Finding their focus: Badgers intent to make this season count
October 24, 2014 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 23, 2014
BY BRANDON HARRISON
UW Athletic Communications
Determination to turn a disappointing season into motivation has led Wisconsin to one of the best seasons in its history, and the Badgers' senior class has no intention of slowding down now.
MADISON, Wis. -- Big players come through with big performances in the big moments.
That’s one of the predominant messages that has been preached by head coach Paula Wilkins to the Wisconsin women’s soccer team all season long.
So far, it’s been a message well received.
The No. 12 Badgers have shown up big this season, which already well on its way to going down as one of the best in school history. Wisconsin started 7-0 and tied for the best start in program history. They later became the fastest group in school annals to reach 10 wins in a season.
Last weekend, they became the first squad to reach 13 wins since the 2005 Badgers.
With three game left to play in the regular season -- including two key games at home -- the Badgers see three opportunities left to earn valuable points in a tight race for the Big Ten championship.
Entering the final homestand this weekend, Wisconsin will host one of its biggest matches of the season with No. 16 Rutgers visiting Madison on Friday night.
Currently tied with the Scarlet Knights for second place in the Big Ten standings, the Badgers are determined to create separation with a key conference victory over one of the league’s newest faces.
It hasn’t taken long for the Scarlet Knights to adjust to life in the Big Ten, as the squad is currently putting together one its own all-time best seasons. Entering Friday’s match against Wisconsin with an overall record of 11-2-1, Rutgers too is hungry for a win in what figures to be a battle.
“Rutgers has had a great entrance into the Big Ten and is going to be very challenging,” Wilkins said. “They don’t give up many goals.”
Six goals, in fact, is all Rutgers has allowed in 14 games this season. Right behind them, however, ranked No. 5 in the country? Wisconsin, which has surrendered just seven goals in 16 games.
“It’s going to be a hard-fought game against two teams that don’t like to give up goals,” Wilkins continued. “They’re very hard. They’re determined. It’s going to make our conference stronger and I’m glad they joined (the Big Ten).”
Senior forward Cara Walls said she and the team are looking forward to the unfamiliar challenge of facing Rutgers, as well as fellow newcomer Maryland on Sunday, as each school is playing in its inaugural Big Ten season.
“I never in my career have played either Rutgers or Maryland,” Walls said. “I know historically, they’re both really good soccer programs. Hopefully they’ll help raise the level of soccer in the Big Ten and make it more competitive.”
Raising the level of soccer is something Walls has come to respect.
• • • •
Wisconsin had lost six of its final nine games, including a 2-0 setback and quick exit from the 2013 Big Ten Tournament at the hands of Penn State.
In their minds, last season’s Badgers had hit rock bottom.
It was an experience and feeling that would go on to trigger change, however, and later could go down as one of the defining moments in the history of the program.
“After last season, we sat down with Paula and one another and just asked ourselves, ‘What are we doing here?’” senior team captain Kodee Williams shared. “We really wanted to represent Wisconsin -- and be better.”
“There are no gimme games in the Big Ten,” said Walls, a fellow team captain. “There are no easy walk-over teams and you need to come in focused. That was something that we wanted to change about the program.
“Last year, we had basically all the same personnel, but we came into a lot of games unfocused. We made a huge effort to refocus and do our part to change the program. We didn’t want to feel the way we did after last season. We want to show that we’re not that same group.
“We’re more mature and ready to take that next step and get what we want from it.”
With the setbacks of last season as their motivation, Walls, Williams and this year’s senior class set out to do their part and instill cultural change this season in the drive of the program. With 13 wins so far this season and a combined 56 as a class, the group is tied for sixth all-time in wins by a senior class at UW.
While the wins will ensure their place etched into the school record books, this senior class should be remembered for more than just the wins, according to Wilkins.
“Their talents on the field are very well observed, but what they’re doing off the field is even more,” she said. “What they’ve done to bring the team to be cohesive at this point of the year and kind of moving in the right direction has a lot more than just what they’re doing on the field.
“That’s what makes a good team and a team that’s going to be successful at the end of the year, which is the most important time.”
• • • •
Success at the end of the year is always the goal, but it’s the buildup to the postseason and the position the Badgers put themselves in by tournament time that will be the difference.
The past experiences, pains and newfound focus have paid dividends thus far. Wisconsin is well on its way to putting together one of the best seasons in program history.
Still, for Walls, Williams and the senior Badgers, nothing would wrap up all the career accomplishments and successes of this season quite like wins in their final home games.
In addition to being a showdown of top-ranked teams, Friday’s match under the lights of the McClimon Complex will also serve as Senior Day.
“It’s pretty surreal right now,” Williams said. “I try not to think about it because I get a little teary-eyed every time I do.”
Similar feelings are shared by fellow seniors Walls, Genevieve Richard and Alexandra Heller. The stage now set for a big-time college soccer match, this Senior Day will be a fitting way to close home careers for the group that set out to make a change.
“Genevieve, Kodee and Ali are all fifth-year seniors. They’ve seen this program go through a lot,” Walls said. “They’ve been through disappointing seasons. In their last year, they don’t want the same feeling that they felt the last three or four years. I’ve been the same way.
“We all know the feeling and are ready to change that.”
The group can make a statement Friday night that will go a long way in helping them see through the progression of Wisconsin women’s soccer.
While the team had goals of winning a Big Ten championship -- and still does -- the Badgers know there’s plenty else left to play for, including the approaching postseason.
While the Badgers fell at home to Penn State earlier this season, just like the setbacks of the past that motivated them, they chose to accept the most recent blow and use it as motivation. While that loss took away the chance for Wisconsin to control its own destiny in the championship race, believe it or not, what the Badgers took from it was confidence.
“It was tough losing to Penn State,” Walls admitted. “But we’re still going to stay focused, because we realize that there’s still so much left for us to play for. Playing against a team like Penn State, a top-10 team in the country, we were right there with them the entire game. Even though we lost that game, we saw that we can play with the top teams in the nation. We can go far in the tournament.
“Even though we lost, that actually gave us a lot of confidence.”
The goal now is to pair that confidence with their best play on the field.
“We want to make sure that we’re peaking at the right time here,” Williams said. “We know that even up until the Minnesota game (last weekend), we still have work to do. That’s a good feeling, because you don’t want to feel like you’re playing your most amazing soccer when it’s not the right time.”
“I’m very excited. I feel like the team is moving in the right direction on what part of the season that we’re in,” Wilkins said. “There’s a different belief with these (players) right now, which is pretty amazing.”
It’s a belief that was born from the disbelief of seasons past. On Friday night, the Badgers plan to prove that this year’s different.
There’s still plenty left to prove and plenty left to play for.
“Coming into these kinds of games and getting wins will show us how we’ve grown,” Walls said. “That’ll only give us more confidence heading into the postseason.”
