After an impressive freshman campaign, Cara Walls entered 2012 as one of Paula Wilkins' premier players. Walls' dominance has not wavered but a pair of underclassmen are surfacing as formidable threats for a team that has not lost a game at home this season.

Sophomore Kodee Williams and freshman Kinley McNicoll are two of the most active players for Wilkins in 2012. McNicoll is third on the team in points (8), while Williams brings unmatched intensity coming off of the bench, tallying three goal already this year. Together, the trio has combined for 24 of UW's 40 points and have scored 40 percent of the team's goals. 

Quick Hits:
Goal-oriented
After eight games, Wisconsin has recorded 76 percent of its entire goal total from 2011. Behind a pair of four-goal outings and a five-goal performance against South Dakota State, the Badgers have 20 goals to date, just six shy of their 2011 total of 26.

Ram(Paige) Adams
Making the most of her senior season, Paige Adams is leading the Badgers in points (10) and total goals (4). Adams has tallied at least a point in six of UW's eight matches this season, and is currently on a four-game point scoring streak, tallying goals in all home matches except for one. Ironically, the only two matches Adams has failed to tally a point in have resulted in losses at No. 2 UCLA (8/31) and No. 11 Penn State (9/16).

Three years ago, the Wisconsin women's soccer team learned an invaluable lesson at the expense of getting humbled in a 6-0 loss to No. 3 ranked Stanford.

The overmatched Badgers were outshot, 30-4.

But they could take some solace in knowing that Stanford would go on to win 25 straight before finally losing to North Carolina, 1-0, in the NCAA championship game.

The Badgers could also take pride in knowing that they turned around their season after that loss and made it all the way to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament before falling to Boston College.

Not only did it mark Wisconsin's best finish in the NCAAs since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 2001, it was the program's first Sweet 16 appearance in 16 years.

UW coach Paula Wilkins was reminded of that 2009 loss at Stanford the other day while discussing the positives that came out of 2-0 loss to top-ranked UCLA in Los Angeles last Friday night.

This was a far more competitive matchup; it was night and day, really.

Fact is, the Bruins didn't take the lead until the 78th minute and the Badgers were still on the attack in the final seconds after pulling goalkeeper Lauren Gunderson and using her in the box.

Wisconsin got one last shot at tying the game, but it was blocked and the deflection set up an uncontested breakaway by UCLA's Zakiya Bywaters, who sealed the victory with an empty-net goal.

Wilkins liked the way her players responded to the challenge; she liked the effort even more after learning from Monica Lam-Feist what had been said in a postgame huddle on the field.

If the Badgers were going to lose -- to paraphrase Lam-Feist -- they would go down fighting or by "throwing it all out there'' like they had against the Bruins. That was music to Wilkins' ears.

"This team is different than any team I've had in the past years,'' Wilkins said.

That was evident in the UW's season opener, a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame, the 2010 NCAA champions. Lam-Feist's goal gave the Badgers only their second win over the Irish in series history.

The only other victory came in 1989.

"Anytime you get a result against a team that has won national championships and is a perennial top-10 team in the national scene, it's important,'' said Wilkins, who won her first opener in five years. "It gives your team some confidence and makes them believe in what they can do.''

Wilkins emphasized afterward the need "to show people that it wasn't a fluke.''

She made that same point to her players prior to facing Loyola Marymount last Sunday.

"I told them after the Friday game I thought a lot of them had come to California just to play UCLA,'' she said, "and we can't lose sight of being consistent and committed to details in the next game. By getting four goals against Loyola it showed people that we weren't just a one-trick pony.''

The Badgers won 4-2 over Loyola Marymount and improved their record to 4-1.

"The biggest thing I'm happy about is that the players are committed to each other,'' Wilkins said. "I'm really excited about the dynamic they've created -- they really have a strong commitment to defending and attacking together and that mentality is carrying through a lot of games.''

The offense has been pretty noteworthy, too.

Wisconsin has scored 16 goals through five games.

The Badgers had 27 goals in 20 games last season.

"As a coach, you sleep a little better,'' Wilkins acknowledged.

The brunt of the offense has been generated among five players: Lam-Feist (3 goals, 15 shots), Paige Adams (3 goals, 10 shots), Kinley McNicoll, Kodee Williams and McKenna Meuer (2 goals each).

"Any given day,'' Wilkins said, "one of these kids is really good.''

Have there been one or two players that the others have rallied around?

