Game Coverage
Friday, Nov. 3 | 2:30pm — Westfield, Ind.
MADISON, Wis. – Yes, they're still dancing. After moving past third-seeded Minnesota in the first round, the Wisconsin women's soccer team is moving onto the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers (13-4-2 overall, 6-3-2 Big Ten) are scheduled to play Northwestern (11-6-2, 7-3-1) on Friday, Nov. 3 at 2:30 p.m. CT at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.
1. DON'T COUNT US OUT: Wisconsin's past two games, both ending in victory, have been against higher-ranked opponents. UW earned a 1-0 win on Oct. 25 against then-No. 11 Penn State before beating Minnesota, the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Minnesota welcomed Wisconsin to the Twin Cities Sunday for an afternoon, first-round matchup. The Badgers returned to Madison with a 2-0 victory as freshman Maia Cella and sophomore Dani Rhodes each score in Wisconsin's upset.
2. ONE STEP FURTHER: This year marks the first time since 2014 in which Wisconsin advanced past the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. In 2014 the Badgers took the conference title home, but in both 2015 and 2016 Wisconsin was knocked out in the opening round. The last time the Badgers had a 2-0 shutout in the first round of the conference tournament was in 2014, the year Wisconsin won the tournament. Coincidence? Nope.
3. CARRY US, CAITLYN: Senior keeper Caitlyn Clem has been on a tear lately, shutting out Wisconsin's last three opponents. The most recent game UW allowed a goal scored came on Oct. 15 against Northwestern. Clem is rocking a .769 save percentage with a 0.78 goals-against average this season. The Okemos, Michigan native will be opposite her cousin, Lauren Clem, Friday in the semifinals.
4. SEEKING REVENGE: As previously mentioned, the last time these two teams met was two weeks ago with Northwestern managing the upper hand. Overall, Wisconsin leads the all-time series 17-5-1 and only one of those matches was played at a neutral site, which is where the semifinals match will be played. The most recent neutral site matchup between Wisconsin and Northwestern came in 1995 in Bloomington, Indiana. Wisconsin won that game 3-1.
5.THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE: Against Minnesota in round one, sophomore Dani Rhodes scored her 11th goal of the season, which places her in good company in the Big Ten. Rhodes is fourth in shots, fifth in shots per game, third in goals and third in goals per game among all players in the conference. The forward is also third in points and points per game. When Wisconsin last played Northwestern, Rhodes managed to get off just two shots, the third-lowest number of shots she's let go all season.
