Video footage of University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert trying to turn an opposing player into a PEZ dispenser showed up online late last week. By Monday, the cable news networks were running the scene of Lambert violently pulling the other player to the ground by her ponytail again and again while expressing their dismay. Letterman also ran it repeatedly, and seemed to think it was funny.
The reaction from fans has been mixed. Some have called for Lambert to be banned from sports for life. Others have extended bemused marriage proposals.
Amid all that noise, Wisconsin's own women's soccer team -- which is 9-5-5 with zero red card penalties this season -- will host a first-round game in the NCAA tournament against Arizona State at the McClimon Complex on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. If they win, they'll play the winner of UW-Milwaukee vs. Central Florida on Sunday, 1 p.m., for a spot in the "sweet sixteen."
The Badgers haven't appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2005. It would be a plus for head coach Paula Wilkins, who came to Madison in 2007 after leading Penn State to the national quarterfinals three times and the semifinals twice in her six-year tenure there.
Expect the weekend's three games (UW-Milwaukee vs. Central Florida is also at McClimon, at 5 p.m. Friday) to provide an entertaining showcase of high-level soccer. But even with warmer-than-usual weather, spectators are advised to bundle up and bring a blanket. The wind off Lake Mendota can be bone-chilling.