"The upperclassmen are rallying around the freshmen,'' she said, "and the freshmen are rallying around the upperclassmen. It's a mutual respect for each other. Their work rate and energy is exciting.''

That's what she hasn't seen around here in a long time, she confessed.

After falling short of the NCAA tournament last season, Wilkins pointed out, "A lot of the juniors came in and said, 'We want to make a difference' and they really put the work in to build a relationship with the younger players and you can kind of see how they all believe in each other.''

That resolve was strengthened by how the Badgers played against UCLA. "I learned we're not as far off as we think we are, in terms of being competitive with the good teams,'' Wilkins said. "UCLA gave us the standard where we need to be and it's going to help us in training.''

To this end, the next two opponents -- Illinois State and Milwaukee -- will help the Badgers fine-tune their game and raise their level of play in preparation of a rugged Big Ten schedule, beginning with the conference opener Sept. 16 at Penn State.

While the offense has been a pleasant and welcome development, take it from Wilkins that her player's commitment to "defending has really made them a dangerous team'' -- one that may be capable of playing with anybody on any given day.

This Friday evening, the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame will add six new members -- Jim Haluska, Jim Haines, Lawrence Johnson, Karen Lunda, Cory Raymer and Dick Bennett.

In Varsity magazine a couple of weeks ago, Mike Lucas took us down memory lane with Raymer, the All-America center who helped the Badgers to their first-ever Rose Bowl victory, as well as with Coach Bennett, who no doubt is best known for leading the Badgers on the magical run to the 2000 Final Four.

In addition to being a great player, Raymer was a reporter's dream. Maybe the best way to describe Cory Raymer is by saying he was John Moffitt before we ever heard of John Moffitt. During a media day, some photographers were gathering players for various photos. Raymer emerged from the tunnel and heard his name. The center responded "I answer to anything with 'dumb' in front of it."  

Raymer was dumb like a fox.

The media loved Bennett, as well. He liked to tell fans that he could show Barry Alvarez's football team how to pass, while Coach Alvarez's boys could teach the basketball squad how to run.

But never confuse their sense of humor with their competitive nature. No doubt the desire to maximize his or her potential is what drove each member in the Class of 2012.

Wrestler Jim Haines overcame a knee injury and competed in the 1976 Olympic Summer Games. The following season at Wisconsin, Haines became an NCAA champion by beating Big Ten rival Mike McArthur of Minnesota.

Former coach Duane Kleven says Haines had a combination of toughness and smarts that made him extra special, referring to him as a "mental giant."  When his wrestling days were done, Haines became a coach -- of girls' softball at Pepin High School. He led his team to two state titles.

With this year marking the 40th anniversary of Title IX, one could make a strong argument that Karen Lunda is one of the more important athletes in UW history. Lunda lettered both in field hockey and soccer. While attending Madison West High School, she also played tennis, softball and competed in speed skating.

After starring in field hockey in her first three years at UW, the school dropped the program, so she turned her attention to the new varsity sport on campus, soccer.

In 1981, Lunda became the first Badger women's soccer All-American. More than three decades later, she remains the UW single-season leader in goals (22), assists (18) and total points (62). Her coach, Craig Webb, believes if Karen Lunda played soccer today, she would be an Olympic gold medalist.

Lawrence Johnson also was a two-sport athlete. A Big Ten champion in four events in track, Johnson was an All-America defensive back for the Badgers in 1978. His coaches said he played man coverage better than anyone on the team, and opposing coaches must have agreed. Johnson's interception total was modest, in large part because quarterbacks would tend not to test him.

Johnson also likes to tell the story of how, in his freshman year, there was a 100-yard dash after a practice. Before the race, his new football teammates must have had little if any knowledge of Johnson's speed. Halfway through the race, they found out. Simply put, Lawrence Johnson was more than a track star who could play football, or vice-versa. He simply was a star in both sports.

Today, Badger football fans are well aware of transfer quarterbacks, but the story might not be as new as you think.

In 1950, Jim Haluska enrolled at Michigan. In time, he decided that Ann Arbor was not for him, so the Racine native returned to his home state. In 1952, he went from being the fifth-string quarterback to the starter. A few months later, Haluska led the league in completion percentage, and the Badgers were Rose Bowl-bound for the first time in school history.

Each inductee should be very proud to be a UW Athletic Hall of Famer. That elite group grows to 190 members. What already is a good "team" is about to get even better.

