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Game Coverage
Friday, Aug. 25 | 7pm — Tulsa, Okla.
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Game Coverage
Sunday, Aug. 27 | 7pm — Tulsa, Okla.
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MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's soccer team will open its season on Friday at Tulsa at 7 p.m. (CT) before facing Oral Roberts on Sunday at 7 p.m. The Badgers open the regular season on the road for the first time since 2013. Live statistics and video streams will be available for both games and links can be found via UWBadgers.com. Additionally, live updates can be found through Twitter (@BadgerMSoccer).
1. THREE'S THE CHARM: A trio of Badgers from the Wisconsin men's soccer team received preseason recognition from the Big Ten Conference, which released its preseason honors and predicted league standings on Wednesday. Mike Catalano, Christopher Mueller and Philipp Schilling were each named to the league's preseason honors list, while the Badgers were predicted to finish third in the conference standings.
2. WE'VE GOT HISTORY: The Badgers and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane have only played each other seven times and Wisconsin holds the series edge, 5-2-0. UW and Oral Roberts will be meeting for the first time in program history.
3. GUESS WHO'S BACK?: Wisconsin returns 20 letter winners this season, including eight starters. Those starters include two All-Big Ten Tournament honorees, three All-Big Ten honorees and two members of the All-Big Ten freshmen team. Additionally, the Badgers welcome nine newcomers, including transfer Robin Olofsson, a defender from Stockholm, Sweden.
4. SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: Tulsa finished last season with an impressive 10-5-5 mark and a 4-2-1 record. The Golden Hurricane won the American Athletic Conference tournament title to automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament, marking the program's 11th NCAA tournament appearance. Tulsa scored 32 goals to accompany six clean sheets last season and returns eight starters from last year.
Oral Roberts finished the 2016 season with a 6-10-2 record and had three players recognized on the Summit League All-League Award lists. Santiago Riveros was named to the league's second team and will return for his senior season after leading the conference in assists (8). Thibaut Giquel and Tyler LaCourse are also key returnees in their second seasons with the Golden Eagles after both were named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team last year.
5. PRESEASON LOOKBACK: The Badgers gained valuable experience after facing two NCAA tournament teams in the preseason. The Badgers lost 1-0 to both Creighton and UIC in its exhibition matches. Creighton was the first of six opponents that participated in the 2016 NCAA tournament that the Badgers will face this season, with the next being Tulsa.
