6 Nov. 10, 1985. Wisconsin makes its first appearance in the NCAA tournament.
7 Nov. 16, 1988. Wisconsin beats Connecticut 4-2 in penalty kicks in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Warner Park in Madison. The Badgers would eventually move on to the NCAA semifinals.
8 Nov. 13, 1988. The Badgers advance to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament after a 2-1 win over Massachusetts in the quarterfinals held in Amherst, Mass. It would be the first of two final four appearances for Wisconsin.
9 Nov. 23, 1991. Wisconsin wins its 17th game of the season with a 1-0 victory over Colorado College to move on to the championship game of the NCAA tournament. UW's 17 wins remain a program record for the most victories in a season.
10 Nov. 24, 1991. Wisconsin plays in the final soccer game of the year and takes its shot at a national title. The Badgers would fall to North Carolina, 3-1, in Chapel Hill.
11 1991. Greg Ryan is named NSCAA National Coach of the Year.
12 Spring 1992. Heather Taggart becomes the first of four members of the Wisconsin women's soccer program to earn the Big Ten Medal of Honor, presented annually at each Big Ten institution to the senior male and female student-athletes demonstrating proficiency in scholarship and athletics. Susie Holt (1994), Shannon Brown (1999) and Jessica Ring (2006) would later earn the award.
13 Sept. 12, 1994. Kari Torkko earns Wisconsin's first Big Ten Player of the Week award. Marci Miller, Ursula McKnight and Jackie Billet would also earn the honor during the first year of Big Ten women's soccer.
14 1994. Jackie Billet, Heather Maier, Ursula McKnight, Cheri Skibski and Jill Stewart are Wisconsin's first All-Big Ten selections.
15 Nov. 6, 1994. UW shuts out Minnesota 3-0 to win the inaugural Big Ten tournament on its home field.
16 Sept. 4, 1995. Over 4,500 fans show up to see Wisconsin take on national powerhouse North Carolina at the McClimon Soccer Complex. The crowd is the largest to see the Wisconsin women's soccer team play in Madison.
17 1996. The Badgers finish 5-0-2 in Big Ten play to earn their first conference crown.
18 1996. Dean Duerst is UW's first Big Ten Coach of the Year.
19 Oct. 22, 2000. Allison Wagner tallies the ninth multi-goal game of her career with two scores against Colorado College. Wagner set the program record for most games with two or more goals and also was named an All-American that year.
20 2001. Heather Taggart becomes the first soccer player (male or female) named to the UW Athletics Hall of Fame.
21 Sept. 17, 2002. Kelly Conway breaks UW's career saves mark in the seventh game of the year. Conway finished her career with 385 career stops, breaking All-American Heather Taggart's record of 310 saves.
22 Sept. 9, 2003. Head coach Dean Duerst wins his 109th game at Wisconsin, making him the school's winningest women's soccer coach.
23 Nov. 6, 2003. The Badgers win a shootout 4-3 to upset top-seeded Penn State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. Goalkeeper Stefani Szczechowski stopped a PSU shot in the fourth round and Jessica Ring gave UW its game-winning score.
24 Nov. 11, 2005. Wisconsin win three consecutive matches to claim its second Big Ten tournament title after a 3-1 victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor.
25 Sept 24, 2006. A 1-0 victory over Iowa gives Wisconsin women 's soccer its 300th program win.
