Badgers hit the road to face Michigan State and Michigan
October 20, 2009 | Women's Soccer
MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women's soccer team will conclude the regular season with a three-game road swing. The Badgers look to improve on their four-game unbeaten streak when they visit Michigan State and Michigan. Wisconsin currently sits in sole possession of third place, one point behind co-leaders Penn State and Ohio State.
In Wisconsin's final home stand, the Badgers sent the seniors off coming from behind to tie both Ohio State and Penn State. The Badgers look for two critical wins after earning a No. 32 spot in the latest RPI rankings that were released on Oct. 19
Monica Lam-Feist, Alev Kelter and Michele Dalton preview the weekend (video).
This week at a glance
Wisconsin vs. Michigan State- Friday, Oct. 23 - 3 p.m. • Live stats
DeMartin Soccer Complex - East Lansing, Mich.
Wisconsin vs. Michigan - Sunday, Oct. 25 - 1 p.m. • Live stats
U-M Soccer Complex - Ann Arbor, Mich.
About the series
The Badgers hold the edge over Michigan State in the all-time series going 19-4-2. In their last meeting, the Badgers beat the Spartans 2-0 at home with Erin Jacobsen and Laurie Nosbusch scoring for the Badgers.
Against Michigan, UW is 10-9-2 in the all-time match up. The Badgers also picked up a win over the Wolverines in 2008 by a score of 3-1 at McClimon.
Badger notes
Wisconsin is 3-1-3 in the Big Ten marking its best start since 2000 when they started 5-2 through the first seven games. That year Wisconsin finished 7-3-0 with a second place finish in the Big Ten. The Badgers have picked up 12 points to stand in sole possession of third place, one point behind co-leaders Penn State and Ohio State. However, the Badgers have a one and two game advantage on the rest of the Big Ten, having played in seven conference games this season.
The Badgers' 3-1-3 conference record marks their best under head coach Paula Wilkins. The Badgers recent success has also landed them at No. 5 in the Great Lakes Region of the NSCAA national rankings, ahead of Illinois.
The Big Ten Conference recognized two Badgers this week as Laurie Nosbusch was named the Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week with Katie Schoepfer of Penn State, while Monica Lam-Feist claimed Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Wisconsin went 5-1-4 on its home field, only dropping one game to Minnesota in overtime. The Badgers are 2-2 on the road this season. UW enter its three-game road swing on a four-game unbeaten streak, which includes two road wins.
Sophomore Laurie Nosbusch leads the Badgers in scoring this season after returning as the top leading scorer from a year ago. Nosbusch has six goals and three assists on the season including three game-winning goals. Nosbusch has scored at least one point in the last four games and has notched points in five of the last six games.
With all of her goals coming during Big Ten play, Nosbusch is tied for first in the Big Ten for points and goals during conference play while ranking first in game-winning goals and second in shots. Nosbusch's 14 points ties Penn State's Katie Schoepfer.
Seven of UW's 16 games have gone into overtime this season. The Badgers hold a 2-1-4 overtime record this season after going 1-0-1 last season. Both of the overtime wins came in the second overtime period in a 1-0 victory. The Badgers have tied the program record with seven overtime games, which was also done in 2001 and 2005 going 1-3-3 and 1-2-4 in OT, respectively.
Michele Dalton has made 14 starts for the Badgers including four shutouts, with a .763 save percentage and a 1.45 goals-against average. Her 71 saves tops the Big Ten with Penn State's Alyssa Naeher.
Ten of UW's 16 matches have been decided by one goal, including six by the score of 1-0. The Badgers have won five and lost one by a score of 1-0. The Badgers have only scored more than one goal in a game three times this season, going 2-1 when scoring more than one goal. The Badgers highest scoring output was in a 3-2 against Indiana and a 3-3 tie versus Penn State.
Nine different Badgers have scored UW's 17 goals this season. Only three Badgers have netted more than one goal. Nosbusch has six while sophomore Meghan Flannery and freshman Alev Kelter both have two apiece. From a defensive standpoint, the Badgers have allowed 22 goals with 15 of those coming from ranked opponents.
The Badgers have netted at least one goal in 12 of its last 14 games. Wisconsin hasn't been shut out since falling to current top-ranked Stanford on Sept. 20, 2009.
The Badgers have a young squad with a total of nine freshmen and sophomores in the starting lineup. Four Badger freshmen have taken a starting role for Wisconsin including, Alev Kelter, Monica Lam-Feist, Lindsey Johnson, and Paige Adams. Freshman Lindsey Hamann has started the last four games for Wisconsin.
Scouting the opponent
Michigan State (8-2-4, 1-2-2)
Michigan State recorded its second loss of the season last weekend falling to Northwestern, 1-0. The Spartans were coming off a 1-0 win over non-conference match up Loyola last Thursday.
Laura Heyboer leads the team with points, scoring seven goals and making five assists on the season. In 2008, Heyboer became the first Spartan to win Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors and Offensive Player of the Year. Heyboer was the only unanimous All-Big Ten First-Team selection and earned SoccerBuzz.com Freshman of the Year and All-America honors while leading the Big Ten in scoring and finished fifth in the nation with 51 points.
Lauren Hill is also one to watch as she's scored eight goals on the year and was named second team All Big Ten in 2008. Spartan keeper Jill Flietestra has a 8-2-4 record so far this season with 59 saves and six shutouts.
Head coach Tom Saxton is in his 19th season at Michigan State. In 2008, Saxton led the Spartans to a 14 win season and helped the team to the NCAA Tournament for the third time since 2002, advancing to the second round. He is a two-time Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year.
Michigan (5-7-3, 0-2-3)
Michigan was able to hold No. 22 Indiana to a scoreless tie on Sunday, but fell to No. 18 Purdue, 1-0, on Thursday. The Wolverines host Minnesota before facing Wisconsin next Sunday.
Holly Hein leads the Wolverines with three goals and two assists on the season. Hein is one of nine players to score Michigan's 17 goals.
Goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer made five saves last weekend against Indiana in her fourth shutout of the season. Kopmeyer currently has 60 saves on the year with a 3-4-3 record. The red shirt freshman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Oct. 12 this year and made a seven-save shutout tie at Michigan State on Oct. 11.
Greg Ryan is in his second season as head coach of the University of Michigan women's soccer program and his 17th as a collegiate head coach. He ranks among the nation's all-time NCAA Division I coaches in win percentage with an average of nearly 12 victories per season. Ryan has three years experience as the head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team, six NCAA tournament appearances, two Final Four berths, a national coach of the year honor and a runner-up finish in the 1991 NCAA national title match.
Up Next
The Badgers travel to Northwestern on Monday, Nov. 2, 2009 to finish off their regular season. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
