Wisconsin Soccer Central

After her All-American season last fall, Rose Lavelle was right back at it as the University of Wisconsin women's soccer team opened a new year last weekend.

The U.S. youth international was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week after scoring in each match as the Badgers posted matching 2-1 extra-time victories over Western Michigan and North Dakota State at the McClimon Complex.

Lavelle had the 66th-minute opener against Western Michigan on Friday night, then netted the game-winner in the 100th in the overtime win against North Dakota State two days later. She has 11 goals in her 45 career appearances.

Senior midfielder McKenna Meuer (Madison Memorial) also scored in each game for the Badgers, who travel to California this weekend to play at No. 10 Pepperdine on Friday and at No. 12 UCLA on Sunday.

• The Badgers moved up one spot to No. 13 in both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 and the TDS Top 25 this week. UW also rose four places to 20th in the latest Soccer America Top 25.
• Canadian youth international Victoria Pickett signed a national letter of intent to play for UW and was added to the team's roster, the school announced Tuesday. The 19-year-old midfielder from Barrie, Ontario, played in the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in 2014 and in the Pan American Games last month. "Adding her to our team is going to make us a little bit more dangerous from an attacking perspective," Badgers coach Paula Wilkins said in a news release. "Her pace is something that is going to help us open up space and help our midfielders. We're going to get to work right away to get her integrated into our system as quickly as possible."
• Sophomore defender-midfielder Molly Pfeiffer and senior goalkeeper Amanda Engel were named to the Big East Conference weekly Honor Roll after helping Marquette split its opening weekend matches. Pfeiffer set up the tying goal in the 78th then scored the game-winner 34 seconds later – her first points in 13 career appearances – as the Golden Eagles rallied past Michigan 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Ann Arbor, Mich. Engel stopped six of eight shots on the weekend for Marquette, which lost to Utah 1-0 in overtime in its opener Friday night at Valley Fields.
• Sophomore midfielder Anna Smalley (Menomonee Falls) scored her first career goal in the 52nd minute as UW-Milwaukee beat Western Illinois 1-0 in a season opener Friday night at Engelmann Stadium, giving Troy Fabiano (Kenosha Bradford) a victory in his debut as Panthers coach. The only other Milwaukee women's coaches to win their first game were Brian Tompkins in 1987 and Mike Moynihan (Milwaukee/UW) in 1997.
• Two coaches who led their teams to WIAA girls state championships last spring will serve as assistant coaches for NCAA Division III college women's teams this fall. Lucas Kollross, whose Schofield D.C. Everest side won the Division 1 state title in June, will be part of new coach Dawn Crow's staff at UW-Stevens Point. Oregon's Julie Grutzner (Madison La Follette), whose Panthers claimed the Division 2 crown, will work with longtime coach Tim Alexander at Edgewood College in Madison.