Freshman defender Katie Kelly set the ball for a free-kick about 40 yards from the Wisconsin goal with about eight minutes to play in the first half of Friday night's NCAA first round match at Valley Fields.
Then she looked up and saw a familiar scene: a frame, a goalie and a chance to curl the ball into the net.
"My first thought was, 'Hey, I've been working on this (shot) for the past week,'" Kelly said.
A couple of times each week, the Golden Eagles' coaches hold individual training sessions with each member of the women's soccer team.
Leading up to last Friday's match, Kelly had been working with assistant coach Dano Holcomb on curling long-range free-kicks into the goal.
Kelly and Holcomb would go to Lalumiere Field, where the freshman defender would spend the next 30 minutes kicking between 50 to 100 balls on a makeshift frame.
"We would just grab a goalie, head out (to the field), and use a pair of trees as goal-posts," Holcomb said.
This exercise was meant to give Kelly practice at curling the ball around the outside of the three- or four-person wall that opposing teams usually place 10 yards from the free-kick in order to obstruct the striker's direct path to the goal.
"The shot is supposed to be on frame, so that if the goalkeeper misses it, (the ball) goes in," Kelly said.
Little did Kelly or Holcomb know that their practice scenario would play out in a live game just a few days later.
On the field Friday night, Kelly stepped back from her placement, came set and sent the ball around the wall, spinning toward the Badgers' goal.
The shot was on frame, the goalie missed it, and just as planned, the ball went in the net.
Players from both teams readied themselves for a rebound that would never come.
"We all just kind of stood there and waited," said senior midfielder Lindsay Michuda.
After an initial hesitation, the reality of what had just occurred finally sank in.
"I saw the ball drop in the net, and I was like, 'Hey, that's a goal!'" said senior midfielder Julie Thompson.
Providing the Golden Eagles with a burst of energy and a 1-0 lead they would never relinquish, Kelly made common knowledge of a fact her coaches and teammates have known all season long.
"She can really hit the crap out of the ball," Thompson said.
News and Notes:
A week after giving up a season-high three goals to Notre Dame in the Big East semifinals on Nov. 4, sophomore goalie Laura Boyer and the Marquette defense posted their 10th shutout of the season against the Badgers. Wisconsin managed only two shots on goal the entire night … Junior forward Lauren Weber had to leave the game with five minutes to go in the first half after being unintentionally cleated in the face. Weber returned to play in the second half.