While she only has two assists and one shot on goal for the season, junior midfielder Erin Jacobsen hangs her hat on tough defense and held some of the Big Ten’s most prolific scorers in check this year.[/media-credit]As easy as it is at times to take the word of statistics asthe whole story and the undeniable truth, it’s still very difficult for numbers to tell the complete story.That’s what UW women’s soccer head coach Paula Wilkins wouldtell you in respect to junior midfielder Erin Jacobsen.Through 15 games this season, the only stats to Jacobsen’sname are two assists and eight shots, with one being on target.But that would hardly describe Jacobsen’s value to thesecond-place Badgers. Wilkins has, on multipleoccasions, called Jacobsen the team’s “biggest unsung hero” and a criticalcomponent of a Wisconsin defense that kept opposing team’s scoreless for 930minutes – a program record.More of a defensive midfielder, Jacobsen has yet to miss agame for the Badgers after two and half seasons with the team and hassucceeded in making things difficult for opponents in the middle of the pitchover that stretch.“I think anytime we need to have somebody shutdown theopposing midfield or deal with the pressure in the midfield, Erin is the onethat does,” Wilkins said. “She can cover a lot of ground, she has an amazingwork rate and the biggest thing is that she can shut down some of the bestplayers in the Big Ten – Christine Nairn and Vanessa DiBernardo.”Nairn, of Penn State, and DiBernardo, of Illinois, have acombined 14 goals on the year and are two of the most explosive playersin the Big Ten. The two were largely quiet when Jacobsen commandedthe center of the pitch, as DiBernardo was only able to squeeze off one shot,while Nairn was able to send three on target, but remained scoreless.Jacobsen’s play at the midfield is reminiscent of a safetyin football, although she’s not the last line of defense. She repeatedly interceptspasses and, upon doing so, can quickly determine a way to begin a surgingcounterattack. If an opposing player gets behind her, she catches up and puts astopper on any threat that may have been.That effort has been crucial for the Badger “D,” which hasallowed just eight goals on the year, and four in the run of play.When asked to describe Jacobsen’s style of play – whether itbe offensive or defensive – freshman defender Catie Sessions, as well asWilkins, offered words such as “sneaky” and “hiding,” someone who can wait onthe edge of action and wait for the opportune moment to pounce.“She’s really sneaky – all of a sudden somebody will beturning (with the ball) and [Jacobsen] will win the ball and be running theother way,” Sessions said.“She hides behind the midfield, so anything that pops out, she’s able to get a shot on goal or stop the counterattack,” Wilkins said ofJacobsen.Earlier in the season, when Wisconsin had allowed five goalsin four matches, defending set pieces had been a major concern for the Badgers.Since then, however, the team has bottled up that threat, having not allowed agoal off of a set piece since, and part of that development can be attributedto Jacobsen’s marksmanship.“She always tracks players that are running through the boxand makes sure that if somebody’s running through that we get someone on herright away,” Sessions said.Jacobsen’s commitment to the team, though, is one of herqualities that stand out more than others. Not only has the Wheaton, Ill. nativenever missed a game for the Badgers, but as a freshman, she also elected tograduate high school early in order to join the team a semester early.“Ever since I got here I’ve been very committed to this,”Jacobsen said. “I mean, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do ever since I waslittle, was play college soccer.”“I’m all for it, I’m always committed to it.”A member of Wilkins’ first recruiting class at Wisconsin in2008, which ranked 21st in the nation, Jacobsen’s arrival helped spark a changein the team’s culture which helped Wilkins’ efforts in implementing hercoaching philosophy and turning it into the upstart program it is today. The coach was high in her praise of Jacobsen.“Her athleticism, technical ability and her work rate,that’s all helped change the culture of the program, and so the tenacious stuffand the competitive stuff, when she came in it was definitely something that weneeded in our midfield, and she’s really been an unsung hero and stalwart forus.”
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