Position Preview: Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards

The Wisconsin women's soccer team enters its 2012 campaign cautiously optimistic, as head coach Paula Wilkins and the Badgers feature a balance of battle-tested veterans and ambitious newcomers.

The Badgers return 15 letter winners from a team that went 10-7-3 last season and finished fourth in the final Big Ten standings. Among the returners is senior defender Lindsey Johnson and sophomore forward Cara Walls. Johnson returns after earning All-Big Ten second-team honors, as well as All-Great Lakes second-team accolades in 2011. Walls started 17 games as a freshman and led the Badgers in points (19) and goals (9) en route to earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team last season.

Wisconsin also returns senior midfielders Joana Bielefeld and Monica Lam-Feist in 2012. Bielefeld started every game last season and is poised for a successful 2012 campaign after tallying four points on two assists and a goal last season, while Lam-Feist has missed only one start over the last three years.

For the Wisconsin women's soccer team, the 2012 season will be somewhat of a rebuilding process, as the Badgers lost Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Michele Dalton to graduation and return only five starters from 2011.

After Wilkins gave eventual conference champ Penn State its one and only loss of the Big Ten slate last season, Wisconsin looked like the team to beat en route to the conference crown. This season the Badgers are poised to regain their stature as one of the most dominant teams in the Big Ten and will look to make a run toward a conference championship and its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

Goalkeepers
Goalie is the most promising position for the Badgers, but is also the area that raises the most questions. Wilkins has two upperclassmen vying for the open spot in net, with junior Genevieve Richard also in the running once she returns from her trip to Japan with the Canadian National Team.

Seniors Olivia Hoff and Lauren Gunderson returned to preseason camp poised to replace Dalton in goal and have already pushed each other throughout the first few weeks of practice heading into the regular-season home opener. Gunderson and Hoff have impressed coaches in different ways so far, and Wilkins believes the competition will only make each of them even more solid as camp progresses.

It is hard to say whether either of the three has the ability to be as dominant as Dalton, who exited the UW as one of the most accomplished goalies in school history, but the fact that Wilkins has a choice between a pair of seniors and a junior, who will be returning from international play, bodes well for the Badgers heading into 2012.

Position Preview: Midfielders | Forwards | Goalkeepers

The Wisconsin women's soccer team enters its 2012 campaign cautiously optimistic, as head coach Paula Wilkins and the Badgers feature a balance of battle-tested veterans and ambitious newcomers.

The Badgers return 15 letter winners from a team that went 10-7-3 last season and finished fourth in the final Big Ten standings. Among the returners is senior defender Lindsey Johnson and sophomore forward Cara Walls. Johnson returns after earning All-Big Ten second-team honors, as well as All-Great Lakes second-team accolades in 2011. Walls started 17 games as a freshman and led the Badgers in points (19) and goals (9) en route to earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team last season.

Wisconsin also returns senior midfielders Joana Bielefeld and Monica Lam-Feist in 2012. Bielefeld started every game last season and is poised for a successful 2012 campaign after tallying four points on two assists and a goal last season, while Lam-Feist has missed only one start over the last three years.

For the Wisconsin women's soccer team, the 2012 season will be somewhat of a rebuilding process, as the Badgers lost Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Michele Dalton to graduation and return only five starters from 2011.

After Wilkins gave eventual conference champ Penn State its one and only loss of the Big Ten slate last season, Wisconsin looked like the team to beat en route to the conference crown. This season the Badgers are poised to regain their stature as one of the most dominant teams in the Big Ten and will look to make a run toward a conference championship and its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last four years.

Defenders
Johnson (pictured) headlines the center backs, as the All-Big Ten performer will make the move to the middle to complement redshirt-sophomore Alexandra Heller. Johnson and Heller's leadership will be fundamental to the success of the Badger's defenders this season, as a wealth of freshman will compete for playing time at the outside backs position. 

Wilkins has been intrigued by the energy of the freshman at this stage in camp and looks forward to the progress the newcomers will make throughout the year. The outside back position is a vital part of Wilkins' attacking mentality, so expect the most technical and high-energy newcomer to lead the charge from the outside defender position.

MADISON, Wis. - With just three games left for each team, the Big Ten women's soccer regular season is nearing its conclusion. The conference tournament returns in 2011 after a two-year hiatus, and with Northwestern earning an automatic bid as the host school, seven spots are available for the remaining 11 schools.

Wisconsin is right in the thick of the race, sitting in fifth place with 12 points and a 3-2-3 Big Ten mark. But as you can see below, the standings are very tight down the homestretch.

Team	Record	Pct.	Pts.	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Opp. Pts.
Penn St.	7-1-0	.875	21	at Michigan St.	at Michigan	PURDUE	38
Illinois	5-2-1	.688	16	at Northwestern	at Nebraska	MICHIGAN	26
Michigan St.	5-3-0	.625	15	PENN ST.	OHIO ST.	at Northwestern	35
Michigan	4-3-1	.562	13	OHIO ST.	PENN ST.	at Illinois	47
Wisconsin	3-2-3	.562	12	PURDUE	INDIANA	IOWA	27
Iowa	3-3-2	.500	11	at Nebraska	NORTHWESTERN	at Wisconsin	25
Minnesota	3-3-2	.500	11	INDIANA	PURDUE	NEBRASKA	25
Ohio St.	3-4-1	.438	10	at Michigan	at Michigan St.	INDIANA	34
Purdue	3-4-1	.438	10	at Wisconsin	at Minnesota	at Penn State	44
Nebraska	3-5-0	.375	9	IOWA	ILLINOIS	at Minnesota	38
Indiana	2-6-0	.250	6	at Minnesota	at Wisconsin	at Ohio State	33
Northwestern	1-6-1	.188	4	ILLINOIS	at Iowa	MICHIGAN ST.	42

Penn State is in first place with 21 points and enjoys a five-point lead over Illinois. However, the No. 2-10 teams in the conference are separated by just seven points. Three points are awarded for a victory, so there is still a lot of movement possible left.

Next to the team's point totals are their remaining three games. The number figure on the far right is the point total of the three opponents. As you can see, Michigan has the toughest finishing stretch as the Wolverines' final opponents have 47 points between them, though they do get two of those games at home.

Conversely, Iowa and Minnesota could have an advantage as their foes combine for only 25 points each. In addition, the Gophers are aided by the fact that they don't have to leave Minneapolis for the rest of the season.

Wisconsin is also in a favorable position. All three of the Badgers' remaining games are at home, and they have the fourth-easiest schedule as Purdue (10), Indiana (6) and Iowa (11) combine for just 27 points.

The final stretch begins Friday night at McClimon Soccer Complex as the Badgers host Purdue at 7 p.m.

In the final installment of a four-part series previewing the Wisconsin women's soccer team's roster, head coach Paula Wilkins breaks down the Badgers' forwards.

8/15: Goalkeepers  |  8/16: Defenders  |  8/17: Midfielders

Senior forward Laurie Nosbusch has led the Badgers in scoring in each of her three years on campus after posting seven goals as a freshman, six as a sophomore and 10 as a junior. She's back for her senior year and head coach Paula Wilkins is looking for her to continue that production in 2011.

"Laurie will be a key returner for us," Wilkins said. "She's been the leading scorer the last [three] years and will be a focus for many teams."

With Nosbusch firmly entrenched, Wilkins is turning toward a trio of freshmen to play off the senior. Specifically, Wilkins feels that Wauwatosa East product Cara Walls can provide a good counter.

"I think a good complement to [Laurie] will be Cara Walls," Wilkins explained. "She adds a different dimension that Laurie doesn't have and that's the ability to get behind people with some speed. She has the ability to score goals and they've found a great combination rate already between the two of them this season."

Walls is coming off a strong performance at the US Youth National Championships, where she helped lead FC Milwaukee to the Under-18 title. She scored four goals in the tournament, including two in the championship game, to lead all scorers.

Fellow freshmen Olivia Tehan and Nikki Greenhalgh also are coming off championship seasons and look to carry that momentum to the Badgers' season. Olivia Tehan was teammates with Walls on FC Milwaukee's title-winning team, while Nikki Greenhalgh led her high school team, Novi, to a state championship in Michigan.

"I think they bring great athletic dimension, can put people under pressure and cause problems with their work rate and athleticism," Wilkins said. "They're getting better every day in practice."

Wilkins is also hoping to see the return of Paige Adams, who was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2009 after scoring three goals and adding three assists. But Adams missed all of the 2010 season due to injury and is still working her way back.

"Paige Adams was hampered with an injury last year and is coming off that right now, but she's a great combination player and I think we can keep the ball in the front half of the field more with her," Wilkins said. "She has a fantastic work rate and has great runs off the ball. She'll be a good complement to Laurie and Cara."